Late Day Curly

The Curlybeast enjoying the early spring weather. What a life.
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Duskbloggin'

The sky is smiling down upon us, this evening.

rorschach had an incredible job interview, today, and I feel things turning around for him. For me. For all of us.

Keep the faith!
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Covering The Head In Deference To Religious Fanatics

Oops.
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Do Not Open Until 06/06/06

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For Those of You Needing Cute Dog Pix

... here's one that ought to fill the bill.

(h/t to Brittney Gilbert)
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It Wouldn't Be Thursday

... without a li'l bit o' Curly to tide one over.

I'll be back later in the day -- meeting the landlord for some consultin' around noon.
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Another Close Call

I know I'm on a caffeine-fueled Curly Parade, today... but given that I may be away from the 'puter for the next couple of days, hanging out downtown, you might thank me, later. ;)

Here's the scene: Curly is curled up, feline-fetal position, on the back of the mossy green couch. I'm sitting here at the 'puter, applying for another job. The balcony door is open -- it's about 68F out, today -- and I hear the slightest of sounds on the balcony.

That sound? The sound of a bird, alighting on the railing.

Immediately upon hearing that sound, I glanced over, and saw a dark, furry streak shoot across the 8' of floor between the couch and the open door. In all, i'd say it was 0.2 seconds from the time I heard the sound, to the time I saw another cloud of feathers.

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Split Screen Catnip Frenzy!

Top: Tongue at the ready, Curly prepares to molest the catnip sock.

Bottom: Curly molests the catnip sock!

Yeah, they're blurry, but he moves fast on that catnip. Of course, by the time I had the GL-1 ready, he was disinterested in the catnip sock (par for the course).
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Home Today

My pre-paid phone (which you paid for, and will help me in the job search) is supposed to arrive today, and I didn't want UPS to fail to leave it, as they'll likely want a signature. So I've spent most of the morning catching up on e-mails, and personally thanking all of you who forestalled my impending homelessness for at least another 60 days. I'm sorry it's taken so long, folx -- but between the day-long bus trips and the neighbor's reluctance to leave his condo, I've been lucky to get in an hour a day, online for the past week or so. Thank you for your patience, and of course, for your overwhelming generosity.

And, of course, there is Curly (here, sunning himself on the balcony, which now gets several hours of morning sun!):

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Yes, We Have No Bananas

... but always. +3h Curly, have we! Here, we have Curly, staring intently at the end of the ridiculously long nylon braided cord thingy, trying to plan his next pouncing session.
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Sunny Sunday

... presented on Tuesday. :)

Heads down, replying to e-mails today.
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Monday Curly

SitRep: Nothing too terribly new to report, other than I'm still trying to catch up on all my e-mails, which is proving to be tricky, given that my neighbor's been around an awfully lot more than usual. He unplugs the cable modem if he sees the blinkies going on. His girlfriend doesn't notice/care.

Getting to know the MTA bus system pretty well, though.

I did order a pre-paid cell phone, tonight, just to make the job acquisition effort a little easier.

I ♥ you all -- keep checking back for updates, please.
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Sunday's Last Curly

I swear, I can get that wrist-strap on the flashy-thing, yes I can!
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But Seriously...

... how do you think a non-management, non-degreed guy gets to sit in with the Board of Directors of a Fortune 100 company?

I love how the flash obscured the babe-a-licious CIO's photo, here. ;) I helped her buy her first books from Amazon, back in the day. *sigh*

Okay, I'm done!
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Don't Try This At Home

May result in blindness.

When the cat won't look at you, do not reach the camera out in front of said cat, turn camera around to face you and him, and trip the shutter. It just doesn't work.
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Expand-O-Curly

Closer to the truth, y'see... but the camera adds ten pounds, so they say.
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A New Perch

Small spaces, oh yeah -- that's the ticket. This is a large, oak audio/video cabinet that I've pressed into service as a bookshelf/videotape storage unit (I've long since sold all my tweaky Adcom audio gear, etc.).

Speaking of Curly and enclosed spaces, I have to remind myself to immediately shut all closet doors, etc. One day, after not noticing Curly being under foot for some time, I found him crying and scratching at the inside of the bathroom closet door. Yep, I'd come home from the store, toilet paper in tow, and must've left the door open just long enough for him to slip in for an expedition. Fortunately, he wasn't in there for much more than an hour, maybe.
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I'm Right Behind Him

Despite nine hours of (somewhat interrupted) sleep, I'm fading, again, too. Unfortunately, I don't have a tail to put in my face, to keep my nose warm.
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"... as long as I'm the dictator."

"There can be no liberty where the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person, or body of magistrates..."
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Tongue!

He must've had some tasty beverage right before he shot up on the impossibly narrow back of the crazy green checkerboard chair. Of course, the shutter never falls when the tongue is fully extended -- just like I can never get a shot of him yawning (or, if I do, it's so blurry, I can only delete it).
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Flu-ish Friday Cat Blogging

The lovely and talented Echidne of the Snakes sent me this beautiful card (along with a generous check), titled, "The Cat and Mouse in Partnership from the Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm, 1909," by Arthur Rackham.

I just wanted to share this with everyone, and again thank Echidne and everyone for what can only be termed a true outpouring of gererosity, encouragement and counsel this week. I'll be in touch with each of you, hopefully this weekend.

Right now, I'm huddled in front of the notebook, with the ceramic heater going full blast, fighting off flu-like shivers. However, I'm probably heading back to bed ASAP.
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Checkin' In

Another brief brief (which is not, to say, a brief on my briefs)... :)

But again, first and foremost, for the faithful -- Curly!

It's colder than a welldigger's ass here in Gnashvegas, and given that, I decided to not do the walk to the bus stop this morning to check into the SSDI thang, today. Well, that, and the fact that I think I'm coming down with something -- probably just a cold, but there are chills and aches, too, so it may be a touch of the flu.

Anywhoo... the network connection's been down all day -- and I'll again apologize for not staying in touch as I would normally do (and more importantly, for not contacting all of you individually with my thanks), in spite of the fact there wasn't much to be done about it today. The limited amount of time I have been online the last few days has been in communicating with various agencies via e-mail, and applying for work. I'm following the advice of a social worker firned of mine who works in Columbus, OH, who says I need to try to break out of my usual routine until I can get some of these more pressing issues resolved. However, I think I'm making progress on a number of fronts.

The good news: I do qualify for food assistance, and should be getting a debit-type card in the mail any day, now. I've typically been able to get by shopping at Aldi for about $12/week, and I qualify for a minimum of $120/month in food assistance, so this will be a vast expansion of my food resources. Also, Catholic Charities, and a couple of other faith-based organizations now have my résumé and skill set on file, and are shopping me to their clients for employment, and all sounded pretty positive about my chances, there. It also seems likely that I can at least initially arrange to benefit from a ride-sharing program, should I get a job through one of these agencies. One agency even offered to pay for a haircut and clothing, should I need those prior to going to an interview.

The bad news: Housing resources are scarce in the area, and waiting lists are long, long, long... and single guys are low on the priority list, of course. Looks like faith-based programs may be the only avenue, there, should I not be able to find work. However, thanks to your incredible generosity, I expect to be able to stay where I am until May 19th, at a minimum, even if I am unable to find work... perhaps longer, depending on what else I can manage to sell.

The TennCare folks were less than clear about my chances for getting any treatment options, again referring me to a handful of faith-based charities for the time being, and telling me that my application for benefits would be "under review," and that I'd be getting more info through the mail.

More good news: Linda (Princess' human) gave me a ton of canned goods and other food, as she was clearing out her condo to move to Florida. I wrote her a note of thanks for the PC, and explained my situation, letting her know that the PC and (especially) the printer (as mine has no black ink!) would enable me to make up some more paper résumés. The next morning, there were two huge trash bags full of food items on my doorstep. My pantry is full of all kinds of goodies, right now... soups, veggies, pasta dishes. Unfortunately, she'd already left for Florida when I saw this, so I wasn't able to thank her for that. I'm glad that I was able to use her printer to print out a couple of photos of Princess, to include with my note -- I hope they'll be stuck to a 'fridge in Florida, shortly. Curly and I are both sad that we'll not be seeing Princess again, anytime soon.

Thank you again for looking in on me -- ♥ to you all!
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Blessed

Just a quick update -- but, first, t3h Curly!


I've talked with DHS and a couple of the other agencies, and found out what kind of documentation I need to bring in for them to evaluate my eligibility for the various programs. Unfortunately, not all of them are located in the same physical location, but I'll deal with that. I've found most of what they need, and fortunately, can now produce the rest*. I had an encouraging exchange with a nice lady at Catholic Charities, regarding their chances of helping to find me some employment -- she said they generally don't have "so much to work with" regarding job skills, etc., so she felt my chances of finding something through them would be very good. I'm pretty psyched by that!

It's a bit rough doing these calls on a pay phone, but it's better than not being able to get in touch, at all. I've got the bus schedule for my area, too -- I was going to simply drive downtown, but I had an close police encounter yesterday morning just driving to the pay phone (about a mile from the condo), and got paranoid about it, and decided I'd better not take the chance. I'd rather sell the car than have it impounded (and subsequently auctioned, since I'd not be able to pay to have it released).

The one drawback to using the bus: My area is basically serviced twice in the morning, and twice in the evening, timed around typical rush hour times (which makes sense, I suppose), so whatever trips I need to make downtown will be an all-day affair. I'll pack a lunch. ;) It's about a mile walk to the nearest stop, but fortunately, my legs work well. :)

Anyway, y'all have donated enough to keep me afloat for maybe two months, and I'm completely overwhelmed -- I've saved every e-mail, and labeled it @ Gmail with the label "loans," so regardless of how you feel about your generosity, I hope you'll allow me to pay you back as soon as I'm able. It's a self-esteem thang, I suppose... and I know I have a lot of work ahead of me (and a landlord to consider, primarily), but in the meantime, I at least owe you an accounting of what I'm doing to improve my condition, and that is what I will try to do, for now. I get such valuable feedback and informational (as well as all the other forms of) support from this community, it'd be foolish not to do so, regardless of privacy concerns.

* Karma keeps giving -- some of you might recall my comment at Eschaton about the computer chair outside my door the other day. Well, that was, as I suspected, a gift from Princess' human, my neighbor Linda, who's moving to Ft. Walton Beach, FL, this week. Today, she also gave me an Emachines Celeron 1.7GHz desktop system, complete with Canon printer (which will allow me to print my bank statements -- my bank doesn't do paper statements on free checking accounts anymore, except by request, and they charge for them, of course). She mentioned this the other day, and I told her I'd take it, but I figured it was probably a boat anchor that I might be able to scavenge some parts from. She said it has a bad modem; I told her I could easily replace that for her (in fact, I'm sure I have one), but she doesn't want to take it to Florida with her -- says her boyfriend has a nice 'puter, and she'll just use his, anyway. I told her a pawn shop ought to give her $100 for it, at least, but she said if I didn't take it, she was putting it in the dumpster, so... I am so blessed. If my DVD burner will work with this PC, I'll at least be able to send a Curly DVD to everyone who's helped me out this week. :)

♥ to all of you, again.

UPDATE: Regarding SSDI, I've always been led to believe that applications for such under the heading of "depression" are universally rejected, and lead to years upon years of legal wrangling that leave the recipient (after legal fees) with a fraction of their benefit. Thoughts? Experiences?
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It's The Depression, Stupid

Yeah, I know. I need help, and have only in the last couple of days accepted that fact.

I hate to talk about this topic, probably because I hate to be anymore vulnerable than I already perceive myself to be... and, I don't want to think of this as an excuse or a justification for anything that's gone wrong in my life, 'cause I want to believe that I'm better/stronger/smarter that all that. Like the character in Joni Mitchell's song, "Coyote," I'm "wrestling with my great big ego," right now.

Depression's like that, I suppose.

I can't help but think about those kids who have an older sibling fighting today, in this insane war, without reason -- my own difficulties began in early 1970, when I was six. My brother, who had just turned eighteen, had joined the Army National Guard. Just weeks after he'd completed basic training, the shootings at Kent State occurred. I didn't understand that he wouldn't be going to Vietnam; I didn't realize (nor could any adult assure me) that he wouldn't have to kill American kids on some college campus. I couldn't sleep, and would often be up half the night, vomiting, worrying that my brother would not be coming home. Irrational fears, perhaps, but a six year old can't really differentiate to that degree.

It had to be stressful on my parents -- my new stepmom, in particular. Dad was on the road 4-5 days every week, covering his territory as a regional sales rep for a large upholstered furniture manufacturer. So, my family doctor -- the man who delivered me, actually -- prescribed some type of anti-anxiety/sedative, to help me sleep. I still remember the ritual -- I don't know what the drug was, but it was a thin syrup, that looked like limeade, with a bunch of time-release balls, suspended within, that had to be refrigerated, and shaken vigorously before administering it, and it tasted horrible. I was always permitted a couple of crackers and some water, afterward, just to get the taste out of my mouth. I remember that taste as if I'd swallowed the foul stuff only yesterday. Apparently, it was pretty effective treatment -- I did great in school throughout my grade school years, and I don't remember when I stopped taking this medication, but it was well before my teen years.

More tomorrow; I really have to sleep.
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Improving, But Tired

I'm a bit worn down by my interactions with The Machine, but things are looking up. I'll try to post something substantive in the next 24 hours, but right now, I think I just need to go to bed.

Here's some Curly for ya, though -- thanks for lookin' in on me. :)

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Emoverload

I'm overwhelmed by everyone's responses and support. The landlord has a check-in-hand, and isn't asking me to leave, so you -- yes, you -- have averted this crisis.

I'm purposely trying to stay away from the 'puter today, so I can get my Monday morning gameplan together (with a head full of cotton wool, that's not so easy), but I hope y'all understand how grateful I am, and I do hope to e-mail each and every one of you in coming weeks with my personal thanks.

I ♥ you all. And tonight, I leave you with a photo of the one thing I still know I can do well.

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Life, As I Know It

Tough times, indeed. I've had regular paycheck-gettin' work for only two months out of the last 33. I've burned through my retirement, lost my healthcare coverage, my home, and now, I can't help but wonder if I'm not losing my dignity. Still, I persist.

My landlord's been a great friend -- he even hired me to help him do several months' work on another property he owns, last year, and that took care of a large part of what I owed him in rent, at the time. He didn't have to do that. The fact remains: He needs to be paid -- and Curly and I need a place to stay, if we're to stay together, anyway.

My online friends have been so generous, and I feel not only indebted to them, but a burden to them, as well. I don't want to be a burden on anyone -- not to my landlord, not to the readers of this blog, not to anyone.

So, tonight, I set aside any notion of pride I might have, and I ask for your help, in the following, in order, can you:

1.) Help me find a job in Nashville -- any job. I'm technically adept, and a quick learner -- I've worked with Internet technology since 1989. I love helping people solve technical problems, and I'm pretty good at it. I'll gladly send you a résumé; just e-mail me at the address in the top lefthand corner of the blog. In the two months I was working recently, and earning $12/hour (as a phone sales rep for Dell), I was able to pay down my debt to my landlord at a satisfactory rate, and still live simply, and quite happily. Even at less than that, I think he and I could work out a situation where I might not have to fear becoming homeless, so any help, recommendations or inroads you might have would be most appreciated.

2.) Buy an ad at PoliticalBlogWar.com -- I know it doesn't seem like much, but even a small ad is a lot more than you think. Every ad sold is encouragement for others to buy an ad, and that helps more than it may seem, at first glance.

3.) Click the "Feed Curly" button, above, and give what you can. Honestly, your money's likely to go first and foremost to paying my rent, but I assure you that Curly and I cannot stay together if I can't provide a roof over his furry li'l head.

Thank you for your attention, concern and support.

Yours,

-Jeff
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Gettin' A Catnip Fix

There he goes again... with the needle, and the spoooooooooon...

Dang -- forgot to turn off the flash. Sorry!
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Priorities, People!

Mining industry fines

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Obscenity fines

Yep -- simulated orgies on primetime = $3.6 million. Issues that threaten the lives and safety of coal miners? $5,000. I guess life really does begin at conception and end at birth for some of these fuckwits.
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Check Out Those Blades!

I'll cut you, m*therf*cker!

Curly's having fun, stalking the catnip sock, which is tied to the impossibly long bit of nylon braided cord.

It's really not possible to go wrong with a cat and a piece of string, y'know?
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Non-Haloscan-Dependent Open Thread

For anyone who's tired of getting fifty-blue-million different errors trying to comment at Eschaton, tonight.

UPDATE: My bad -- apparently my notebook had some issue, and a quick reboot took care of it.
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What A Day

Not only do we get Snakes On A Plane, but also Thers & NYMary are proud new parents, again -- this time, to Sean Patrick -- who had the good sense to come out on his own... on St. Patty's Day, even.

And, Dave J. sent me the screen cap I've been wanting for at least a week. :) -->
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What It Would Look Like

... if you were pettin' Curly. Except that you probably have prettier hands. Unless, of course, you are Sarah Jessica Parker.
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Ear Lovin'

Pinched pinnae pasta salad!

Completely Contented Curly-Q.
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Take Me To The River

The Cumberland River, just west of my place.
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Eyes On Birdie

Curly employs a laser-like focus on winged beasties, below.
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Dark Lanterns

Some of you may remember these from a daytime shot. Now, I'll be the first to admit that the Canon Powershot A410 is not much of a low-light camera, but the illumination depicted here is not far from the mark.

I think they "glow" like this for maybe an hour, tops.
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Go Back Inside!

You're scaring off all the birds!

Nice, nice day -- about 62F outside, just over 70F inside. I'm enjoying a cold SNPA, poured into a pint glass (which is the only way to enjoy SNPA, y'know), thanks to and at the urging of the incomparable Sallyh.

Cheers!
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PSA To Busy Americans

Re: The NSA scandal.

It's NOT about whether we should spy on suspected terrorists. It never has been about whether we should spy on suspected terrorists -- we should, and we do.

It IS about spying, though. Doing so legally.

Do you know why that's important?

Because, the one and only law that covers this type of spying ensures that there is oversight -- judicial oversight. That's important so we don't have an Executive branch that decides it's okay to spy on political rivals, journalists and activists, without challenge.

We used to have such an Executive, and that one and only law, FISA, was enacted precisely because of that chapter in our recent history.

Why else is it important to conduct spying in a legal manner? Well, as many are learning, regarding the Z. Moussaoui sentencing, when law enforcement officials don't follow the law themselves, judges often discard evidence and testimony that may have otherwise led to a prosecutorial victory.

Now, think about that, for a minute.

Then, count up the actual number of terrorism convictions our Department of Justice has racked up since September 11, 2001.

The only thing we, as a people have to decide about the NSA scandal, is this: Are we a nation of laws, or of men?
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Shot In The Face!

... and you're to blame
You give flash photography a bad name!
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Another Curly Photo

Blogger sucks. I've been trying to post this photo for over two hours. Finally went the brute-force route.
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Mad(ly) Purring Beast

Recent recipient of a whole-beast massage, Curly strikes his "hide the fat" centerfold pose. This one's for Sallyh, Curly's best buddy outside the condo.
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This Feline Life

Don't you wish you could spend a rainy Monday like this? Sprawled out on the back of a couch, without a worry in the world?

Okay, batten down the hatches -- it's coming.
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Curly's Got A Brand New String

I have NO idea why I have this, but it looks like a leash for a hamster, or a tiny dog that would have to be scraped off the bottom of one's shoe. I found it while looking for some goodies to sell on craigslist. Curly's been overjoyed by this new toy.
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Purple Flower Bloggin'

Nope, I have no idea what it is -- I ain't no flowerologist! All I know is that it's just outside, and it's bright. :)
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Curly's got a new friend this morning. Below, we see him greeting his new friend to the neighborhood.

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Trick Or Treat

Smell my feet
Give me something good to eat

I think maybe he had an itch.
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T3h Ho++!

Yes, it's damn near sweltering in the condo, tonight! But hey, I can take it -- this is my kind o' weather.

NYMary is in labor -- congrats to her and Thers, and here's to a quick, painless and trouble-free warp core ejection... er, birth.
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Bye Bye Princess

Linda tells me she's moving to Ft. Walton Beach, Florida, ASAP... so today's a sad day.

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One Small Pawprint For Cat

... one giant leap for feline-kind!

I claim this pinecone for all cats, everywhere!
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Dreamscape

I was building web sites, and working with two different clients. One was a guy in a band; the other, I can't recall. Anyway, I leave the second client's, stop by a friend's (who, btw, lives hundreds of miles from here), who's listening to some gawdawful music (which in real life, he also does), and telling me about this computer script he's written called "fuck you." He decides to go along with me on the call to see the band guy. We go there -- along the way, I'm trying to remember how to get there, never quite pinning it down, but in that dreamstate of liquid, shifting, transposed locations, we do eventually arrive. We're looking for band photos for scanning. He hands me this huge, fat packet of photos -- must have thousands of photos in it -- and they're not sorted in any sense. Family photos, everything -- one huge, unorganized mess. He points out a photo of him with his departed sister. Then, he tells us about this dude's answering machine we have to call and hear the message -- it was really funny, and outrageously partisan in nature, but of course, I don't remember what it said. Then, dude's father comes in, as dude is rolling a phattie, and excuses himself for interrupting. I want to talk to the father, and a long discussion takes place centering around the father's dead daughter, who, as we later find out, I reveal to him is my half-sister, and I'm pissed at him and my mom for never having told me about her. I never got to meet her, even! WTF? The whole time, I'm playing with candle wax, one piece of which turns into a perfect, small rectangular piece of beveled glass, as I'm molding it in my fingers.

Then, the alarm goes off, I'm awake.
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Heh

A local blogger (whose post I was alerted to by the aggregator at NashvilleIsTalking) had a post up titled something along the lines of "Frist To Hold Meeting With Media." I read that originally as "Frist To Hold Meeting With Mafia," and yet, I was unfazed.
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What's Curly Doing Now?

Yep. He's had enough for one day.

Of course, he'll be up again in an hour or two, crying to go out on the balcony.
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A Bit O' Friday Curly

What are you lookin' at?

So... what are your big plans for the weekend?
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Catnip Sock, Pt. III

Here he is, pretty much done with the catnip sock -- as I am posting blurry photos of Curly rubbing his face on the catnip sock.

Funny how that works. :)
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Catnip Sock, Pt. II

No, he's not sleeping -- again, he's crammin' his face into the catnip sock, with as much force as his li'l kitty muscles will allow.

It's just so cute.
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Catnip Sock

Trying to take a natural-light photo indoors with the Canon Powershot A410 is a bit like shooting pool with a golf club -- it can be done, but not all that well. :-/ Maybe if I had time to slap it up on the tripod, etc., but Curly's a very time-sensitive subject, y'know.

Here, we see Curly vigorously rubbing his face all over his catnip sock, which is something he very rarely does. He's more of a "chipper" than an addict. :) But yesterday, he was really goin' to town on this thang.

Local reader Soprano supplied the catnip, which she grew, if I recall correctly. She gave it to me last summer, and I've stored it in the freezer to keep it fresh.
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So...!

What's the over/under on Delay in the Texas primaries, today?
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More String Catching

Curly the red-nosed tabby
Had a very fuzzy nose
And if you ever saw it
He would nibble on your toes
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