Perky almost quit being perky, part 3

(Read previous posts for more perky-Perky info.)

After enduring being shot, dragged by a dog and then having her presumed dead body thrown in a kitchen fridge, US wonder-fowl Perky the duck has again shown her lust for life during an operation to repair her injured wing yesterday.

Perky suddenly stopped breathing during the operation, said Noni Beck, wildlife rehabilitator at the Goose Creek Wildlife Sanctuary in Tallahassee, Florida.

"It was a rough day yesterday," she told smh.com.au.

She said she had taken Perky to a local veterinarian for the operation, where she was told it would be touch-and-go for the fragile bird.

The vet began to operate and had just finished pinning Perky's wing when she abruptly stopped breathing, Ms Beck said.

"He's giving her oxygen, he's kind of tapping on her chest - he actually took a needle and kind of stuck her, because a little pain response can make you gag - and then he turned to me and said, 'She's gone, I am so sorry.' ''

But suddenly the duck came back.

"We were sitting there looking at each other and then it's been 10 seconds and somebody said: 'She just took a breath.' "

Ms Beck didn't realise how affected she was by Perky's close call until she went to her car afterwards to call a friend.

"I literally broke down, I was sobbing on the phone. I think the first words to come out of my mouth were: 'She's alive.' It was an emotional rollercoaster.

"She's stolen all our hearts, she's such a perky little thing."

Perky is now back at the sanctuary, doing well and spending much of her time on her personal heating pad, Ms Beck said.

Perky's amazing story has generated an huge amount of interest in what the sanctuary does.

"The response has just been unbelievable," Ms Beck said.

Numerous donations had been received as well as an almost overwhelming number of telephone calls from concerned citizens.

But the best thing, she said, was when one of the volunteers' sisters hit upon an idea.

"She said: 'Y'all need to make a T-shirt.' "

So Ms Beck and her team are now selling T-shirts with all funds going to Perky's recuperation and the sanctuary.

The T-shirt says "I helped the lucky duck" and has a picture of Perky on it.

A local mall has a stall for the T-shirts and they are also being sold on a local man's website.

Ms Beck said about 80 shirts had already been sold.

super lucky duck, part 2

She was shot, dragged by a dog, hung upside down and then left in a household refrigerator for two days, but the duck dubbed "Perky" seems now to be back from the dead after a startlingly quick recovery.

"I think right now her chances are really good, she's made it," Noni Beck, wildlife rehabilitator at the Goose Creek Wildlife Sanctuary in Tallahassee, Florida, told smh.com.au this afternoon.

And not only is Perky on the road to recovery, it seems she's been guaranteed a comfortable life at a local reserve where she will spend her days educating Floridians on why shooting ducks--or at least shooting at them inaccurately - can have consequences.

"The odds are that this girl is not going back to the wild, the wing break is that bad," Ms Beck said.

"She will hopefully go to an education facility, and we have several here in Florida that have really nice habitats."

Perky was hit in the leg, neck and wing by a local hunter last weekend. Ms Beck said the duck was felled, carried back to the hunter by his dog, hung in a brace of dead ducks, taken to his house and placed in a refrigerator.

Two days later the hunter's wife went to the fridge.

"When she opened the door this little duck raised her head ... she immediately called her daughter and said they had to do something," said Ms Beck.

The daughter took the duck to a local vet for treatment and told Ms Beck the story.

The bird, a 450-gram dark brown Canadian ring-neck, which had flown to Florida for the cold months, was treated for pellet wounds, a broken wing and a broken leg.

After that she was given to Goose Creek for recovery.

One of the vets who has treated Perky, David Hale, said it was easy to understand how the hunter would have thought the duck was dead.

"This duck is very passive," Dr Hale said. "It's not like trying to pick up a Muscovy ... where you put your life in your hands."

Muscovies are large, South American ducks known for their aggressive behaviour.

Perky's ordeal immediately became big news, with websites, newspapers and television leaping on the story of her near miraculous survival.

Ms Beck said she had received numerous calls from people wanting to support Perky in her recovery, and some wanting to give her a name.

"Everybody's been calling her the Lucky Duck, but tonight one of my volunteers called and they want to name her Perky, because she really has gotten so much better."

Ms Beck also revealed Perky's saviour, the wife of the hunter, was coming to visit tomorrow.

"She's kind of excited that the duck can be saved. She said she really didn't like it [her husband's hunting] and she's already told him if he shoots something he better kill it because if he doesn't she's going to take it to a vet clinic."

super duck, part 1

The duck would not die.

Wildlife officials said the feathered Lazarus had been shot by a hunter and put into his refrigerator for two days. That's when the hunter's wife opened the door and the duck lifted his head, giving her a scare.

The man's wife "was going to check on the refrigerator because it hadn't been working right and when she opened the door, it looked up at her", said Laina Whipple, a receptionist at Killearn Animal Hospital. "She freaked out and told the daughter to take it to the hospital right then and there."

The hospital's staff had the daughter take the 450-gram female ring-neck to Goose Creek Wildlife Sanctuary, where it has been treated since January 16 for wounds to its wing and leg.

Sanctuary veterinarian David Hale said it has about a 75 per cent chance of survival, but probably will not ever be well enough to be released back into the wild.

He said the duck, which has a low metabolism, could have survived in a big enough refrigerator, especially if the door was opened and closed several times.

Pliny

"In vino veritas." Damn straight.

When will I die?

You Will Die at Age 76

You're pretty average when it comes to how you live... And how you'll die as well.

At what age will you die?

"familiar"

An interesting comparison of two definitions of the noun "familiar":

9. Witchcraft and Demonology.

a. an animal, as a cat, that embodies a supernatural spirit and aids a witch in performing magic.

10. Roman Catholic Church.

a. an officer of the Inquisition, employed to arrest accused or suspected persons.

year I was born

In 1964 (the year you were born)

Lyndon B. Johnson is president of the US After riots break out, Panama suspends relations with he US Cassius Clay becomes heavyweight champion when Sonny Liston throws in the towel in the sixth round in Miami Near Anchorage, the strongest earthquake ever to strike North America kills 117 Worst soccer disaster in history occurs when rioting and panic kills over 300 in Liverpool Hundreds of white college students work for civil rights in the south during "Freedom Summer" South Africa sentences Nelson Mandela to life in prison Kemeny and Kurtz create BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code), an easy to learn high level programming language Nicolas Cage, Jeff Bezos, Rob Lowe, Elle Macpherson, Courteney Cox Arquette, and Keanu Reeves are born St. Louis Cardinals win the World Series Cleveland Browns win the NFL championship Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles released in the US, sparking Beatlemania The Beatles appear on The Ed Sullivan Show, breaking television ratings records The game show Jeopardy! debuts on television Mary Poppins, starring Julie Andrews, is the top grossing film

What Happened the Year You Were Born?

Am I art, or is art me?

You Are Impressionism

You think the world is quite beautiful, especially if you look at it in new and interesting ways. You tend to focus on color and movement in art. For you, seeing the big picture is much more important than recording every little detail. You can find inspiration anywhere... especially from nature.

What Art Movement Are You?

Sesame Street me

You Are Bert

Extremely serious and a little eccentric, people find you loveable - even if you don't love them! You are usually feeling: Logical - you rarely let your emotions rule you You are famous for: Being smart, a total neat freak, and maybe just a little evil How you life your life: With passion, even if your odd passions (like bottle caps and pigeons) are baffling to others

The Sesame Street Personality Quiz

5-factor personality test

Your Five Factor Personality Profile

Extroversion: You have low extroversion. You are quiet and reserved in most social situations. A low key, laid back lifestyle is important to you. You tend to bond slowly, over time, with one or two people. Conscientiousness: You have medium conscientiousness. You're generally good at balancing work and play. When you need to buckle down, you can usually get tasks done. But you've been known to goof off when you know you can get away with it. Agreeableness: You have low agreeableness. Your self interest comes first, and others come later, if at all. In general, you feel that people are not to be trusted. And you're skeptical that anyone else really feels differently. Neuroticism: You have medium neuroticism. You're generally cool and collected, but sometimes you do panic. Little worries or problems can consume you, draining your energy. Your life is pretty smooth, but there's a few emotional bumps you'd like to get rid of. Openness to experience: Your openness to new experiences is medium. You are generally broad minded when it come to new things. But if something crosses a moral line, there's no way you'll approve of it. You are suspicious of anything too wacky, though you do still consider creativity a virtue.

the five-factor personality test

8th-grade math

I passed, with 90%!

You Passed 8th Grade Math

Congratulations, you got 9/10 correct!

Could you pass 8th-grade math?

What does my birth day mean?

Your Birthdate: April 15

You take life as it is, and you find happiness in a variety of things. You tend to be close to family and friends. But it's hard to get into your inner circle. Making the little things wonderful is important to you, and you probably have an inviting home. You seek harmony with others, but occasionally you have a very stubborn streak. Your strength: Your intense optimism Your weakness: You shy away from exploring your talents Your power color: Jade Your power symbol: Flower Your power month: June

What does your birth date mean?

my soulmate's name

Oof, don't go to thesoulematecalculator.com...I think I got into a spam/phishing loop...something like that. Anyway, my soulmate's name is "Brook." I wonder if the site thought "Carroll" (my name) was a male's name? Maybe so. Anyhoo, I had to go through a lot of work to get out of the loop, and unsubscribed from getting charged all sorts of money for all sorts of things.

N.B.! This scam...and I'm a computer-support specialist for 12 years now!...cost me $19.99 plus another $9.99. :-(

7 deadly sins

Like the Ten Commandments, I can never remember these (and their Latin equivalents):

1. lust (luxuria)
2. gluttony (gula)
3. greed/avarice (avaritia)
4. sloth/laziness (acedia)
5. wrath/anger (ira)
6. envy/jealousy (invidia)
7. pride/hubris (superbia)
   

peninsula story

From Nora Ephron's book, I Feel Bad About My Neck:

A man and a woman live in a house on a deserted peninsula. The man's mother comes to stay with them, and then man goes off on a business trip. The woman takes the ferry to the mainland and goes to seee her lover. They make love. When they finish, she realized it's late, and she gets up, dresses, and rushes to catch the last ferry home. But she misses the boat. She pleads with the ferryboat captain. He tells her he will take her back to the peninsula if she gives him six times the normal fare. But she doesn't have the money. So she's forced to walk home, and on the way, she's raped and killed by a stranger.

The question is: Who is responsible for her death, and in what order--the woman, the man, the mother, the ferryboat capain, the lover, or the rapist?

Ephron's acquaintance says the question is a Rorshach, and if you ask your friends to answer it, they will all answer differently.

Most objectively, the rapist is responsible for her death.

mouse potato?

Am I one? I suppose!

back in time

From Perez Hilton's site...like looking back in time...best I can imagine.


"Purrrrfection!!! Burlesque diva and international fashion plate, Miz Dita von Teese, looks like a yummy slice of angel's food cake as she arrives at the Dior fashion show in Paris on Monday."

another pet peeve

MySpace pages with audio, which seems to be pretty much all of 'em.

23

I like seeing actors/actresses play parts opposite the genres they usually play...people like Robin Williams and, now, Jim Carrey...in 23.

Saints

Aggh...that was awful! How can a team expect to win a game if it gives away 9 points straight off, on three separate fumbles? It's lucky the Saints weren't down 30 to nothing at the half...not that it mattered in the end. Not that the Bears are in, I'm not sure whom I should be for in the Super Bowl...the Patriots/Colts or the Bears? I might go for the Bears, since they won their game fair and square and since one of my faithful friends is a rabid Bears fan. And I lived in Chicago for 10 years, too, longer than I've lived here in Boston.

Lisa and Homer: inferring or implying?

Homer: "What are you inferring?"

Lisa: "I'm not 'inferring' anything. You 'infer'; I 'imply.'"

• And there you have it!

yellow fever and Aedes aegypti

Interesting facts about yellow fever, from Molly Caldwell Crosby's book, The American Plague:

yellow jack/coup de barre/vomito negro/saffron scourge/American plague

• In New York, Greenwich Village would become known as "the Village" because it was safe haven outside of the city during yellow fever epidemics.
• Napoleon would abandon his conquests in North America after losing 23,000 of his troops to yellow fever in the colony of Haiti. He made a hasty and fearful retreat from this pestilent hemisphere, selling his larger Louisiana holdings for cheap to Thomas Jefferson.
• During the Civil War, yellow fever would serve as one of this country's first forms of biological warfare. And the Spanish-American War, at the close of the nineteenth centure, would be fought more against this fever than against the Spanish.
• In 1878, Memphis, Tennessee would suffer losses greater than the Chicago fire, San Francisco earthqualke, and Johnstown flood combined.
  

another plastic-surgery "problem"

...the Italian Michaela Romanini...she looks like a man, I think. She might be a handsome woman if she hadn't gone berserk with the lip augmentation.

Saints vs. Bears

I had a dream last night about the NFC Division Title game this weekend: the final score was Saints 14 | Bears 7. I can only hope!

more Ms. Wildenstein

I just don't get what she was going for. Her chin and LIPS are monstrous...it's like Frankenstein...well, worse!

another spam "story"

(I've added the helpful "paragraph" breaks. You're welcome!)

First, it would promote consumer trust.

When you buy a new shredder - get a cross-cut version rather than a strip cut one. Having learnt Vasthu Sastra in China, Vanitha is practicing it in Chennai. " On the other end of the spectrum, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Russia, Malaysia, and China were designated as "endemic surveillance societies.

One thing Apple does best is to get product on the shelves immediately after its announcement.

We may, however, be at the tipping point where electronic record-keeping will actually start to reduce paper. Adopting it as legislation has not been the best approach. ranks the lowest amongst democratic countries surveyed.

Go to a blog that you want to follow, such as mine at www. standard for all companies. He found that on average they were more effective than the ones most people use at work. If one comments on something they received for free, or is being paid to adopt a position on something, be up front about it.

comWeb MasalaDaily Hot NewsThenali OnlineFashionVambuAppo IppoTidbitsShanthi- MadhanGossipsNangal SuttavaiMovies In Chennaimore.

Panera brought a lawsuit against the shopping mall in an attempt to prevent them from leasing space to Qdoba. Taking too big a stride will land one in a pit!

I have a smartphone, but am in the market to upgrade it soon to one running Windows Mobile 5.

, was trying to keep a Mexican restaurant chain, Qdoba Mexican Grill, out of shopping malls where Panera already had a restaurant. Department of Agriculture representatives to assist in his ruling that a burrito is not a sandwich. Which leads to the network neutrality issue.
Included were all 25 EU members as well as countries such as Canada, the U.

Critics are concerned that the existing telcos wil undercut the competition, so in the end we will be left with no competition and higher prices. 5 million social security numbers. If the number is complete, use a pen to scratch out the middle four numbers on your copy. Until now, a 3rd party plug in was required to do that. If you don't have IE7 yet, just run windows update.

I tend to side with the view that this is more about disclosure than anything. There was also an overall rejection of the idea that additional security screening should be given to visible minorities at airports.

, was trying to keep a Mexican restaurant chain, Qdoba Mexican Grill, out of shopping malls where Panera already had a restaurant.

sad

How did Jocelyne Widenstein get herself to this point?

interesting optical "delusion"

Rainbow with Waterfall, from Stare Clips

Saddam Hussein

(I didn't post this properly before...obviously the execution went through).

I guess it's part of human nature...compassion, that is: Saddam Hussein is potentially to be executed within the next three hours, CNN says. He did terrible things to his country and others, yet I still feel sorry for his imminent capital punishment. Still doesn't seem right to me to kill others, even in the case of war or capital punishment. I think I'd rather be executed than spend the rest of my life in prison.