Tigers – Wild & Free?

I’ve always wanted to see a tiger.  Big cats in general are a fascination for me but tigers in particular hold a little piece of my heart.

When I say I’ve always wanted to see a big cat, I mean in the wild.  Where they belong, where they are meant to be.  Where they were intended to be. 

Yet countless circuses are still allowed to parade these animals to the public, teach them tricks, cage them.  It isn’t of course just the big cats, there are the elephants, the zebras and many more.

Last year, after the massive publicity regarding Anne the elephant, a lot of the public finally woke up and joined the cry, that many of us have had as long as we have had intelligent thought, that these animals do not belong in circuses.

The Government claim that they will impose this ban.  Some time before 2015.  The MPs voted in the Commons last year for the ban of wild animals in circuses, yet now we hear “Oh but we have to change the licensing, then hopefully implement the ban”.  This does not placate me.

What the Government should have been doing, and continue to be doing with regard to the ban is find out exactly what animals are where, find alternative places for them, work effectively with DEFRA and bring the ban into force.

Let’s be realistic, these animals can never be re-introduced into the wild, it is far too late for that and whilst I do have a problem with zoos, there are some of them that have integrity, are sanctuaries and do work with getting wild animals back to where they should be, in the wild.

Future generations of these circus animals could end up back in the wild, that gives me hope.  An animal in a cage, on display for the public does not.

Numbers of the big cats have been in decline for as long as I can remember.  Deforestation, hunters, poachers, everyone in the world is an enemy to the big cat.  Would you like to live in a world where there are none of these beautiful creatures left in the wild but instead, behind bars?  Because I wouldn’t.

Which would you prefer.  This?

Or this?

Trashing the Memory Palace

You can read many articles and "How Tos" about memory palaces.   Why you should have one, how much easier is to remember things etc etc.

If you don't know what a memory palace is by the way check out this -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Method_of_loci

I think I have the haunted, creepy "You shouldn't go in there Timmy" type of memory palace.  It isn't one that I intentionally created for myself.  It evolved over the years.

I'm not naturally someone who will share their innermost feelings.  I can rant about anything and everything till I am blue in the face, but on the really personal stuff, the stuff that has hurt me and bad memories, I close up very fast.

When I am depressed, when something sad happens or I have a bad experience, my default mode goes into an action. 

• System check……… Status bad
• Clean up bots sent in
• Remove bad thing
• Tie up with rope
• Throw into dark cupboard
• Lock door
• Reboot
• System check…… All clear

The haunted memory palace is different from the one that you intentionally create to store your good memories, your facts and figures.   Because the haunted memory palace really does have a ghost in the attic, rattling it’s chains.  There really is something scary around the corner and if you try to open that locked door, something really will jump out and bite you.

Doing the blog over the past year has been cathartic for me.  I get to rant away on passing subjects and things that irritate me and in turn, putting those things on the blog, on paper so to speak, gives me time to sort through the rest of the crap in my head.

So today, I’ve started a mission.  A personal mission.  I’m masterminding a war on the haunted palace and little by little, the curtains will be opened, the light will be let in and the doors will be unlocked.  The ghost in the attic will be evicted.

Because the thing is, just like a real haunted house, you are always at your most scared before you step through the door, and then you tend to find that things aren’t as bad as you originally feared.

Extended Circles - Enter my Room 101

I have a rant.  It’s only a mini one about something silly, but if I don’t get it off my chest I may implode.  I don’t want that, it’s only Monday after all.

I have previously done a post on Google+ before see Google Plus, Well Not Much Actually  That was also a rant, done when Google+ was doing the popularity rounds and I was getting badgered from various people to join up.  

After a while I had another look at Google+ and found that, if you tailor it correctly to your needs, it actually can be quite useful.  Personally, although I do have a few friends on there, the main purpose of my account relates to this blog and people I have met through blogging.  It can be a useful tool in that respect to upload my new posts and also interact with other bloggers.

I also understand now the concepts of having different circles.  There are certain things that you would say to your friends that you wouldn’t to a work colleague.  You can make arrangements with people, organise events all without having the general public know.  For any status of a general nature you also have the option to open it up to the public, unrestricted.

All that is good.  I like it.  But, as always with me, I have a couple of issues which irritate the hell out of me.  I can’t help myself.  It makes my blood boil.  You could say that I need something to be actually angry at but then again, would you really want to see that?

So here we go with my mini rant.  

“Extended Circles”

I usually only use either my friend circle, blog circle or public option but today I noticed this “extended circles” option and curious as it what it was, I clicked.  The option to post your status to “all your circles and all people in your circle’s circles”.  

What the actual hell?  Whilst I can understand you may want to post something to someone specifically, why also to limited people, who you don’t know?  What can be so important and secret about your update that it is limited like that?  So you are allowing people you don’t know to see your status, but as they are “pre vetted” being are friends of friends they are ok?

When I decided to write this post, and indeed until about half way through writing it, I thought it was Google+ making my blood boil.  But it isn’t.  It’s the WAY people use it.  Whilst it is Google+ (I refuse point blank to call it G+) that have come up with the whole circle business, including the extended circles which is ridiculous and snobbish, it is the way that people are using the circles that irritate me.

I constantly see people’s updates with the “limited” option on or “extended circles” and 85% of the time I wonder why exactly that update is so special/important/secret/friend only that has to be limited or “extended”.  It may be a joke, or a quote or just a comment on someone’s day.  Why is that special?  It can’t be sensitive information or important information, because all of your circles can see it, and all of their circles too….

For me, what started out as a good idea of circles has turned into giving it’s users the belief that what they have to say is more important and more worthwhile than what others have to say.  

“Oh yes Mr Smith, you are allowed to see this update, but no no no!  You can’t see this another one!  This one is special, there are words with more than one syllable”. 

“Oh no Mrs Turner, I post on my Google+ every single day!  Well, you of course can’t see them all, you’re not important enough for that” 

I was only slightly irritated by Google+ before, but the “extended circles” option has tipped me over the edge.  Maybe because it’s Monday, maybe because I was due a rant but maybe, just maybe because Google+ users are turning out to be status snobs.

I’m done.