Even if that's the next thing in the phone book. I would like to inform my last caller (Pvt. Number; what an odd surname!) of the purpose of those dots in the telephone directory. They're present to guide your eye from the name to the number.

Mikes is an odd surname, though. I believe I'm the only listed Mikes in Alberta, and one of about twenty in all of Canada. The name is Hungarian, originally, and it's pronounced "mik'-esh" in that language. Neither of my parents had that name when they were born, so how we wound up with it is a story in itself. But that's for another time.

Of course there is no shortage of Michaels, and they often open eponymous businesses: Mike's Garage, Mike's Bar. Mike's Storage is not one I've been called about before.

It makes it hard to get a vanity domain name, let me tell you. Way back in 1994, mikes.com was already registered to a Mike's Garage somewhere; now it's Mike's Web Design. Then mikes.org and mikes.net went, and even smikes.org is taken (by a St. Michael's school), though smikes.com is still free. I guess sammikes.com and samuelmikes.com are still free.

But sambal is better, I think.

Somehow, even though it's -20C, birds have returned to our neighborhood. A swarm of jay-like birds has been on our property today. They roost in the weeping birch (now totally nude of leaves) and madly fly in circles, singly and in flocks. Occasionally one bangs into the kitchen window.

The cats are very excited. "Stupid birds!" they think, noses plastered to the window. "Stupid mating birds! Perhaps we can cull them!"