Weekend mew-sings

As usual, the IPKat has a collection of odds and ends for you to ponder over while you enjoy your first weekend of 2007.

Right: the IPKat and Merpel indulge in a spot of pondering

2006 - a good year for the IPKat. For those who just love statistics, the IPKat weblog received a total of 136,654 casual visits in 2006, up 13.9% on visits logged during 2005. That's 374.39 hits a day, or 524.15 per working day (the weblog doesn't get much traffic most Saturdays and Sundays). In addition, by 31 December 2006 the number of subscribers receiving every post by email had reached 693. There are also nearly 200 readers who receive their IPKat via RSS feeds, if the Kat's recent request for reader information is accurate. The Kat says, "thanks, all of you, for taking the trouble to visit". Merpel says, "don't get too complacent - this just means that the vast majority of the world's population still have no idea the IPKat exists".


Bachelor Kat. Being a streetwise feline, the IPKat learned his craft in the (alas, unaccredited) University of Life. But he feels very tempted to go for a degree, having received an email which reads, in relevant part (with original spellings):

"In just as little as 2 *weeks* oyu can have a masters degree from a national university.

A better job, more income and a better life can all be yours in less than 2 weeks.

No oboks to buy, no classes to go to, and no entrance exams.

Learn in your own home at your own pace. We supply all the study materials, all you have to do is apply! Everyone is accepted!

Dial Today +1 (270) 818-7244
Live All The Time".

Above: Cat-and-gown, available from www.cat-tales.com

Tantalised by the meaning of the mysteriously ambiguous message "Live All The Time", the IPKat is considered securing his first degree. Merpel agrees, commending this programme for sparing registrants the need to buy their own obok. Available oboks are difficult to find, even on eBay.


Cocktail patent. Others may have spotted this before, but the IPKat just found it himself: Patent number KR20010070095, published on 7 July 2001, is for

"a method and apparatus for blending drinks, in particular, drinks made with a portion of liquid and a portion of ice, as is often prepared and served in restaurants, cocktail lounges, or the like".

Delightfully, the name of one of the co-inventors is one Richard D. Boozer.