I'm very disapointed in SHOWME.MISSOURI.EDU. I just realized today I had not recieved the last few FMLs; in fact, I've probably only recieved maybe 25% of all my mail for the last few days based on a quick inquiry to some of my frequent posters. Assume you email went to the same places the FMLs went--ether heaven. As for the FMLs, I just did the send ferret thingie. I discussed this with my server friends, and I was told it was one of the problems they've been working on and they hope it is fixed by the weekend. They have *NO* idea if I'll get the mail late or if it is lost forever. I'm about ready to invest in an outside server, but from what I hear, the local ones are no vast improvement. It sounds to me that they've made the plumbing too complicated. In other news, last night I rescued a wonderful 4 or 5 year old MF male named Poncho. Poncho has been a solitary ferret since removed from the pet store at a few months old, and I have just started teaching him about being a ferret. He does not know how to play, but he doesn't bite either, unless you count the piercing I recieved when he thought my hand was Carbone. Easy mistake. Poncho has never seen a vet, which is a very good indication he has never recieved rabies or distemper shots; something that will change today when he gets to met a vet for the first time. Health wise, he is in very good shape; he was fed a farily good quality kitten food. He is not fat, and is actually as well muscled as most, considering he only got out of the cage infrequently. The only thing I could find wrong was a slightly chipped canine, probably from a cage battle. His interaction skills with people are fine; he sat on my lap for three hours last night, but then, he was totally freaked by the other ferret smells. Do you know how *wide* a ferret's eyes can open when they are freaked? He is a light brown sable with a pink nose and tiny freckles near the nose and is a male dead-ringer for my Nosette. I think he needs a home with fewer ferrets than my own. I am confident Poncho can be acclimatized to other ferrets (which I am currently doing), but, stress-wise, it is probably better if he is in a home with only a few ferrets until he learns the rules. Since I am a firm believer in permanent placements, if I send him out, it will be for good. So if anyone in the Missouri area really wants to work with a ferret suffering from solitary-confinement-itis, they have just a few ferrets in the home, and are willing to keep this monkey for the duration, let me know. Oh yes, I'm a deep believer in the dignity of names, so you will have to agree not to change his name from Poncho; he has already lost home and family, he deserves his name. This is not a situation where the name is not known. I readily admit its anthropomorphic, but I believe arbitrary name changes place the individual into the category of "object" rather than "individual," and the person who insists on those name changes is demonstrating power and ownership over objects in their possession no matter how well it is justified. I don't own ferrets, I am a caregiver, and names are sacred to the respect and dignity of the individual. This is such an ingrained part of human culture that a universal insult is calling someone by a name other than their own; remember how you felt when a teacher or salesman couldn't get your name right? From a behavioral point of view, this poor guy has been thrust into a new world against his will, and its confusing enough without having to learn a new name. I simply feel demonstrations of power and ownership are contraindicated in a ferret with the emotional needs caused by displacement and adoption. If I don't hear something soon, then it will be: Bob C and 21 MO Buttbiters. [Posted in FML issue 2223]