Happy Friday, dear friends. My cat Slinky is very devoted. She spends most of her day, sleeping by my side as I work on the computer and at my feet at night while I sleep.
She also has a rather unique role in my life. She is, for all intents and purposes, my inner child’s alarm clock. She reminds me to take time during my day to do silly and fun things. To get up and move about and cuddle. When working at home, we often spend far too much time focusing on work, There is no natural delineation between work hours and personal time, which exists when one works outside the home.
So Slinky reminds me to get up and play. She also will not take halfhearted attention. She comes up to me and starts meowing. If I am busy, and just trying to appease her meowing with a few strokes, she will look at me with eyes that say, REALLY? She then moves away and sits patiently until I get up and truly participate.
I am glad I have recognized her role in my life, and wholeheartedly embraced her reminders to get up and have a scratching session, or a game of tag around the living room. I hope to get to a point where the desires of my inner child to play and receive love don’t need an alarm clock.
I hope to realize that the desires of my inner child are actually the desires of my eternal soul, and should be honored and addressed as they arise. I am on that path, but until I get there in perfect timing, I am grateful for my cat alarm clock.
World’s first bicycle super highway approved for London, UK.
As a child, I used to ride my bike everywhere. My mom trusted me to be a safe rider and obey traffic rules, and so we had a ton of freedom to go to the beach, or the local ice cream shop. As times progressed, the level of traffic has increased significantly, and safe spaces for people to ride bikes have dwindled.
I think of the bike messengers in New York City, and how they take their lives into their hands daily, weaving in and out of traffic to get to their destinations. Some cities have better bike paths than others, and laws supporting bicycling.
In a time when decreasing traffic congestion and auto emissions has become paramount, the bike path has had a new lease on life. So much so that London, England’s mayor Boris Johnson has recently backed the London SkyCycle proposal. The project aims to create a completely separate bike route from East to West across the heart of the city. A similar path is projected to run North and South in the future and intersect at the center.
While the projected path will convert some existing car lanes to exclusive bicycle traffic, this is only an expansion of the desire to decrease car traffic in the congested city. The desire to foster alternative means of commuting, such as mass transit and bicycling dovetails with London’s heavy congestion tax, which fines auto drivers for entering the city during key travel hours.
London’s project is the longest stretch of bike super-highway to be proposed in Europe. When it is complete, it will stand as a benchmark for other cities, proving that more sustainable transportation can be supported by redesigning existing city roadways and bringing more balance to the flow of people into and out of major cities. It will also create a safer environment for the 170,000 cyclists in London, significantly impact auto emissions and encourage more people to get around by bicycle.
London Approves Europe’s First City-Spanning Bike Superhighway on the Web Urbanist
High court strikes down Alabama’s same-sex marriage ban, but still enforces a stay on these marriages.
We shared a number of articles, at the end of 2014, about the US Supreme Court’s decision to allow states to handle the same-sex marriage issue. It appears though, that significant pressure has been applied to the Court and they will indeed be forced to take up the issue nationally, even though cases are coming up for decision at the highest state levels.
This past week, the Federal level of the Alabama court ruled the existing same-sex marriage ban as unconstitutional. Alabama had been viewed as a strong hold of more conservative values and there was some belief that the ban would be upheld. When reading the letter of the law, the court ultimately came through and struck down the ban.
This does not mean that couples can now marry in Alabama though. The judge requested a stay in marriages, because the court believed that the US Supreme Court would make a final decision on the issue in the coming months, and he did not want the marriages in Alabama conducted before that decision to come into legal question in the future.
Whether or not couples can wed right now in Alabama is really not the point. This is seen as a significant victory for gay rights, or equal rights for all humans, no matter their sexual orientation.
Court strikes down Alabama ban on same-sex marriage by Chris Johnson for the Washington Blade
Mysterious photograph collection.
I love everything about Hybrid Librarian, except for the soundtracks they use on their informational videos. So, I turned down the sound and watched this intriguing compilation of mysterious photographs collected since the beginning of the photographic era.
This collection shows photographs that have been scrutinized for authenticity and researched for plausible explanations. No official explanations have ever been put forth for their existence, and therefore they really interest me. I love a good mystery, and the existence of many of these photos indicate that there is more than meets the eye in this wonderful world of ours.
Hybrid Librarian-Most mysterious photographs every taken Part I on YouTube
And finally…
Your daily video giggle.
Last week, we had a cute video of babies and their dogs. For all you cat lovers, I found a great compilation of feline and human interaction. It’s sure to bring some smiles and knowing nods from cat parents. While my big guy Magik could be a toughy with me, he allowed my girls to carry him around by his head! He simply adopted them as his own kittens and took very good care of them. Enjoy!
Babies playing with cats on YouTube
That’s the news for today. Have a fantastic day. I hope to see you back here tomorrow for more news.
Be Well. Be Joy. Be Love!
Alex