Animals Notes on anime, games & creatures

Journal

Why dogs howl at sirens—and what Metal Gear Solid adds
Why do dogs howl at sirens? The short answer is that a wailing emergency signal is loud, unusual and rich in changing frequencies. Dogs hear a wider range of…
The arvo my rabbit nearly crashed my blog
For the better part of two years, I've been running a personal blog out of a home office in Brisbane that doubles as a very unofficial rabbit sanctuary.…
Building a cat tree that doubles as a router stand
A cluttered living room often suffers from the same two problems: nowhere to put the internet box, and a cat that has decided the bookshelf, the curtain, or…
Finding Your Pixel Perfect Pet Match For Australian Gamers
Personality quizzes have a peculiar grip on the internet, and gamers are hardly immune to their charm. Whether picking your Stardew Valley spouse or deciding…
Why Cats See the Vacuum as a Survival Horror Final Boss
Most Australian cat owners know the moment: the second the vacuum emerges from the hall cupboard, the cat vanishes behind the couch like a streamer dodging a…
When the Code Goes Blank and the Puppy Goes Wild
It was a Tuesday afternoon in Brisbane when a small Border Collie mix named Pixel decided her keyboard needed a rinse. Simultaneously, an undefined index…
Ghibli Spirits and Aussie Critters: Mythical Beasts Meet Real Exotic Pets
Looking at the fantastical menagerie of Studio Ghibli films, it is easy to see why so many viewers wish they could keep a small piece of that magic at home.…
Writing a Blog Post While a Dog Demands Belly Rubs
Writing a blog post while a dog is demanding belly rubs is a special kind of chaos. The cursor blinks. The dog sighs. You reach down for a quick scratch and…
That Arvo My Pet Adoption Blog Crashed the Whole Server
It was a stinking hot Tuesday in Sydney, the kind where the bitumen outside your front door nearly melts the thongs off your feet. I had just refilled my…
Why Do Fish Glow in the Dark: Science and the RPG Glitch Aesthetic
Off the coast of Eden, on the southern NSW shoreline, divers sometimes report flickering sparks in the water column on summer nights. The local spectacle is…