It's funny, 'cuz it's true. Today's Overboard. 2.4 seconds is maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but this morning Laika wolfed her bowl of food in under 30 seconds.

The comics I keep thinking about in relation to her, though, are a series of classic Far Sides. It's obvious that Gary Larson knows his dogs:

1. The one with the two dogs watching their food being prepared, with big smiles. The one dog says to the other, "Oh boy, it's dog food again!"

2. The one where the dog is picking up another dog for a date, and he says to her, "You look lovely tonight, Alice -- and whatever you rolled in sure does stink."

3. The one where the dog is riding in the car, and you can see that outside a nuclear bomb has gone off, and people are running around screaming in terror. The dog, though, is looking at another dog, who's just sitting there on the sidewalk. The caption reads, "Suddenly, Sparky saw something that interested her."

It's Friday evening here, and pretty nice out. We're sitting out in the backyard now because it's supposed to be rainy and cold again this weekend. Phoo. We just cooked up an awesome Mexican meal of soft tacos and beans, with Coronas on the side. Marjorie is reading over my shoulder and the dog is sitting next to me chewing noisily on a piece of bone.

Our stuff is supposed to arrive in port on the 17th, and then spend God knows how long in quarantine. But soon. We simply CANNOT WAIT.

We did get a box of groceries that Marjorie mailed from the states. Customs confiscated some of the stuff, like the black bean mix (because, apparently, it had chicken in it) and a Sante Fe rice mix, presumably because of the corn. They are seriously uptight about agricultural imports here.

The IOCCC winners have been posted; mine is under "schnitzi". Ah, the sweet buzz of fame. Actually, I haven't even shown it to anyone at work.

No chance to see the aurora last night. Actually, the sky was clear and blue in the morning when I woke up, so I missed my chance, I think.

It struck me earlier today how much the "Woy-yoy-yo"s in Bob Marley's "Buffalo Soldier" sound like the theme song to The Banana Splits. Coincidence? Conspiracy?

There's a chance that I'll be able to see something tonight that's on my Life List of Things To See. Heavy sunspot activity means that the aurora australis (a.k.a. the southern lights) should be visible from here tonight. If the weather cooperates, which it isn't. Bummer.