OK Pilgrims, look alive and hear this: (or maybe . . . should be, "read" this). 1.) Today is a very timely and an unusual day; the second day of the first month of the tenth year, and we see it written like this: 01 02 2010, or to clarify it a bit in a most confusing way, this way: 01 02 20 10. 2.) You may note that the numbers read the same both ways - forwards as well as backwards. Crazy, yes? 3.) Yeah, so what? you say. Well Pilgrim, here's to you and to me too - Click! Now why in the world does Iksnipil Drawde bring this idiocy forward? What in the Sam Hill has this combo of numbers have to do with ferrets? Glad you asked. 4.) Drawde asks for your humoring him in his self-inflicted misery, because he's got a very, very strange mind. And this diatribe is surely indicative of such. 5.) So, here goes. Every now and then, I read of the perplexity in the minds of Frettchen Volk (German words for you folks, meaning ferret people) who, after adopting or buying a ferret reach out to we mustelidious ferret list members and ask for a good name for their little, bright eyed bushie. 6.) Drawde would like very much to offer a system of naming ferrets that is based solidly on some significant meaning, rather than just picking a ferret's name out of a hat, so to speak. Of course, you are free to do as you wish, but nomenclaturing using a clever system may quite well show the world that these Frettchen Volk are pretty sharp ladies and gentlemen. 7.) The prompting for this post on the FML came to Drawde like a flash this morning after his bride of 49 years pulled the pillow off his head and treated me to the epithet, ! ! # % & + =, "get outa bed you lazy Polak!" 8. ) Yes, 48 years ago I learned not to confront a determined Swede, especially after staying up until 4 AM, so I rolled out, planted feet on the floor and swayed down the hallway to the kitchen. Sure smelled good. My Svenska Flicka (Swedish lass) had cooked up a slice of egg nog French toast and coffee. A couple of dribbles of real, honest to goodness Vermont maple syrup on the egg nog toast, and it was total Gloryoski (Polish heaven). 9.) But getting back to the subject at hand, I learned what a palindrome is. No it's not a aerodrome where all your pals are (well, that's possible, isn't it?). Go look it up in the dictionary. It's interesting. 10.) Today is written as shown above, 01 02 20 10. A palindrome. Now forget saying the numbers as numbers, but instead consider naming the numbers, as follows: Ohone Ohtwo TwoOh and Oneoh. So here we have the names of four ferrets that have been palindromed. Neat, eh? 11.) If you prefer, as do I, not to term the number the letter "O" as the number zero, then you'd have these names for four ferrets: 12.) Zeroone, Zerotwo, Twozero, and Onezero. One could pronounce these names like: Zeronie, Zerowtwoo, Twozero, and Oniezeronie. 13.) Hah! when pronounced out loud is sounds like a corporal in the Italian army calling the morning roll call. 14.) Drawde thinks that you will have many opportunities for naming your ferret(s) palindromicly, because there are a number (12) of palindromic dates in the 21st century. They are: 10/02/2001, 01/02/2010, 11/02/2011, 02/20/2020, 12/02/2012, 03/02/2030, 04/02/2040, 05/02/2050, 06/02/2060, 07/02/2070, 08/02/2080, 09/02/2090. 15.) Ain't this fun, yes? Crazy too, maybe. Don't tell anybody yet, please but look closely at the first five letters in the word, PALINdromic, just you add, Sarah, and you'se got the next President of the United States. What'dyah think of that, Pilgrim, eh? Viola tout! (French: There, that is all; that is the whole of it.) Submitted by secret operative, Drawde Iksnipil this date 01022010 Approved in anguish by der Frettchen Fuehrer. Edward Lipinski, at Ferrets North West, (FNW) Mercer Island, State of Washington. FNW produces Freeze Dried Ferret Food, the Only Pre-digested Flesh/veggie, Lyophilized Diet in the World. Free Samples Soon to be Available. Plea for a bit-o-help, please. Could some kind IT soul help me set up my blog. I got it all screwed up with this Facebook association and frankly I don't really know just what the h..l I'm doing!!! [Posted in FML 6566]