Ancient Roman Coins Found in Japan

At an archaeological excavation by a Japanese castle, four old coins believed to be from the Roman empire has been found. The research is still going on, nothing about this find has yet been published in a scientific journal. It still looks like the coins have been lying in the ground in Japan for many centuries. If the coins have reached Japan in ancient times, it must be a fantastic discovery. Imagine the trade, this long ago, from Southern Europe to Japan. It will be nice to know what the researchers settle as the probable year for the arrival of these coins to Japan.

Raining Cats and Dogs

We had some short, heavy rain showers today. It was the kind of showers where people say it is "raining cats and dogs". This is metaphorical, of course, otherwise I would feel sorry for the falling dogs.

Not Telling Much

In some cultures, not telling much is a good thing. The Japanese culture is one such cukture. It is Japanese being a little bit of an enigma. Today, I read this interesting article about a friendship in Japan where not much was said.

Shibas also tend to be a little enigmatic. We are Japanese.

Close, but No Hit

A rock about a kilometre wide just passed by Earth. It passed at a distance of 1.8 million kilometres. This may sound like a huge distance, but it is close by astronomical measurements. It is called 2014 JO 25. The first designation stands for the year of discovery, if I remember correctly.

I am glad the rock passed Earth. It would have been a disaster, if it would have hit our planet. A lot of dogs and humans would certainly have died, the rest would have been affected in other, negative ways. We all have to hope rocks like this passes Earth, as long as we do not have the means ready to push them off course.

Dish Washer

Our dish washer does not work properly. Daniel has tried to figure out what is wrong, but have not succeeded. He had to wash the dishes by hand instead. I guess we have to ask for professional help. It is just that neither of us really likes to bring in people from the outside, even though we need their services. It would have been better, if Daniel could have fixed the problem. The main thing is that it will get taken care of, however. I guess this will have to happen. So be it.

Benefits of Daydreaming

Humans these days often turn to their mobile phones or other devices connected to the Internet, whenever they have a spare moment. This may be a bad habit. It may be much better to et your thoughts wander, to let your mind rest, to dayderam a little.

Dogs daydream a lot. We have no bad habits of looking at mobile phones, but use them very little. I also know Daniel usually daydream, when we go on walks. I suppose this is good for him. More people should probably daydream more often. It makes you more creative, which is good.

Go ahead, let your mind free! Daydream just a little bit more. You will get a healthier, less stressed mind, I am certain of this. Dogs do this, it makes us feel good.

It Will Be Interesting

The Formula 1 season of 2017 will be interesting. For the first time in years, there are two car manufacturers who are actually racing for the victories. Apart from Mercedes, which has dominated the last three years, Ferrari is also competitive. Sebastian Vettel and his Ferrari has now won two out of the three races so far. This is good, it makes for a much more interesting sport. We like it.

Good Friday

We made this a boring day. It is supposed to be, in reminicense of the torments and the execusion of Jesus. Still, we got minced meat for food, which was tasty. Everything does not have to feel bad on Good Friday. It was enough that winter came back, with cold winds and a lot of snow. I hope spring will be resurected on Easter Day. It would be fitting.

Could Scotland Join Canada?

It seems like a far fetched idea, but when the idea was made public a couple of days ago, many Scots and Canadians liked it: if Scotland would leave the United Kingdom, it could join Canada instead. Scotland would then become the eleventh province of Canada. It would still have the same Queen, since the UK and Canada shares Queen.

It is an intriguing idea, but I do believe it is not very likely.

I guess the Scottish Kennel Club might join the Canadian Kennel Club, if this would become true.

Having a Cold

Daniel has a cold. He has been at home today, but at his computer, working. Having a cold does not stop him from working, it is just that he does not want to spread the viruses unnecessarily to work mates.

Having Daniel at home to spend time with us dogs is the best. He does not do this, when he is working. This is still much better than when he is away at work. In some ways, I wish he would get colds more often, sitting at home to work.

Brighter

It is daylight outdoors on the morning walk as well as on the evening walk these days. It is still fairly cold, but I like the light. Some of the days of January even had temperatures like we had today, just a few degrees above the freezing point. It will be warmer further on, though. I am looking forward to summer.

Late Service

There are days when our humans are busy. Days like this, they may be late in serving food to us dogs. This was the case today. Paula and Daniel was away on a meeting in the evening. They came back home around nine o'clock, and it was not until then we got food. Serving food to your dogs is among the most important things you have to do each day, if not the single most important thing. We did get food, anyway. We never have to worry about that.

Dog Casualty

In the terror attack in central Stockholm last Friday, four humans and one dog died. There are memorials for all of them now. I am glad the dog is commemorated, just like the humans are. It is also commendable that there are news papers writing about this. Casualties of wars are not only humans, but also dogs and other animals. It is important to describe this, to make a fuller picture of what has happened. Dogs are family members and important individuals in the civilisation.

Saturday

We are just taking it easy. It is Saturday and weekend. Life is good.

Feeling Well Again

Gunde is feeling well again. He says we had not had to worry about him. He is a true Shiba, eager not to whine, not to look like he is feeling bad. I did worry a little about him, anyway. I am glad he is feeling well again.

Now I will go to sleep rather early. Daniel is off to the train early tomorrow morning, so we will have an early morning walk. I and the other dogs can go back to sleep afterwards. Daniel may, perhaps, have a chance to sleep a little on the train. I do not envy him.

Feeling Bad

We were worried about Gunde today. He felt sick this morning. None of us knew what was the matter with him. It is always worse not to know, than to know, even though Gunde was not very ill.

By the evening, Gunde was feeling well again. He thinks it was just some temporary sickness due to indigestion. This can happen to anybody. If he is still in his usual, happy mode tomorrow morning, I will be sure he is all right. Then I do not have to worry anymore. I hope this will be the case.

Tacos

We had tacos for dinner tonight. Some people say tacos is a dish best served on Fridays. Thus, it would not fit serving it on a Tuesday, like today. I do not agree. There is no long term tradition of eating tacos at all in Sweden. It is tasty, and with no real tradition, why not just eat it any day you want to? I liked our tacos of today.

Landslide

There has been a huge landslide in Mocoa in the south of Colombia, killing many people and devastating houses and other things. It is not in the city where Paula and her sister were born, but we are still concerned, because it is their original home country.

As always, I have been searching in vain for news about dogs killed or dogs losing their humans.

Officials in Colombia have promised aid to rebuild the town. I guess this is necessary.

No New Name or Flag

No, F.Y.R. Macedonia will not change its names and flags. This was just my April's Fools joke of this year. I guess the difference of opinion on the name between this republic and Greece, with their provice of the same name, will go on. It seens silky, really. Why not just make up another, similar name? Well, I am lucky I am not in charge of trying to solve the problem, anyway.

I am glad that I reached a lot of readers, anyway. The statistics say more than two hundred readers have opened up this blog entry. I like that. Thank you!

F.Y.R. Macedonia Changes Names and Flags

The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia will change its names and flags.

The country has been in constant conflict with its southern neighbour Greece over the name. There is a province in the north of Greece called Macedonia, and the Greeks claim they have the historical right to the name. This is why the country Macedonia is formally known as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and not just Republic of Macedonia.

The Macedonians are tired of this, for obvious reasons. This is why they have now decided to change names for their country. The new name is similar to the old one, but different enough to make the Greeks happy. The new name will be Macdonaldsia. It will take effect on the 1 April 2017.

The new name will be accompanied by a new flag as well. The new flag reflects the new name. Another advantage of the new name, is that Macdonaldsia will be the very first country with an international corporation as a sponsor: McDonald's. This will not even pose a problem in the Olympic Games, since McDonald's is also a long time sponsor of the Games.

This is the new flag: