The Uighur has learned his first new song in about seven years: the theme to "Wallace and Gromit".

It appears that Chaitzel the cockatiel has not been telling us that he's a weeker, but rather that he is a Uighur, a Chinese Muslim. When I asked him about it, he replied, "I'm a weekie little birdie", so there you have it.

Remembering Euler

Yes, Euler lives on, even beyond his likeness on the Swiss ten franc note ... Mira's writing a report for her 7th grade math class on the great man and his achievements. For some reason, "Euler's e" is one of the disconnected bits of St John's knowledge that lingers stubbornly in my brain pan -- enigmatic, portentous, threatening to slip off into oblivion but somehow tenaciously hanging on -- Why?
Any stories, gags, riddles, insights, explanations concerning Mr Euler and his e are most welcome. Paper's due next week.

Ray Davies

Am listening to the new (first) Ray Davies CD, "Other People's Lives". It has a 70s FM radio sound, and at first listen, I found the lyrics kind of hackneyed and trite, but that cranky, quacky, inimitable voice redeems all. There are a couple of nice lines in the liner notes as well: he describes the pleasure of singing "run, run, run, run, run away", and having to shout at the band to slow it down in "Is there life after breakfast".

Yams

Dennis told me his son ate his first solid food yesterday: yams. I was of course reminded of the famous graffiti in the Paca-Carroll bathroom: YAMS