About Me

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Australian philosopher, literary critic, legal scholar, and professional writer. Based in Newcastle, NSW. My latest books are THE TYRANNY OF OPINION: CONFORMITY AND THE FUTURE OF LIBERALISM (2019); AT THE DAWN OF A GREAT TRANSITION: THE QUESTION OF RADICAL ENHANCEMENT (2021); and HOW WE BECAME POST-LIBERAL: THE RISE AND FALL OF TOLERATION (2024).

Thursday, March 21, 2024

Vale, Felix!

This plucky little blog began life almost exactly 18 years ago with a cluster of posts on 26 March 2006 - including one that introduced our (then) young cat Felix (the photo is of my sister, Beverley, on the left; my wife, Jenny; Felix, in Jenny's arms; and Bev's then husband, Ross - taken by me in our house at the time, in Albert Park, Melbourne).



Alas, years have passed, and I'm sad to announce that we finally lost the company of Felix on 16 February 2024. We had to get him put to sleep permanently on that day, as he'd reached a point where life was just too painful and burdensome for him. He'd made it to 18 1/2 years, which is a good innings for a cat, but too many things were going wrong for him. We might have been able to nurse him through a few more months with heroic measures, but he would have been miserable, and Jenny was especially (and correctly) clear that we shouldn't inflict that on him.

Felix was always pampered. In turn, he looked after us, in his way, for a very long time. He always provided happy moments in our day, even in the most otherwise-difficult times that we've faced since we bought him way back in 2005. We won't be replacing him immediately, and the house seems a bit empty at the moment without our little furry critter getting underfoot, wanting to watch TV with us (he could never understand why we'd want to work on our computers when we could watch TV with him), politely asking us for more breakfast/second breakfast/lunch/dinner/second dinner/supper, etc., and generally being loveable.

Vale, Felix!