Jane - 關於Apple的MAC迷思

其實我有很多朋友很喜歡用MAC，但是我個人還是習慣用PC。這樣講聽起來好像是我老古板一樣。
就如同Mac的廣告;用一個年輕男人與另一個裝扮較像是書呆子的人來分別扮演mac跟pc.



這邊來說說我個人的看法。
MAC主打什麼? 我認為是介面漂亮，外觀的設計好。(其實我也不懂這設計有什麼好，就白白的一片嘛)
像是廣告裡看起來的那樣，年輕有活力。買MAC現在似乎變成一種潮流，好像要用MAC才夠酷，夠潮。 變成了一種身份地位的象徵吧(?) 雖然我對微軟的東西也是有很多抱怨，可是我覺得使用起來還是比較人性化，比較instituitive.
對於觸控盤只有一個按鍵我實在無法理解。
PC還有一個好處，因為微軟很多人用，軟體很好找。尤其像我們這種貧民，很容易找到免費的綠色軟體(例如KMPlayer就是一個) 我也不是什麼電腦高手，只是有很多沒那麼懂電腦的朋友，每次要幫他們找軟體，都找得我很頭大。
最後常常都只能說Sorry，您花錢消災吧。
當然啦，有好處也有壞處，容易找得到軟體的操作介面，也容易"找得到"病毒(當然不是刻意去"找"的摟) 不過因為我現在比較小心，也沒怎麼在中毒了，所以這也還好。

這是我個人的看法啦，因為有滿多用mac的朋友其實也沒用到什麼mac的super power，都是做一些便宜PC就做的到的事情，我個人又相當摳門，所以完全不能理解這其中的意義。或許有人可以給我一些不同的看法? 歡迎留言討論。

Spike - Accommodation 住處

This is going to be a bilingual post. Not exact translation tho.
這會是一篇雙語的post(有特別的需要). 可是不會是直接的翻譯.

This post is for the purpose of obtaining professional advice from a (or two?) hedgehog-housing expert.
寫這篇是為了請示一位(還是兩位?)高明的建築師的意見.

"Expert" is definitely not an exaggeration.
用"高明"兩字絕對不誇張.
Let me paste the link to the works from the expert(s):
給各位看看這位大師的成品:
http://blog.xuite.net/sesame.lao/blog/19393855
http://blog.xuite.net/sesame.lao/blog/20830750
http://blog.xuite.net/sesame.lao/blog/23663889
(If you can't read it, you can still look at the pictures)

How awesome is that! Two floors is awesome enough, and there is even more.
超酷. 兩層樓就夠酷了. 還有更多層的.

Here is Spike's house:



This is already the Nth version of it.
這已經不知道是第幾版的了.
I kept changing the arrangement of his "furniture."
我一直在改變他"家具"的排列.
He hasn't fully learn to use only the restroom for his excretion.
他還沒學會只在廁所"方便".
I am guessing part of the reason might be that I kept changing things around.
我想我一直改變相對位置可能是學不會的其中一個原因.
From now on I am gonna keep this arrangement so he'll have a chance to get use to it.
現在我要維持這樣的安排好讓他有機會習慣.
Hope he'll be potty trained soon...
希望他能趕快學會在定點上廁所...

Although I did think about giving him a two-floor mansion. I am having second thoughts.
雖然我之前想要給他蓋個兩層樓的別墅. 不過我現在還是決定算了.
He doesn't really need more space right now.
他現在似乎並不太需要.
The only things that he does are eat, sleep and run on the wheel. (Oh, and excrete)
他平常除了吃就是睡, 不然就是跑滾輪. (喔 對 還有排泄)
I bought him a plastic ball but he never play with it.
我幫他買的塑膠球他也不玩.
He's not even interested in toilet paper rolls like how "regular hedgehogs" do. (He's special :P)
甚至對"一般刺蝟"都玩的衛生紙捲也沒興趣 (大概他很特別 :P)
So, he doesn't really need more room right now.
所以他現在其實不需要更多的空間了.

It seemed to me that the reason why he pooed in his bedroom is that he has "privacy".
他之前會在睡房大便似乎是因為他可以享有他的"隱私".
Hedgehogs like to be covered. That's why I build a roof for his restroom.
刺蝟喜歡有遮蔽, 所以我為他的廁所蓋了個屋頂.
And it appears to me that he often poo while he eats...
然後他似乎很愛一邊吃飯一邊排解...
Also, when he's sleepy, he doesn't wanna go too far to poo.
加上他睡眼惺忪的時候不喜歡跑太遠去大便
That is why his restroom is now between he's bedroom and food bowl.
所以他的廁所在睡房跟飯碗中間

The only modification left is to make his bedroom heavier so he won't move it all over the place.
現在唯一剩下的改變就是讓他的睡房重一點, 他才不能把它推來推去.
I don't want him ruin all my good intentions.
我不想他把我的完美計畫破壞了.
Any thought how to make his bedroom heavier and still Spike-proof? Hedgehog-proof I mean.
有沒有人可以提供一些把睡房加重卻依舊安全的點子呢?


(Old picture of Spike. I don't have a lot of them, so one picture a post)

Spike - Still not sure what it is

So we went to the vet today. Didn't find anything on his skin, so still not sure what it is. The vet agreed with me that his skin does look pretty dry. So he ate a very little amount of medicine, just to see how it works. If it does work, that means it was mite or some other bug; but if it doesn't, it might just be dry skin.

I am pretty sure that losing quill is probably just because he's at the "quilling age." And the scratching was probably because new quills are growing (I read someone's blog post after we came back from the vet.) But the dry skin might still be something that I should be aware of. I'm still glad that I went to the vet. Although it did cost me a fortune, it sure made me feel more relax now. Handled him too much today, he's kinda tired of me now. I'll probably try to take some pictures of his skin for future reference tomorrow.

Took some cute pictures of him at the vet today.

Spike - Mite? or Overly Cautious?

He's lost some quills and have been scratching a lot lately. I don't really know the definition of flaky skin, but I rather be overly cautious than overlooking. It only took me about a day to decide to take him to the vet.

Spike, we are scheduled tomorrow, so hang in there, OK? I hope you are alright. (It's only our first week together >"<)


ps. Even with my camera, it is still very hard to take a good picture of him. If he's not hidden, he'll move very fast in order to find a place to hide. This picture is taken with flash. I don't really like to use flash.

Why Hedgehog

Too many people asked me: "Why hedgehog?" so I thought I would compose a post about it.

There are several reasons.

1) I've seen videos and picture of people having hedgehog as pet and I thought it's very cool. And hedgehogs are very cute too. At that time I didn't really think of getting one though. I just thought the idea of having such an exotic animal as pet is pretty interesting.

2) I actually would prefer a dog. But since I work in the morning, I don't think having a dog is a good idea. First of all, it will be hard to potty train him while I'm gone all morning working. Second, it's carpet every where in my apartment except for bath room and kitchen. If I can't potty train him, I surely can't just leave him in the house, it'll be a disaster. Last but not least, dog is the kind of pet that need a lot of attention. Since I can't give him too much attention in the morning, I believe if I really get a dog, he'll be a sad one.

3) A cat would probably need relatively less attention. But the same situation apply, since I am at work all morning, I am afraid that an untrained cat would scratch and destroy my furniture (not like I have a lot, but they are mostly new.)

4) Addition to 2) and 3), the apartment complex would charge me 300 dollars for having a dog or cat.

5) Now hedgehog appears to be a very attractive choice. Relatively low maintenance, nocturnal (although now I find it not really as great an attribute as I thought) and cute, hedgehog was just appealing.

That's the reason why after I did some research about hedgies, I decided that it should be a good fit for me.

Is it clear now?

Hedgehog Care

Most people will tell you that hedgehogs are easy to take care of, that they are low maintenance. I think they can be both low maintenance or high depend on how you want to take care of them.

In order to properly take care of Spike, I have already read some articles and I am still finding new articles to read. I do believe having read 2-3 articles about hedgehog care should be sufficient for merely keeping your hedgie alive. But I also believe that there are a lot more to know if you want to have happy and healthy hedgies.

I came across a great hedgehog care article this morning:
http://hedgehogvalley.com/basiccare.html
This kinda explained the horrible story that I heard last night. (Thanks to David for a great nightmare material.) Also, it mentioned a "Spike's Delite Hedgehog Food". I thought it was interesting. Maybe I should get Spike some to try. Even though this article is great, I do think that there are still a lot more to know before one can properly take care of a hedgehog. Be sure to do some research before you adopt one.

Anyways, I think what I wanna say is, no matter what you want animal you want to adopt as a pet, be sure that you know how to take care of it before you take it home. Sometimes people tend to take it too lightly. I admit that when I was a kid, I accidentally killed some small animals even though I liked them so much. It's really not about love but knowledge.

I sure don't wanna make any mistake with Spike.

HUGS

Went to a pet store today to get something for Spike and saw this:
Hope no one will misunderstand. This is nothing inappropriate. Just hugging and sleeping.
I think it's very sweet. :)






ps. Although I did see a rabbit trying to do something inappropriate...

Spike - The Name

Spike. I like this name. I think it's perfect for a hedgehog.

It didn't take me long to think of the name. If I remember correctly, the minute that I decide to adopt a hedgie as pet (which is maybe more than a year before I actually got one) this name just came to me naturally. It surprised me when the breeder said that Spike is her first hedgehog baby that was named Spike. I thought a lot of people will think of that since it just totally makes sense (to me at least.)

Apparently, Sonic is one of the most popular name for hedgies. Well, that is totally understandable. The famous Sonic of course. That was my first video game.
The thing I didn't know is that Shadow is one of the character too.

Even so, I still thought Spike would be a popular name for hedgehogs. I was happy to hear the breeder confirm the uniqueness of the name.

When I was trying to create this blog, I tried:
http://spike.blogspot.com
But there is already a blog with that name exists (and totally nothing about hedgehog.)
I also thought of using a more formal name:
http://spikethehedgehog.blogspot.com
And that blog also already existed!!!
I checked the website, thinking that the name Spike is not really all that unique for hedgies. But I don't see any post on that blog, nothing at all. I wonder if the blog owner also had a hedgie called Spike. I would love to get to know him (I am guessing Ty is his name?) and tell him: Great mind think alike. (LOL)

Anyways, you can tell I really like the name Spike. Very cool for a male hedgie.
Especially for a handsome one. :)

Spike - where it all begins

I actually thought of starting a new blog a long time ago. I did have other blog before, but they all ended because they went too personal that I don't want anyone to read them (and no one wants to read them anyways.) A thought of starting a new blog has been in my mind for awhile now. I wanted to relate my new blog with a new beginning, for example, my moving to Simpsonville, SC and starting a "real job" (mechanical engineering related that is). But that wasn't motivating enough. My laziness has overcome the zealousness to start and keep a blog and I have missed the chance.

Well, since I am so weird that I have a weird rule to not start my new blog unless a significant new beginning is taking place, this post actually means that something exciting is happening. Introducing....

SPIKE(I fail to take a good picture of him. He's still too shy right now)

He is a baby hedgie that I just took home today. He was born on 8/1/2009, so he is a little over a month old now. I got him and the whole set-up (his house and everything) at a reasonable price (I believe). I think it was worth it to drive 1.5 hrs to pick him up (and another 1.5 hrs to come home.) Originally I was only looking inside South Carolina, and I found only one breeder. I sent an email but never got response (maybe my hotmail's stupid email filter that almost never work did work this time). Plus, it appears that they don't have any hedgie currently available. If I want to buy a hedgie from them, I'll have to wait don't-know-how-long. Then I saw this breeder in North Carolina. Thought I would just try my luck and see how far it is and it turned out to be only as far to me as the South Carolina one. Since I don't have a preference of the color of my hedgie, I was able to get this baby boy at a lower price. I almost gave up on buying a hegie after having no response from the SC breeder. Now that I got this baby at a better price and right away, it's just so exciting. (Plus the whole set-up is a great help for a first timer.)

This blog is not only gonna be about hegies, Spike is just my excuse to start my blog (according to my own strange principle.) I would try to include things that are interesting for different people. Hope this blog can last longer than the other ones I had...

This is a new start. Thanks, Spike.