Cat Toys

I've spent a modest amount of a lot of money on cat toys over the years. One of my favorites was the plastic rod with a nylon cord on the end, and a little connector at the end that allowed you to put various lures on the end. When I first saw that one, I knew it was The Toy to End All Toys. I bought it and a couple of different lures, knowing that when she got tired of one, I'd just change them out and have a fresh toy!

I've had that toy for three cats now. And every single one of them liked/likes it best when I take the lure off and slide the connector up out of the way, so they could play with the plain string.

I finally gave up and removed the connector. Just like the kid ignoring the expensive toy and playing with the box, they want "Da String!"

So just get yourself some kind of flexible rod about three feet long, and attach a similar length of cord to it. That's all you need to drive your cat crazy keep your cat exercised.

Meatloaf Cat

I've had several pets in my years. One of the most -- memorable -- was Morticia. Pure black semi-longhair. Just a couple of white hairs on her chest, all the rest dead black. Named for Morticia Addams. Indoor cat, all my cats are always indoor cats.

I call her the meatloaf cat because she was a meatloaf. If there was a lap, she'd be in it. Provided the person met her standards. (I should have listened when I brought home a lady Tish wouldn't put up with. Tish was right.) She was also the silly putty cat. You could try to put her out of your lap, but she'd be back in it in the time it took you to put your hands down and start to get up. As if your hands had passed right through her.

I had a nice little yard, with a secure fence, and on really nice days I liked to sit on the porch reading. I'd leave the front door open so Tish could come outside and explore if she wanted to. I watched her very closely until I was sure she had no interest in leaving the yard.

But I didn't realize just how much of an indoor cat she was until the day I saw her get up from where she'd been laying in the grass, trot into the house, use her litter box, then trot back outside!


I guess she didn't realize she could do that outside.

eBooks

I'm an avid reader. I can't even remember learning to read. The first book I remember reading is "The Skylark of Space" by E. E. "Doc" Smith. My parents always had a large library, and the ONLY books I was prohibited from reading were "the ones on this shelf. When you are tall enough to reach them standing FLAT-FOOTED on the floor, then you may read them." (Turned out they were the "How to raise kids" type books. Very disappointing.)

So I have ALWAYS been an avid reader. I always had at least one recreational book with me all the way through school, and throughout my adult life.

In 1982 I purchased my first PDA (a Palm 105) and discovered eBooks.

The joy of being able to carry several books, to read anywhere and anywhen i want, and the ease of holding it in one hand made me an instant fan.

I still read paperbacks, too, but only if I can't get it in an electronic version, cheaper than the hardcopy.

Which brings me to my question for eBook publishers: Why are you charging me just as much for the eBook as you do for a hardcopy?!?!

You have NO print costs, minimal publishing and distribution costs, and you NEVER get stuck with an overrun of a book that wasn't as popular as you thought it would be.

But do you pass some of that savings on to your readers?

NoooOOOOOooooo.

Greedy bastards.

Psycho . . . Kitty version

I live alone. Just me and Miss Kitty.

A couple of days ago, I was in the shower, shampooing my hair. I've got both hands on top of my head, working up a good lather when Something. Touched. My Hand.

After the mandatory couple of seconds of complete and total panic, I look up and Miss Kitty is on the top of the shower door rail. She had batted at my hand, same as we often do at the top of her cat perch.

And as soon I looked up, she said "MEOW?!" ("Breakfast?")

"You know," I said, "I had other plans for that dozen or so heartbeats, like using them slowly, one at a time, not all at once!!!"

"(Breakfast?)"

She's a brat.

Note to self . . .

When the cat's claws need trimming, do NOT drag her string toy directly over my own bare foot.

Pardon me while I go get a band-aid . . . .

The word is "DEVASTATED"!

NOT "decimated". "Decimate" means "to kill 1 in 10". It does NOT mean "destroyed".

When you mean "large amounts of ruin or destruction", the word is devastated.

"Nawlins" was devastated, not decimated. Get it right.


Yeah, that's one of my triggers . . . .

Quit trying to help me with my tax burden!

You won't see much political stuff here, because for the most part I ignore it as much as I can. This does, once in while, cause me harm. Case in point:

I don't worry a whole lot about the details on my weekly paycheck. I know how much I need out of each one to pay the bills, and the rest is "fun money". My hours also vary from week to week, and consequently, so does the specific amount of the check.

So, although I noticed that my check seemed to be a it larger since about April, I didn't think about it too much.

My bad.

I just found out a couple weeks ago that that was the "tax relief" plan of reducing Federal Withholding across the board. Not the tax rate, just the withholding. So they're taking out less for taxes, thus putting more money in my pocket. But I'm going to owe just as much as normal come tax time. I just won't have as much already withheld to pay it with.

On top of that, my wife passed last year, so next year I'll be filing Single, not Married. Meaning my taxes will be even higher.


This is NOT the kind of "Tax Relief" I need!!!

Two can live as cheap as one . . .

Yeah, right.

Nowadays, even ONE can't live as cheap as one.

Being Prepared

I picked up the Preparedness Bug about a month ago.

I now have:

72 hours plus of food and water for me and my cat.

A Get Home Bag in my trunk.

A telescoping ladder so I can get out of my second-story apartment from the balcony.

The beginnings of a Get Out Bag if I should have to leave my apartment with little or no warning.

72 hours was EASY for a single person. (But now it's 96 hours, and even that's only a minimum.)

You're NOT a good driver if . . . .

Something like 75% of men claim to be above-average drivers. (If you can't see the problem with that, go back to school!)

Trust me, you are not even a "good" driver, much less "above average", if . . .

You can't see my back tires. I don't care if we're stopped or rolling, if you can't see where my back tires touch the road, YOU'RE TOO FRICKIN' CLOSE!

You have to use your brakes to avoid bumping into the car in front of you that you were catching up to. Did it occur to you to maybe TAKE YOUR FOOT OFF THE FRICKIN' GAS PEDAL?!

You have to use your brakes in ordinary, non-rush hour freeway traffic. Period. If you had to use your brakes and it ain't rush hour, and nobody else just did something stupid, you were NOT paying enough attention to traffic.

You aren't looking ahead of the car in front of you, or the patch of road in front of you, or you haven't looked in your rear-view mirror since you hit the freeway. If you don't have any idea what's going on ahead of and behind you, you're just a collision looking for a location.

You didn't turn your head and check your corner for other vehicles before moving over. I don't care HOW certain you are that it's clear, if you didn't actually look and confirm it, you are a CRAP driver.

You're on the phone with ANYONE other than 911. Hands-free or not, the conversation itself makes you a worse driver than drinking.

You're riding your motorcycle down that nice dark stripe down the middle of the lane. You know what that stripe is? It's OIL, you moron, that dripped off all the cars that drive that lane. Get off of it!!!

You had even ONE drink before you got behind the wheel. Okay, you may well be an above-average driver when you're sober, and one drink may not make you an unsafe driver, but it DID reduce your ability. You are no longer as good a driver as you were.

You aren't wearing your seatbelt. Or anyone in your vehicle is not properly restrained. You are responsible for the safety of everyone in your vehicle. I don't care how many "would have died if they'd been wearing their belt" stories you can dig up, seatbelts save thousands more lives than they take. Play the odds, or you're stupid.

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My own little corner, for venting frustration, relieving stress, and maybe even being funny occasionally.