Cats are the coolest animals on the planet. Yes, that statement is rife with conjecture and straight up personal opinion—based on personal pet preference. But they really are amazing creatures.

Cats have their own laundry or body soap solution, and can wash themselves in all areas except the one area Moms used to nag about—behind the ears…at the nape of the neck. Oh, and they can be picked up (with teeth!) by that nape of the neck, without ever flinching or griping or calling out in pain.

Cats don’t hassle or pounce, relentlessly, when you enter a room. They have little interest in your command performance attention—the quality and quantity of which had better be delivered, according to their mortal foes, dogs, or you’ll get a face full of slobber, a front full of mudprints, or a shove to the ground because the dog thinks he’s a lapdog when he is, in fact, a Rhodesian Wolfhound weighing in at over a 100 pounds.

Cats are so intuitive they know when you need them. That is, if you are weeping, depressed, lonely, or ill, they will first stare at you for a minute, likely picking up which vibe it is they need to address, and then will come close. This is not hyperbole or conjecture on my part. Numerous studies have been done to indicate that pets in general but especially cats have been introduced into high-stress people’s homes and hospital wards—and the illnesses decreased, the stress levels reduced, and the feeling of well-being returned to degrees of something around 15% improvement.

I mentioned that cats stare. Yeah, this is one I still am trying to figure out. They will position themselves in statuesque stillness, focus on one spot, thing, or you (shudder), and with unblinking, undeterred pose will penetrate whatever (or whomever) it is they stare at. I have paid close attention to this particular behavior on many an occasion, and can only see not a bored soul just watching the air molecules move about but a profoundly knowing being…whose eyes, when you look deeply into them, reveal eras and ages of reincarnated mystique, reveal the origin of their many dimensioned essences.

I may be interpreting this because I know the cat’s history. Or know what others know thus far. Cats were a revered animal in Egypt. They were found buried in the tombs and sarcophagi of the royalty. They were reportedly so esteemed that a person was caught harming a cat that person was executed. (Wish we had held onto this one archaic law, especially when I see how cats are sold in markets for food in some countries, or how cats are tortured by cults or kids with nothing better to do and no more brain cells than to set a now defenseless domesticated creature on fire. Makes me very angry, actually.)

And back to the physical wonderment of cats…that whole hairball thing, while at first may be disgusting or may seem pitiful (I always go into apoplectic sympathy mode as the cat looks at me to shut me up so she can be sick), is really fascinating (and makes sense). The cat is licking her hair every day and night, many times. She is of course collecting the fallout. In her gut. She then, on scheduled intervals of time, hunkers, hacks, and hawks until the perfectly bundled thing is expelled. And then she begins the cycle all over again.

Cats have (students and professors at Cornell studied) 100 different vocalizations. My favorite is the rrow-rrow-rrow one as if my cuddly baby is chirping with giddy delight. (It is happy, it is friendly, and it is a greeting. It is also an expectation—of goodies.)

I am really not all that intellectual about cats, though I do acknowledge a deep respect for and kind of metaphysical fascination with cats. So I am always learning something new, coming to understand their biological imperatives—that they wash immediately after eating (or after you eat, even) so they don’t (their cells recall this from jungle days eons back) appear as food or prey. Duh. I didn’t think of that. They scratch and claw stuff not only to sharpen their claws. They do so to leave scent for those competitors (in our case, the raccoons) that might even think about approaching for a nice warm bed, lots of healthy food, much smooshy affection, and the occasional starefest. Which still kinda creeps me out.

After Landing at The Cheltenham and Gloucester Airport around midday in our Piper PA-28, we handed over the controls to John who gives her a quick once over as well as sorting out the refuelling ready for our return journey later on in the day.

We rushed through to the terminal building in under five minutes, the staff here I must say are fantastic and very helpful. We needed a Cheltenham Taxi booking to pick us up asap to drive us to St. Georges street in central Cheltenham where our meeting was due in less than an hour. The receptionist gladly booked the cab for us as Taxi’s tend not to wait at this airport due to its small size and location, which is about half way between Gloucester City and Cheltenham Town.

From memory, most of Cheltenham Taxis tend to be a bit on the old side to say the least, but when our vehicle turned up it was clear to see this was probably the pride of the fleet, well as far as it goes when it comes to Taxis in Cheltenham anyway! Luckily there was little traffic on the roads and our journey into the town centre hassle free, we arrived 30 minutes early for our meeting.

All went to plan and the shop in Beechwood Shopping Centre is ours from the start of the new year, after a quick refurbishment when the present tenant vacates the premises in December. Not sure if Cheltenham is ready for such a large Phone Shop and will have to wait and see how the competition take it when they hear the new shop is going ahead.

Anyway, there was no need for a Taxi back to the Airport, as our new business partner drove us back in her new Merc, sure it’s just because she wanted to get out of the office for an hour or so though!

Initially, the IPod Nano may look a little daunting; this is most especially if you’ve browsed through a lot of the articles intended for its evaluation. Its size did not become a hindrance for Apple to integrate many new features. However, you have to remember that the iPod Nano is still a member of the iPod family and it offers the same user-friendliness that most of these gadgets have. Although it has been revamped and is packaged like it is a different player altogether, it still has the same feel that you get with your past iPods. The only difference is that it is extremely cooler!

Are you a total “dumbo” in the gadgets’ department, specifically in players? Fret not because no matter how new you are to this whole thing or even a complete stranger in being a music enthusiast, the IPod Nano’s layout is so idiot-proof, manageable and well-ordered that the minute you start using it, you will perfectly feel at home right away.

Ipod Nano is most definitely more trouble-free to operate. It has an interface that will stare at you and walk with you in your “getting to know you process” with the Nano. We haven’t even started at the fact that holding it is probably the most convenient thing that you’ll ever do. You don’t even need the backlight due to the amazing illumination of the very vivid and colorful 16-bit, 172 by 132 pixel color display. You want more? You can even browse through your photos while listening to your music, hassle-free. Thin is definitely good with the iPod Nano, it looks better and it fits the user better. It is one of the most well-crafted and well-designed gadgets of all time!

Let us look at its software interface. The iPod Nano, as said in the earlier paragraphs generally has the same feel and look, as other iPod gadgets. It has a menu that may be customized and the standard Music, Photos, Shuffle, Settings and Now Playing fields. A stopwatch and a screen lock have been brilliantly added to the package. It is the epitome of ease especially with its practical interface items like podcasts and audiobooks, a wonderful color screen and an inviting Click Wheel.