Rats and sinking ships

Above our windows, which for some reason are not screened and therefore offer no air flow, we have little ventilation gaps covered with screens. Yesterday, our roommate looked up and saw a rat in the vent-hole, face pushed against the screen, staring in at us. Perhaps this would have been a cute scene if the creature wasn't a rat. I grabbed the feather duster and bopped it in the nose about five times before it ran away.

Only afterward did it occur to me that I should have had Rowan videotape the proceedings. However, I do have this artist's rendering of the creature:
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Over Christmas vacation, two of our coworkers were on a boat that sunk. They survived unscathed, but lost everything they had taken with them: laptop, iPods, cellphones, and most of their clothes. The company reimbursed them for their troubles to the tune of about $300 apiece.

Today, I came across the following article: "Why don't Indonesians know how to swim? Plus, why are their ferries always sinking?" Everyone except our parents should feel free to read the article.