Cleaning

Sometimes, we have to clean the house. We did this tonight. It is not a fun task, but it feels good when the cleaning is done. It is sweet, having a clean house.

More Wild Tigers

The number of wild tigers in the world is rising. This is the first time in a century that this has happened. It is good news. Tigers are endangered, but if there will be more tigers, it shows that endangered species can be saved. This is good for the biological diversity and the ecology where tigers live. I like it. I would not want to meet a wild tiger, but I like that the number of tigers grow, anyway.

Re-elected

Daniel has been chairman of the board for the local chapter of his political party for many years. He was re-elected tonight. I am not really sure what he is doing as chairman, but I am sure he is good at it. I know Daniel and knows he is good at many things. He has been re-elected many times, which goes to prove the members want him to continue as chairman. It is unlikely he had be re-elected may times, if he would not be good at what he does as chairman, would he? He likes being chairman, and I am glad he can stay chairman, because it makes him happy.

New Desk

Paula's sister Mia was here today, withher man and son. It was nice meeting them, as always.

We got a desk from them, where Paula can sit when she is studying. It was a nice desk, even though it was used. It is always nice to get things for free.

Å

Hello, Karstuhl here!

English is a langare that lack a few letters. They do not have å, ä, or ö in English. I miss these letters sometimes.

Å is a usefull letter. It is also a word in itself in Swedish, meaning river. I think it is nice, with the ring over it. Ö is also a word as well as a letter, it means island, but it is not quite such a cool letter.

The English speakers could have å, they have this sound, but it is up to them to incorporate the letter in their langare. It will likely never happened.

In the Middle of the Night

There are good reasons for being awake in the middle of the night, and there are bad reasons. The last couple of nights, we have been forced to wake up, because the males are screaming for the females who are in heat. This is ridiculous. There have been so many times at least one female has been in heat, and the males must know they do not decide when it is time to meet a female in heat. Males are too emotional, many times.

Meatballs

Hamburgers may be a good idea for a TV show, as I wrote yesterday. Still, meatballs in your food bowl is much better. We got meatballs today. Who needs any food TV shows, when you get meatballs to eat?

There was a food TV show on tonight as well. Paula watched the finale of the latest season of Master Chef Sweden. I did not care, I was still content with having had meatballs.

Hamburgers

A new food show started on TV tonight. This time it was interesting, it was about two Swedes going around America, tasting hamburgers, searching for the ultimate recipie of a hamburger.

Hamburgers are tasty, one of the best things to eat that is not pure meat (or water melon, which is also great). America is my Mum's home ountry. I have always wanted to see it, but if I never go there myself, I can watch it on TV at least.

Theres should be more TV shows like this. I am just a little disappointed I did not get a hamburger to eat while watching the show.

Running Little Dog

A runaway Chihuahua was chased by the police in California, and caught on camera. It is a quite amusing, albeit very short, film. I would not want to be on the run on a motorway, even though it was no traffic to talk about. It is nice to look at, nevertheless.

No Publication

No, my blog entry was an April Fool's joke. I will not get anything published in a magazine. I hope you enjoy my blog as it is, just a blog.

Publication

Some of my blog entries will be published in a magazine. I will become an author of a colums in this magazine. I will not yet reveal what magazine it is, but it is a great honour. The magazine is read by many dogs. Stay tuned, and I will tell you more.

A Little One

Yesterday, Orange got a puppy. I en yttre her a little. It is nice having puppies, small and cute as they are. You just cannot do anything but love them. It is the most fantastic feeling.

These days, I am too old to get puppies. I hope I can play with Orange's puppy, when she is old enough.

Pup

Hello, Orange here!

I have got a pup again! She is a red little girl and exceptionally cute.

You have to excuse me for not writing anything more, but I have a pup to take care of.

Rain

It rained this morning. Spring is definitely here, otherwise, snow would have fallen. Rain is pleasant, when you are indoors. Unfortunately for us, though, the rain started when we were out on our morning walk. I wished it would have started a little later. You cannot control the weather, though. It could have been worse, like a more intense rain.

We had beautiful spring weather in the afternoon. The Sun was shining. I liked that.

Free

We have all taken a day off today. Paula and Daniel have been home from work, because it is the second day of Easter and a holiday in Sweden. This means we dogs can take a day off from our working day housewatching duty. It has been a good day, free of stress and work. I like it this way.

Daylight Saving Time

This Easter Day, I thought I would blog about Easter. I happened to miss the official midnight, however, and did not get to write anything until after midnight. This is due to daylight saving time. It is a shorter time from sunset until the date turns into next date. I did not consider this, we just changed to daylight saving time last night. I think it is stupid, turning the clocks twice a year like this. It is proof that not all humans are very intelligent.

Defacing Flags Is Wrong

Long time readers of my blog are probably aware of my disdain for the Peoples Republic of China. It is a country where dogs are tormented, humans oppressed by a dictatorship, and the government are provoking neighbouring countries by agressive and expansionist policies in the South China Sea. Still, I do not think defacing the flag of this country is the right way to go.

The president of the PRC will visit Prague and prominent Czech politicians next week. PRC flags hoisted in Prague for this occasion have been defaced with black paint.

Defacing a flag is a cowardly and stupid way of protesting. You may do it, if it is a flag you own yourself, in the name of freedom of speech. However, it is a stupid form of speech. It is like just saying "booh" to something you do not like, without explaining why you think so.

Besides, the people defacing the flags did not own these flags. It is, thus, damage done to the property of others. This is unlawful, regardless of any laws of freedom of speech.

If you want to protest against the PRC, I urge you to do it. The regime deserves a lot of critizism. However, you should say what the PRC regime is doing wrong and what should be done instead. Defacing flags does not do this.

Good Friday

It is Good Friday, and we consider the torments of Christ, almost two thousand years ago.

As far as is known, Jesus Christ did not have a dog. I believe his dog would have been devastated, but followed Christ to the crucifiction, to the grave, and then would have been really happy when Christ returned from the dead. This would have been described in some way in the Bible, I am sure. Perhaps this is just as well. What would the disciples have done, when just the dog would have stayed by Jesus' side?

Easter

It is Easter. Tomorrow is Good Friday. We will sleep until late in the morning, I hope. It is a holiday.

Helping Paula to Study

Paula has an important exam tomorrow. We are staying up late to help her study for it. That is, all of us dogs are staying up late. Daniel was too tired, he almost fell asleep in the sofa. He went to bed without helping Paula anymore. She has the help of every dog, though.

Terrorists in Belgium

Today, our thoughts go to the inhabitants of Belgium, where terrorists detonated bombs this morning.

I have family ties in Belgium, my paternal grandfather was born there. Regardless of this, the whole civilised world must stand up on the side of the innocent victims in Belgium today.

There are too many terrorist attacks. Something has to be done about it. The question is what can be done. Terrorists seldom play by the "rules" of war, there is no front line where you can attack the army of the terrorists. If you force some terrorists to an unconditional surrender, it does nothing to stop other terrorists. On one hand, you have to force the current terrorists to stop. On the other hand, you have to convince young people not to become terrorists. Both parts are hard, but have to be done. Where are the world leader to make this happen?

Sakura

It is spring and time for the famous bloom of cherry blossoms of Japan. In Japan, this is called sakura.

The cherry blossoms is the defining thing of Japanese spring. The whole population look forward to seeing the pink flowers, they often even take some time off to experience it.

If I ever go to Japan, I would like to go in spring and see the cherry blossoms.

Formula 1

The 2016 season of the world's premier motor sport, Formula 1 car racing, started today. It was the Australian Grand Prix, so we had to get up in the early morning, Swedish time, to watch it. Daniel always make sure to watch Formula 1 races, if he can (dog shows may stop him, of course).

It was an exciting race. The Mercedes cars have been the best over the latest two seasons and were the best today too, but Ferrari looked almost as strong. German Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg won. It would be nice if the world champion of the latest two years, Lewis Hamilton, would not win. We like him, but it is more entertaining if the championship title is rewarded different drivers in different seasons.

Unfortunately, there is no Japanese driver to root for. The Swedish driver Marcus Ericsson did not do well and retired with an engine faliure.

Gladiators

Tonight we watched a "gladiator" Tv show. Dogs would have fared better than the humans who competed, I believe.

Dancing

It is Friday evening and Let's Dance on TV. Paula always wanted to watch this show.

I do not really understand the concept of dance. What is the purpose? Dogs never dance. It can look nice with the music on, but I would not want to try it myself.

There is a dog sport similar to dance, called freestyle. I have never understood the purpose of freestyle either.

Boohoo

We often watch game shows on TV, like Master Chef. Paula likes these shows. Every episode, one contestant loses and have to leave the competition. He or she believes this is very sad. Like Daniel, I sarcastically say: boohoohoo, when they cry.

They would be glad to leave, and get home to their dogs. Of course, if they have no dogs, it is not much of a home to go back to. Ghere are no dogs in the Master Chef TV shows either, so this would make it a lose-lose situation. Still, I sarcastically say boohoohoo, when they lose and cry.

Spring

Spring is in the air, as we say in Sweden. The snow is thawing, the days are getting longer, and the Sun's rays are warm. I like it. I never liked spring this much, when I was younger, but I guess warmth is something more valuable to an older dog like me. I hope spring and summer will bring us noce, warm weather.

Super Heroines

Humans are a little strange sometimes. This article about many new super heroine movies is interesting. The new movies show believable super heroines with complex personalities. This is all nice. The article still fails to mention the iconic super heroine of the mid 1900's: Lassie. She was a super bitch and had a personality as complex as any male super hero. Will we see a Lassie for the 2010's as well?

Upcoming Quarter Finals

The final stages of the Swedish ice hockey championships have started. Daniel's favourite team Djurgården succeeded in reaching the quarter finals. It did so by beating Brynäs. This makes us happy. Karstuhl's daughter Soya was not happy, however. Her human Stefan roots for Brynäs.

Ice hockey is serious stuff in Sweden, most Swedes have a favourite team. If you do, you will be disappointed once in a while. Still, it is generally more fun to have a favourite team, everything becomes more exciting this way. I have the same favourite team as Daniel has.

Being Grumpy

I have felt grumpy today. When the other dogs have messed around, I have been harsher than usual, growled more and even barked a little. This is not a mood I am proud of. Still, you have to be able to have a grumpy day now and then without having to explain yourself. Things will surely be better tomorrow.

Biathlon

The men's relay in the Biathlon World Championships was today. The Norwegian team won, which must have please them more than usual,  since it was on home turf.  Polly and I liked this, my father, her grandfather, was Norwegian, as you know.

We have a dear friend who is an Affenpinscher, Morran. She rooted for Germany, since this is where her breed is from. We understand her, but do not agree. Germany came in second, which is not bad.

Sweden ended seventh. This is not bad, given the quality of the team these days. It was fun to see Canada exceed expectations and become third.

Five Years Since the Tsunami

In Japan, they have commemorated the tsunami that hit the east coast in 2011. It flooded the nuclear power plant in Fukushima. It also killed a lot of dogs and humans. We are thinking about the victims today.

Cold

Daniel has a cold. It is an illness due to viruses, but it is never serious. There are some coughing and blowing of his nose, but it does not make him much weaker. He does not slow down when it comes to work, but he did cancel a work trip where he would have stayed in a different town over night. In this way, we are lucky Daniel has a cold, then we get to see more of him. I like this. It is not that I wish Daniel will get a cold more often, but there are some advantages to him getting it. This is good.

Solar Eclipse

There was a Solar eclipse visible from Indonesia today.

I am not really interested in Solar eclipses. Lunar eclipses are more cool. This does not only have to do with my name being Lunar Eclips, I really do think it is cooler staying up at night and seeing the Moon turning red, than black, instead of just seeing the Sun turning black while hurting your eyes.

Well, I guess the people watching the Solar eclipse still had a sight they will remember.

International Women's Day

Humans call this day the International Women's Day. It is aimed at the injustices between men and women, that almost invariably makes women less fortunate than men, just because they were born women. A lot has been done over the last centuries to make women equal to men. In many ways, they now are.

This is no problem among dogs. We do not need any International Bitches' Day. We have very few injustices between the dog sexes. Most injustices between the dog sexes are in favour of us bitches. We are the rulers of the dog packs, just like our wild sisters are of the wolf packs. I am proud of being a bitch. I have also never heard any dog complain about injustices coming from the fact that he was born a male.

The humans in our family are equal. This is good.

Snow

Snow fell this morning again. We got a rather large amount of snow, but at the same time, the temperatures was above the freezing point all day and well into the night. This snow will not stay for a long time, I am sure.

It is not surprising to get snow in March. Spring is on its way, but never comes when you expect it. This is one of the sweet things about spring. When it finally arrives, it is great.

Vasaloppet

The world's oldest annual and longest ski competition is always held on the first Sunday of March in Dalecarlia in Sweden. It is called Vasaloppet. It takes the skiers from Sälen to Mora, a distance of 90 kilometres. We went up early in the morning to watch it on TV.

Paula's father Nils-Olov was one of the thousands of participants who competed. He has participated many times and we always hope to see him on TV, but we never do. This evening, Paula talked to him on the telephone and he was quite happy and satisfied with his effort.

Going 90 kilometres on skies in one day is a great feat. Even though I would be able to ski, I am not sure I could do it. Nils-Olov is a hero who does.

Annual Meeting

Daniel went to the annual meeting where the board of the Swedish Spitz Breed Club is elected. He is a member of the board and was reelected. It is an important club, organising the Shiba Club of Sweden, Shiba-no-kai, among others. We are proud that Daniel is a member of the board.

Frost

There is frost on the ground and the trees. It looks like tiny, twinkling stars in the night. It is beautiful. This is one of the good things about winter, the beauty of it.

Royal Baby

Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden has given birth to a baby. It is a new membar of the royal family, a new person in the line of siccession. This is great news for Sweden.

Sweden now has a new prince in the line of succession.

Not Feeling Well

Hello, Karstuhl here!

Mommy is not feeling well tonight, so she asked me to make the daily blog entry. She did not say anything more, so I do not know if she had any special subject she had planned to write about. I have to make the best of it. It is not easy, not feeling well, bit I do not think there is any real danger. It does not seem like it would be.

For my part, I am feeling well. I like spring and the brighter days. There was a weather forecast about more snow later this week, but I am not sure we will get snow. We will have to see. It is so late in winter now, that I think a massive snow fall would feel useless. Whatever makes the weather the way it is, does not care wether the weather feels useless, though. We might get snow after all.

An Extra Day

It is a leap year this year, which means February has an extra day, the 29th. The more logical way might be to put the extra day at the very end of the year. This was actually what was done by the ancient Romans, whose calendar we are still using in a reformed version. The early Roman year ended by the end of February. This was later changed, so that the year ended by the end of December. The leap day was still added to February, however. The names of the months of September, October, November, and December are also reminding us that February used to be the last month, because the names means the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth month. There are a lot of interesting trivia about the calendar.

Home Again

Paula is home again. She came home this evening. It is great, the whole family is together again. I wish we could always be together.

Paula has had a great time, she told us, but she has missed us. I can understand this. It is fun going away for a while, but there is no place like home. Being with the family is the best. Then again, if we would never go away and experience something different, how could we know how good it is to be at home with the whole family?

Now we are all together again. It is great,

Eclipse

My dear daughter Polly and I hope that the band Eclipse will win the Qualification round tonight. We are not sure whether they should change how they spell their name, though. My opinion is that "eclips" is the better way to spell the word. Polly claims "eclipse" is the correct spelling. She is right, of course. It is just that I spell my name "Lunar Eclips",  while Polly spells her name "Full Moon Eclipse".

Regardless of how the band spells their name, they have a really good song. We root for it.

Up in the Mountains

Paula is up in the mountains near the Norwegian border this weekend. She is there with her parents, her sister, and her nephew. It is a place called Tandådalen.

I would like to visit Tandådalen myself sometime. It is a neighbour of Hundfjället, which is Swedish for Mount Dog. If dogs would not fit in at Hundfjället, I do not know where we would fit in.

Is Sanders the Best Bet to Beat Trump?

My Mum was from the USA, so I have always been interested in American affairs and politics. This autumn,  the American votes will elected a new President as Head of State. (Unlike Sweden or Japan, they lack a monarch and has to elected a Head of State instead.)

It seems like Donald Trump will be the Republican party nominee. He is an unpolished but successful businessman, rich, but has no political experience. I do not think he would make a good President.

The Democrat party has two main contestants: Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Clinton has more political experience, but a lot of affairs behind her and is not a very strong candidate, albeit being in the centre of the political field. Sanders is more leftish. He is the outsider, while Clinton is the establishment candidates. I guess there is a lot of truth in this article,  that says Sanders would be the candidates who can beat Trump.

Old Castles

We watched a TV show about old Medieval castles today. It was about how they were constructed and how people lived in them.

The show was very well made and interesting. I just wish they would have talked about how dogs lived in a Medieval castle.

Meteor

A large meteor burned up in Earth's atmosphere on The 6th of February. It fell to Earth over the South Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Brazil. It is estimated to have been the biggest since a large object exploded over Russia in 2013.

We are lucky most meteors burn up in the atmosphere, protecting life on Earth. Meteors can be devastating. I wish more could be done to detect them before any really dangerous one hit Earth. It could kill a lot of dogs and humans. It would be nice if such a tragedy could be avoided.

Night Shift

Paula has the night shift as nurse at the hospital. This means that we dogs have the night shift as guard dogs. Daniel is at home, but we are still always more watchful when not both of our humans are at home, especially at night.

Sometimes, I wish both Paula and Daniel would always be at home at night. I guess this is not possible, but I wish it were. It feels better when they are. We dogs are fully capable of defending our home without them, but it would be better if we would not have to.

Swedish Town in Japan

There is a tiny Swedish town in Japan. It is called Sweden Hills and is located about 30 kilometres from Sapporo on the northern Japanese island Hokkaido. The town has got houses that look Swedish, and a Japanese population who likes to take part in Swedish traditions like midsummer celebrations.

I wonder what dogs they have in Sweden Hills. Do they try to have dogs of national Swedish breeds? There are a few Swedish dog breeds. If not, they could get Shibas from Swedish breeders, if they would want to.

Dogs Look Like Their Humans

Scientists have now come to the conclusion that many of us have suspected is true: humans look like their dogs, and vice versa. Humans also have an ability in blind tests to match dog and human, which is better than pure coincidence. This shows how important dogs and humans are to each other. It is certainly interesting.

Statistics

Once in a while, I look at the numbers on how many readers my blog has. At times, links to blog entries are published on other sites to boost traffic, but it is not always traffic is boosted. I can never be certain what blog entries get the most attention. On the other paw, I have never blogged just to get a lot of readers. The main thing is to have my own journal; if I get readers, I am glad, but it is not necessary. Still, I wish to thank my readers for showing their interest in my life and thoughts. It is nice that you do.

Raid on Aid Clinic

It must take a certain kind of coward to raid an aid clinic. One such clinic in Afghanistan, run by Swedes, has been raided. Two patients and one carer was killed.

What possesses people to raid a medical clinic? Do they really think they can gain anything from it? Was there, perhaps, a certain patient they wanted to kill? If so, why kill the others? Some sources say the raiders were from the Afghan National Army.

If Sweden would still have had military presence in Afghanistan, I know what I would have wanted the Swedish soldiers doing. Unfortunately, the Swedish army has left the country. The raid against the clinic is just one tragic event that might have been avoided, if Swedish soldiers would still have been there. Would it have been carried out against a Swedish run clinic with Swedish armed forces close by? Less likely, I would think. Who will give the killed humans justice now?

Two Years

Hello, Karstuhl here!

My dear daughter Soya turns two years old today. She lives with Paula's sister and family, not far away from us. I would have wanted to be there today, they had birthday cake. I would have helped Soya to eat the cake. Perhaps I would also have brought a birthday gift. She would deserve it. We will see when I meet her next time, so I can congratulate her. Whenever it will be, it will be nice.

Daylight in the Morning

We have started to see daylight again on our morning walks. This is so nice. You feel more awake when you walk in daylight than in the darkness of winter mornings.

Unfortunately, darkness will come back, when humans reset their clocks with the daylight savings time. This makes the mornings darker again, for no apparent meaning.

For now, we are happy that we have daylight on the morning walks.

Disturbances

This night, I was the first one to lay in the bed. I was very comfortable, having arranged the pillows and everything the way I wanted it. Then the others came along. I did not stand it this time, but jumped off the bed and found a different, undisturbed place to sleep. There are times when you just want a little privacy, without any disturbances. I hope to get a good night's sleep tonight.

Where Did the Weekend Go?

It is Sunday night, and we are discussing where the weekend went. It went by so fast, that we wonder if it really did came. I did not even have the time to write a blog entry yesterday. How can this be so? Weekdays are often long and boring, weekends just fly past you. It might be because we do not have the same schedule on weekends as on weekdays, but I would bet that weekends would feel like they went past just as fast anyway. It is just that much more fun to have your humans at home more, as they are on weekends. When you have fun, time flies. I just wish it did not.

TGIF

Thank God it is Friday. The weekend starts and we have less duties to attend to. I like it. Good night!

National Foundation Day

The 11th of February is celebrated every year in Japan as National Foundation Day. It is in remembrance of the first emperor, Jimmu, who ascended to the throne this day. The current emperor is the successor of Jimmu and Japan is considered the country in the world with the longest consecutive history as one country.

We celebrated National Foundation Day with some extra tasty food. There is never a bad reason to celebrate, but a Japanese national day of celebrations is an extra good reason to celebrate. There are so many good things coming from Japan.

Jumping Up Into the Bed

Orange is a nice girl, but sometimes, I cannot understand what she is thinking. When all the rest of us had gone to bed already, she walked to and fro without jumping up into the bed. What was wrong? I did not understand, and she did not say. If you want to lay in the bed, just jump up into it. If you do not, just lay down somewhere else. Walking about is disturbing for the rest of us.

After a while, Orange did jump up and found herself a place in the bed. I think we were all happy for her, finding a place to sleep. We could all sleep well, when nobody walked around.

Semla

I did not get any semla this Tuesday, the traditional Swedish pastry for the time before Easter. I did get other tasty things, but no semla. This was disappointing. I have to work harder to make my humans remember me, when they get semlas next time.

Training

Paula is studying to become an intensive care nurse. This is an exam she will receive on top of being an ordinary trained nurse. She started doing days at an intensive care unit at the hospital today, telling us afterwards that it is just as interesting as she has wished it would be. She was tired, but happy. We believe she will do great as an intensive care nurse. We wish her good luck.

Super Bowl

Tonight is the night of Super Bowl L, in other words, the fiftieth time the final of the US national championship in American Football is played in a single game. It is one of the most viewed sport events in the world. I am not that into American Football, and the competing teams this year are from Colorado and North Carolina, no States I feel any affiliation with. Still, the sheer size of the game makes it worth writing a word or two about it. I believe it is great to have just a single game as the final, it makes this game that much more important and the annual event greater. It is almost like the final in the FIFA Football World Cup. I think more sports should do the same. A final of seven games, like in Stanley Cup, may give the competing teams more revenue, but is not as exciting. Hou do not have the same excitement in the first games as you have in the single Super Bowl or World Cup final game. Nobody would ever expect a dog show to have more than one Best in Show final. The single game is the great thing about the game to ight. Let the best team win!

No Good Songs

Here we go again, this year's Swedish qualification round to the Eurovision Song Contest has started. Seven Songs would have competition, but one was disqualified for not being a new song. It was still performed, after the sig songs that competed. None of the seven songs were good. We were rather disappointed,  but hope there will be good songs in the upcoming qualification rounds. We want Sweden to have a good song in the Eurovision final.

Wine?

When humans celebrate, they often drink wine. They can also drink liquor or beer. I have never understood this. To me, drinking is an act to avoid being thirsty. I love to celebrate by eating something tasty, like a steak,  but I only drink water.  There are clear differences between dogs and humans, this is one of them. It is OK, we are different species, we do not have to be the same. I love my humans anyway.

Beauty Pageants

This evening, we watched a TV show about beauty pageants for children in the USA. It was a strange competition for us, who are used to dog shows. At dog shows, we are judged by who we are, while these children had make up and seemed to have fake smiles. Some parentes coached the children from the sidelines. It was a competition in fake beauty, not in conformity to a breed standard. Silly, I think.

Ujghjy

The headline of this blog post was written by Paula. She was fooling around, having that kind of joking mode that you have once in a while. She said she could not sleep. When one of us dogs cannot sleep, we are let out in the garden for a while. Paula went to make herself an evening snack. That would be a better option for me too, some nights when I cannot sleep. I hope Paula remembers this, so she can give me an evening snack next time I am the one who is too restless to go to sleep. In this case, it would almost be a blessing, not being able to sleep,

As if Nature Was Ironic

Yesterday, I blogged about the return of snow on the ground, and that I liked it. This morning, all of the snow had disappeared again. The temperature was above the freezing point all day and we had rain. This feels ironic. It is as if nature read my blog and wanted to make a joke at my expense, as if nature was ironic. I do wave my tail at the thought of this, it was a little funny.

I hope we will get more snow soon. It is too early for spring and the nights are so long that the white snow is welcome to make them brighter. We will have to see what happens.

Snow

After some days of thaw, snow came back today. This should not surprise anybody, it is just the 1st of February. Spring is still far away. It is dark in the mornings and evenings, but the snow helps, making the surroundings brighter. I like it.

Japanese Stealth Fighter Airplane

Japan has unveiled a stealth fighter airplane, the Mitsubishi X-2. It proves Japan has the knowledge to build a stealth plane, invisible to radar, just like neighbouring Russia and China has already done.

The unveiled airplane is small for a fighter, underpowered and yet unarmed. It is still proof that Japan has the knowledge needed. With this knowledge, Japan could be a partner of an international development of new fighter airplanes more siutable for actual conflicts than the X-2 would be in its present form.

It is reassuring to read that Japan does what it has got to do, to boost its capacity to defend itself against aggressive neighbours. Unfortunately, Japan has neighbours which has an aggressive foreign policy. Japan has to be prepared. The X-2 shows the capacity to be prepared, which is good.

Sweden has a military aircraft company too, Saab. I wonder if Sweden and Saab will develop a modern stealth fighter plane. It could be necessary in order to replace the current Saab JAS 39 Gripen airplanes in the future.

Extra

Hello, Karstuhl here!

When Mommy is away for the weekend, I rule at home, as well as ruling the blog.

Not everybody believes I rule. There are some of the other dogs who do not think I have the authority, so they do more as they please. Granted, I do not quite have the natural authority that Mommy has, but I am in charge of Mommy's blog. If you rule the blog, you rule what news go out from here. If I write that I am a highly benevolent ruler, this is what every blog reader will read. They will not hear the stories from the other dogs. My story is the true story, of course. The others will recognise this, eventually. Then they will accept my authority. It is fun discussing this with the others,  no matter what they say.

Away for the Weekend

This weekend, I am visiting friends of the family. They are considering getting a Shiba. I believe I am quite good at promoting our breed. We will see, the next time we have a puppy litter at home.

Hindersmässan

The last week in January, there is always a big fair in central Örebro. It is called Hindersmässan, Hinder Mass. Hinder is a version of the name Henry, which is celebrated on the 19th of January. The weather is normally very cold on this fair, but not this year. Paula and her sister, mother and nephew visited the fair today. They bought some pastry, this is about the best with the fair.

I am glad I was not at the fair. It is usually crowded in the streets, not an ideal place for a dog of such an ideal but small size as a Shiba. I rather visit central Örebro in the summer, when I can visit one of the restaurants that serve food on the main square Stortorget. Maybe Paula and Daniel will take me there this summer, as they have done before.

Building on the Moon

German scientists are conceiving methods to build settlements on the Moon. They want to use local materials, to avoid shipping so much from Earth. Moon rock and Moon dust may become building material. Solar panels may provide energy, it is easier there than on Earth, because the Moon has hardly any atmosphere. It seems promising. Humans and dogs may very well live on the Moon in the future.

Cuddling

How do I have time to post blog entries, if I cuddle with my humans? I just have to write a short entry very quickly, don't I?

Updates

Sometimes, I borrow Daniel's Ipad to write my blog entries. The apps on the Ipad often needs to be updated. It is almost as common not recognising any improvements on the updated app. It makes you wonder whether all of these updates are really necessary. They are usually free of any costs, so there is no financial harm in them. Still, they occupy the Ipad while the download is made. I wonder whether it would not be better with fewer updates, but larger ones.

I do not think this would make apps which are not updated too old. I update my blog every day, but there is a difference: you can see a tanglble result in my daily blog entry. This makes the update worthwhile. These updates does not take long to download, either. Blog updates are good in that way. I hope my readers like everyone of them. Stay tuned, and there will be more.

Thaw

It is still January, but temperatures above the freezing point. Snow is thawing. I do not like this. It is still so dark in the mornings and afternoons, that the snow is welcome to make the world brighter. I also like running in snow. I can complain about the weather, but we have to take it as it is, because we cannot change it. A little complaint makes me calmer, however, and that is a good thing.

I would have written this blog entry earlier, but I did not keep my eyes on the clock. This is the blog entry for Sunday, but written a couple of minutes after midnight. I do not like it when this happens, but it is as it is. I can only blame myself. This is a problem I can do something about. I will get better at writing blog entries on the right day.

Polls

Polls are interesting for everyone who is interested in human politics. Daniel has politics as his second hobby, after dog breeding. He is happy that the latest poll from Swedish company Sifo shows his party is now the biggest party. I am not that interested in party politics like this, but I am happy for Daniel. He says his party has the best politics for both humans and dogs in Sweden, which sounds promising.

Early Morning

We got up earlier than usual this morning. It was not because Daniel would go away for work, however, but because Paula would go away to take an exam. We did this without company. Not complainingg is a way of mankind things easier for everybody around. What reason do we have to complain over early mornings, when we can go back to sleep after the morning walk? It is worst for our humans. They get up early and stay awake. I am often glad I am a dog and not a human.

Studies

Paula is studying to become a highly specialised nurse. She has an exam tomorrow and will stay up late tonight to make the best of it. This is a way of studying that fits Paula. I am staying up together with Paula, helping her the best I can. As a dog, I feel like this is my duty. It sure is appreciated.

I will not write more than this in the blog tonight. It is more important to devote my time to the help I am giving Paula. We all want her to ace the exam tomorrow.

Another Planet in the Solar System?

American scientists speculate that there is a ninth planet in the Solar System, much farther away from the Sun than the currently known outermost planet Neptune. (Pluto is no longer counted as a planet, as you surely know.) Astronomers are now trying to observe it with their telescopes, aiming them in the directions computed by the scientists. It would be interesting to learn if this planet exists. It is so far away, it will be hard to spot it. It would not be impossible, though. The telescopes are getting constantly better and if you know what to look for, and were, it would be just a matter of time.

Going there would be another matter. Humans have, so far, just visited the Moon, not even the closest other planets. I do not think I will live to see dogs walk the Moon. Still, knowledge of new celestial bodies is always expanding your mind. I hope this planet will soon be seen.

Tuesdays

People often complain about Mondays. It is Tuesday today, and sometimes I think Tuesdays are heavier days than Mondays. We often sleep longer in the weekends, which means we are more rested on Mondays than on Tuesdays. Mondays are more of a start of new, exciting things happening than Tuesdays. Still, there are many days left until next weekend even on a Tuesday, so you cannot look forward to another long, lazy morning very soon.

I do not mean to be whiny. I do not really dislike any day of the week, Tuesdays or not. It is just that if I were to rank the days of the week, I think I like Mondays more than Tuesdays. We can all rank the days as we like, but I think Mondays have an unfairly bad reputation. Maybe this should change. There are good things about Mondays too.

Blogging Dog

Hello, Karstuhl here.

In 2012, Disney Channel started a TV series about a dog who had a blog. The show was called Dog with a Blog. This is much later than my Mommy started her real life dog blog. I wonder if they knew, when they created the TV show?

Diversity of Languages

More and more scientific journals are published exclusively in English. This is bad for diversity, because you think better in your native language and can have a better chance at scientific success if you can be published in a language you know better than English. On the other hand, people around the world are constantly getting better at English, so perhaps this problem will get its own solution. In the future, it may be much more natural for most people having English as an alternative language to their native language.

For my part, I have no problem writing in English, but this is mostly thanks to my Mum being a native English speaker, as she came from the USA. I think there are advantages writing in English, because you can reach more people. I like being able to do that.

I think English will be a dominant language for centuries to come. Then it is good if science is written in English. Still, non English science should not be ignored. It is a balance the editors of the journals have to make.

Repopulation

I read this rather interesting article on saving endangered species, inbreeding, and repopulation of the Earth. It dealt with the question if two humans could repopulate Earth after a global disaster. Science gives some evidence. However, I would have wanted the authors to have written about dogs too. There have been a lot of dog breeding programmes to save endangered dog breeds. Indeed, Shibas were saved after the Second World War thanks to such a programme in Japan. If you want to study the saving of small populations, dog breeding would be the core subject, I would think. It could be that some dog breeds with a small genetic base would gain from being merged to each other. Why did the authors not consider dog breeds? I believe they were ignorant. The article was interesting, nevertheless.

Molly

Hello, Karstuhl here!

My name is actually Polly, though I answer to my nickname Karstuhl as well. Having a nickname ending in stuhl is an honour to dogs.

I read an article about common names amongdogs in Sweden. The most common name for bitches is Molly. Polly was not on thelist. This is good. I would not want to have a common name, I want to be more special than that. Polly is a special name.

Chilly Again

I normally do not complain about cold weather. When temperatures fall to less than 20 below zero, however, I believe anyone is entitled to complain a bit. Dogs of polar breeds, like Samoyeds, can take it without any problem. Shibas, with our origin in Japan, have no problem with regular Swedish winters, but this is a little too chilly for us.

It is not unreasonably cold for being Sweden in January, but it is still cold enough to warrant some complainting. Besides, complaining about cold weather is part of Swedish culture. It is one of the reasons Swedes cope with the cold, I believe. If you can complain, the problem feels easier to overcome. Thus, there is a good thing about complaining.

Christmas Is Over

It is the twentieth day of Christmas, and in Sweden, this means Christmas is over. We have cleaned the house and taken away the Christmas decorations. They will come back by the end of the year, when it is time for Christmas again.

The younger dogs says they cannot wait until next Christmas. I might be more mature, I just think there are so many things to look forward to before next Christmas. There is the period before Easter, when we eat the Swedish specialty semla. There is Easter, with all Easter candy. There is spring, when we start having grilled food. There is summer, the best season of the year, because it is the peak of dog show season. At midsummer, we also celebrate. Throughout the year, we have birthdays too. My own birthday is in September, one of the the greatest days in autumn.

In short, there are many events to be happy about before next Christmas. Next Christmas will surely be great, too, but we do not need to long for it just yet.

Will Peach Succeed?

Once in a while, a new kind of social media app or program gets a lot of attention. Sometimes, the success lingers, as has been the case for Facebook or Twitter. Other solutions are quickly forgotten.

The newest hype may be Peach. It is an app without a lot of menus, you type words that are commands instead. Is Peach the next big thing? Time will tell.

For my part, I am quite content with this blog. I am neither on Facebook, Twitter, nor any other such media. If I want to promote a blog entry there, I ask Daniel or Paula to do it for me, and they do. If Paula and Daniel discovers Peach and tell me it is a good thing, there is a remote chance I will try it. Still, I think I will not. You can still find my thoughts daily on my blog.

Bowie

The news and social media have been full of texts about English musician David Bowie, who passed away today. While a death is always a tragedy, and his influence on popular music is evident, I do not know whether he had any dogs. If he had, I am sorry for them, losing their human. For a dog, her or his human is always the biggest idol. No human could have had David Bowie as a bigger idol than his dogs, if he had any. If there were dogs, I wish them well.

Chinese Attacks on Vietnamese Fishermen

Mainland China seems determined to get bad relations to a lot of its neighbours. It is not at peace with Taiwan, formally claiming its territory. It is claiming the Senkaku Islands, even though they are undisputably Japanese. Now it is harassing and abusing Vietnamese fishermen for fishing in waters that China claims as its own, but no other country accept as Chinese. I wish there could be a peaceful end to these aggressions by China. In a way, I do not think there will be a peaceful end to it, but I can still hope for it, can I not? I just wonder what other means the neighbours have of bringing these policies to an end. China has a strong military force, so war is not an option unless China starts. It better not go that far. Swedish mass media should write more about this, I believe.

Fire

Hello, Karstuhl here!

It might be cold outside, but we have got fire indoors. Paula and Daniel had the fireplace in the loving room remade this autumn, and we now get better heat from it. We enjoy watching the wood burn. Today, we burned an old dog pillow as well. It had become too dirty and torn, so Paula decided to get rid of it. While the pillow had provided us with comfort as long as we had it and laid on it, it also provided is with comfort through the heat we got from it when it died in flames. Do you find this description morbid. Well, a pillow does not really live. It has no feelings, no soul. Do not confuse a pillow with teddy bears, you have to be nice to teddy bears, because they are cute enough that we get feelings for them. Pillows are nice, but they may burn when they get too torn and dirty.

Nice Winter Weather

Hello, Karstuhl here!

We have had nice winter weather today. Earlier in the week, it has been very cold, but the temperature has risen to about - 6 degrees Celsius. We have also received more snow on the ground. It is fun running around in newly fallen snow. This is what winter should be like. If winter was like this all the time, I would think most people would never complain about it. Winter must be the season of the year that most people complain about. More nice winter weather would make for better winter PR. If winter would have a PR staff, they should think about this.

Chilly

Shibas can endure most temperatures. We are built that way, we are survivors. There are, however, temperatures that even we believe would be harsh. There were temperatures below - 40 degrees Celsius in the village Nikkaluokta in Northern Sweden today. This would be harsh. The weather in Örebro was a little chilky in comparison. We had - 19 when we were on our morning walk. It would be more comfortable with a temperature somewhat higher.

Holy Kings

This is the day Christians celebrate the three holy men, often refered to as kings, who came from the east to baby Jesus with gifts. They predicted He would be a great king. They also gave him gifts. It has been said these gifts are the original inspiration for Christmas presents. If this is the case, I wonder why Christmas presents are exchanged much earlier, on Christmas Eve or in some countries on Christmas Day. Is it just that people are impatient and do not want to wait? I ave not heard any other explanation. Perhaps there is an explanation, I might have to look further into this.

Morning Walk in the Morning Light

This time of the year, dawn is late in the morning. This means morning walks are often lit by the street lights. If were lucky, we can see the stars. If we are really lucky, we also have the Moon light.

Daniel has a vacation from work for a couple of days. This means we often sleep until later in the morning. Today, we had a morning walk in broad daylight, despite it being a Tuesday. It was nice, even with the snow all over and cold weather. We can see how late we walk tomorrow morning.

Fatal Accident

An old lady in the small Swedish town Fagersta was hit by a car today, and died.

Paula was hit by a car on the street in our home town in November. She was wounded, but survived, and she is getting better. We are so lucky she made it.

In Stockholm

Paula, Daniel, and I went to Stockholm today. We visited Daniel's parents. It was really nice and I got tasty treats.

I like doing things that are different from your everyday life. While it was sweet just staying at home all day yesterday, going all the way to Stockholm today made for a terrific day as well, but in a different way. I like both kinds of days.

Staying At Home

Today, Paula stayed at home all day. Daniel just left the house for dog walks and for a quick journey to buy some food. I like it when Paula and Daniel are at home this much. It would be nice if they were at home like this more often. We have had a great time, just aocialising in front of a fire in the living room. This is what holidays should be about. I love it.

New Year's Day

It is a good thing the first day of the year is a holiday. This means we can sleep for a long time in the morning, after being awake until midnight to greet the new year.

Some of the others in our family claim I fell asleep before midnight yesterday. Well, sleeping in the sofa in the evening is nothing wrong, I was awake at the midnight hour, when the new year started. Who says you have to be awake the whole evening before that? Sleeping until late in the morning is sweet, nevertheless.