See you in 2010!
Well, it's Christmas at last, and from the sound of you all on Twitter your cards are sent, and your presents wrapped. It's been great hearing all your cries of delight recently, as your poor postmen and women have struggled with packages through the snowy weather!
Hope those of you who have time off over the festive season get everything you wish for, and those who are working have more fun than you might be expecting. We've published the dates we're working over the holidays, so if you find yourself in the office, you might well have company here in the UK, or over with the MOO Crew in the US.
We've had a great few weeks spotting unique gifts and ideas created with MOO, here's a few of our favourites:
A tetrabox advent calendar, by Bcome
Also by Bcome, this lovely looking memory game, complete with a great pattern on the back:
This super-cute Mosaic Frame, created by thisiswoly. Filled with 20 Minicards, it features the beautiful baby Sarah.
These wonderful looking alphabet game cards, by taraghb, which look like they were as fun to make as they will be to use!
And last but not least, look at this! another entry into our MiniCard Gift Box competition! Created by emusing-emma, it's really bought an extra flutter of Christmas cheer into MOO Towers. We love his little sledge!
Fancy joining in the fun? Closing date for entries to our competition is midnight PST 28th December 2009. Why not grab some festive paper, and see what you can do! More competition details can be found right here.
And now all that remains for me to say is a Very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from everyone at MOO!
welcome to another edition of 'this is cool but i have no idea what it is.' i found this little guy on the wall above our fishtank last week. from a distance, it looked a little like Trite planiceps - similar size; vaguely similar shape; large, dark front legs. but on closer inspection the abdomen, which is relatively larger and a different shape, looks flufflier and has a beautiful grass-green stripe running down the middle. the front legs also appear a bit different and the jaws are shorter and more bulbous. so for now, i will tentatively say 'Trite sp.' ... i have sent a few draglines out into the nz spider world to see if anyone can name this beastie for me, and if they do, i'll update it here.
in the meantime, hope you enjoy the pics - s/he was very friendly and even came in for a much closer look at me a few times (see videos at the end - sorry for the low quality, i've misplaced my better video camera for the moment).
Well, the last order dates for the holidays have passed, and Santa's final sacks of festive MOOs are filling up fast. We're still taking new orders though, and we'll be shipping them out as fast as we can - so don't hesitate to order thank you cards for all your lovely pressies!
Just so you know, here's our warehouse and customer service closure dates over the holiday season.
Thursday 24th December - LIMITED HOURS: we'll be shipping orders in the morning, but going home in the afternoon to wrap presents.
Friday 25th December - CLOSED : we'll be at home feasting on mince pies and turkey.
Monday 28th December - UK CLOSED: we'll be buying new trousers to fit our expanded waistlines!! (please note this is a UK Holiday only).
Tuesday 29th December - OPEN: business as usual.
Wednesday 30th December - OPEN: business as usual.
Thursday 31st December - OPEN: business as usual.
Friday 1st January - CLOSED : we'll be trying out our New Year resolutions and nursing hangovers.
Monday 4th January - OPEN: that's it, holidays over, back to work!
It's also important to note that our StickerBook turnaround in the UK is severely delayed over the holidays. Any orders placed after the 20th December will not be dispatched until the week of the 4th January.
That's all for now - Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the MOO Warehouse Crew!
i've been saving this one since september, partly waiting for the right moment and partly because i find i still have mixed feelings about it...
i bought a dead spider.
i normally give dead arthropod curios a wide berth, because i don't know where they came from, and i don't like the idea of collecting bugs just to stick in resin so someone can look at them on a shelf and go 'oooooh.' (or 'eeeew.') but in a moment of weakness at the camden markets (induced by hunger and the unbelievable throng of other people milling around), i ducked into a stall full of many-leggers encased in all manner of resins. there were tiny scorpion cell-phone charms, large hairy spiders flattened and framed, curled centipedes inside necklace pendants, brilliant iridescent beetles inside heavy paperweights. part of me couldn't help going 'oooooh' (and yes, i appreciate the irony), but i planned to get out empty-handed as i edged along a row of necklaces toward the shop entrance. the shop assistant approached me and asked if i were looking for anything in particular, and i mumbled in what i hoped were fairly unintelligible tones that i didn't see any spider necklaces, so i'd just be on my way...
semi-unfortunately, the guy had eagle ears and brightened immediately. 'wait right there,' he said. thinking myself immune to the (snort) charms of encapsulated spiders, but a little curious, i did wait to see what he had in mind.
and there she was.
luckily for my conscience, it appears that Gasteracantha cancriformis is a common enough beastie and rather widely distributed, although it is not, in fact, found in china (where he thought it came from). i know it could easily have turned out that this was something rare, and i certainly don't intend to make a habit of it. but... look at the amazing spines (hence the common name 'thorny orb-weaver' or 'spiny-backed orb-weaver'). she's so beautiful. and i promise to take good care of her and use her to further the cause of spider-kind whenever she attracts attention.
swoon.
i've been back for two weeks, so this is getting slightly ridiculous, but here are the next photo installments from the cruise:
sealog 5 (equator party)
sealog 6 (more cool squid)
more sea & sky
adopted by a gannet
sealog 7 (Vampyroteuthis infernalis!)
the first green flash
US traffic policeman has turned his duties into a spectacularly choreographed dance routine.
The Daily Mail reports for Tony Lepore, directing traffic is no mere routine - it's a dance routine.
The 62-year-old spins on his heels, drops to his knees, falls back on his hands and springs back upright, thepaper reports.
