Month: December 2005 Page 1 of 2

Except it's not really rivalry. It's more like an over exuberant mugging than rivalry.

I need some expert and/or knowledgeable cat advice.

First, the players:

Mai-lyn; siamese female; spayed; 16 ¾ years old; she's been with me for 12 years. She weighs about 8, maybe 9 pounds. Mostly toothless, but her claws are sharp. She's a loud, obnoxious, pushy girl who will play with toy mice, but denies it when caught at it.

Pandora; female; spayed; 11 ¾ years old; she's been with Rob since she was a kitten. She weighs about 9 pounds. She's mellow, shy, laid back. Spends a lot of her time lurking in corners, if not outright hiding.

Max; male; neutered; 2 ½ years old; we got him as a kitten. He weighs about 12 pounds. He's cuddly and playful, somewhat destructive, and adores the dog. He also drinks water with his paw, and enjoys being petted with a foot, which is just weird.

Jake; dog; male; neutered; about 5 ½ years old, we got him about 4 years ago. Smart as hell, likes the cats, loves Max and doesn't understand why the other cats snub him.

Mai-lyn and Pandora have been together since Rob & I moved in together – about 6 years. They are not fast friends, but they tolerate each other relatively well. There's the occasional spat, but it's usually just growling and hissing, no actual fighting. Mostly they ignore each other. They also both tolerate the dog. Not to actually allow near them, of course, but they allow him floor space.

The problem is that Max is tormenting the hell out of the girls. He attacks them constantly – I think it's just roughhousing, playing, but I'm really not sure. We find minor scabs on all three, head and neck, but there's never been any real bloodshed – just the occasional tuft of fur floating around. Lately, it seems that Pan and Mai-lyn have been getting jumped more and more often, and more roughly as well. I've heard body slams and thumps from upstairs, and Mai-lyn or Pan yowling and snarling. I've seen it as well, and near as I can tell Max is the instigator, and the girls are Greatly Displeased about the whole thing. It's getting so that Pandora doesn't come out much from behind the entertainment center, and Mai-lyn has been walking more stiffly than usual – I'm afraid that they could get hurt, if they aren't already. Besides that, Pan has diabetes, which currently is under control with special food, but this kind of stress can't be helping much.

Yelling at Max does zero good. He'll just take off, then when we're not looking he's back at it. He never holds a grudge, either – just pretty much ignores us.

I really, really, really don't want to get rid of Max. Just thinking about having to do that is making me cry. But both of our girls are seniors and deserve some peace. Today, I got fed up with it and locked Max in the library. All day. It's not that bad, that's where one litter box is, there's a water dish in there, a sofa and a window sill. He was fine. The part that breaks my heart is how relaxed the other cats were – Pan came up for petting, and both settled in on the couch with me.

I've thought about getting another kitten, maybe a 1 year old. Best case, Max and the kitten wear each other out. Worst case, they both gang up on the seniors – I can't take that risk.

I'm at a loss. Any suggestions (that don't include a cat fricassee recipe) are more than welcome.

OK, so I was/am addicted to Animal Crossing on the GameCube. I got the DS version for Giftmas, and I'm enjoying it just as much.

So any of y'all playing it? Here's my AC friend code:

Code:      3909-0647-5330
Town:      Jenville (yeah, real original – I know.)
Name:      Jen (again w/ the originality!)
Native fruit:    Oranges

Town info here!

Anyway, I can't play wireless just yet. We need a new wireless router, so that the main one can use WPA security, and my little “Jen has to have her DS wireless play” router with only WEP can be on only when I'm playing. It's possible we'll get one tomorrow.

[edit: wireless is a GO!]

That's it for gaming blather for now. My next post (which will hopefully be up later tonight, if not, tomorrow) will be a desperate plea for help.

Inspired by ' post here – Christmas Day (well, early evening) in Austin, TX.

	Back Yard Christmas Day Taken about 5pm, on a perfectly clear, cloudless day. Jake in the backyard.
	Front Yard Christmas Day Temperature outside was about 80° F.
	Trees against the cloudless sky

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So got me Guitar Hero for giftmas.

It's got great songs – brings me back to my hard rock highschool days. I was rockin' to Smoke on the Water – doing pretty good too, up until the solo, where I completely fell apart. I think this is going to be a really fun game.

He said he got it for me because I kept waffling on it. It's true, I probably wouldn't have bought it for myself, but I'm really enjoying it – so I'm glad he got it for me.

I also scored Nintendogs Dachshund & Friends, Animal Crossing (DS) and some anime – Bubblegum Crisis vol 1 & 2, Mobile Fighter G Gundam vol 1 & 2, and Cowboy Bebop.

Just finished watching A Charlie Brown Christmas, and It's A Wonderful Life. I love that movie, it's so sappy and gets me all teared up at the end.

I don't think I watched it last year, so it was definitely time. But you know, there's one thing that bothers me about it. Mary got her wish – at the expense of every single one of George's dreams and ambitions. That really disturbs me.

Grinch next! Both old, and new. Whee!

Nazareth Carpenter Being Held On Charges Involving Underage Mother

Bethlehem, Judea – Authorities were today alerted by a concerned citizen who
noticed a family living in a barn. Upon arrival, Family Protective Service
personnel, accompanied by police, took into protective care an infant child
named Jesus, who had been wrapped in strips of cloth and placed in a feeding
trough by his 14-year old mother, Mary of Nazareth.

During the confrontation, a man identified as Joseph, also of Nazareth,
attempted to stop the social workers. Joseph, aided by several local
shepherds and some unidentified foreigners, tried to forestall efforts to
take the child, but were restrained by the police.

Also being held for questioning are three foreigners who allege to be wise
men from an eastern country. The INS and Homeland Security officials are
seeking information about these who may be in the country illegally. A
source with the INS states that they had no passports, but were in
possession of gold and other possibly illegal substances. They resisted
arrest saying that they had been warned by God to avoid officials in
Jerusalem and to return quickly to their own country. The chemical
substances in their possession will be tested.

The owner of the barn is also being held for questioning. The manager
Bethlehem Inn faces possible revocation of his license for violating health
and safety regulations by allowing people to stay in the stable. Civil
authorities are also investigating the zoning violations involved in
maintaining livestock in a commercially-zoned district.

The location of the minor child will not be released, and the prospect for a
quick resolution to this case is doubtful. Asked about when Jesus would be
returned to his mother, a Child Protective Service spokesperson said, “The
father is middle-aged and the mother definitely underage. We are checking
with officials in Nazareth to determine what their legal relationship is.

Joseph has admitted taking Mary from her home in Nazareth because of a
census requirement. However, because she was obviously pregnant when they
left, investigators are looking into other reasons for their departure.
Joseph is being held without bond on charges of molestation, kidnapping,
child endangerment, and statutory rape.

Mary was taken to the Bethlehem General Hospital where she is being examined
by doctors. Charges may also be filed against her for endangerment. She will
also undergo psychiatric evaluation because of her claim that she is a
virgin and that the child is from God.

The director of the psychiatric wing said, “I don't profess to have the
right to tell people what to believe, but when their beliefs adversely
affect the safety and well-being of others – in this case her child – we
must consider her a danger to others. The unidentified drugs at the scene
didn't help her case, but I'm confidant that with the proper therapy
regiment we can get her back on her feet.”

A spokesperson for the governor's office said, “Who knows what was going
through their heads? But regardless, their treatment of the child was
inexcusable, and the involvement of these others frightening. There is much
we don't know about this case, but for the sake of the child and the public,
you can be assured that we will pursue this matter to the end.”

Ugh. Madonna' s version of Santa Baby is grating. Although it did make me dive for iTunes and pick up Eartha Kitt's version.

I'm just posting to show off my new icon.

I really need to learn how to use gimp better. Especially adding text.

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I'm moving from pc to pc today and my real comics page is broken for IE.

Works fine in Firefox. Add firefox sidebar from this page.

Yesterday was a normal Sunday: Laundry, games, web surfing, movies – mostly vegetation.

So we were in the process of said vegatating, when the Beast began honking in the driveway. Both of us were dressed, more or less, so we grabbed my keys and ran out to see what was going on. Now, the Beast has a factory installed anti-theft thing. It's not super sensitive; you can shake the truck pretty hard and it won't go off. We didn't see anyone around, no damage, nothing suspicious at all. So we shrugged it off and went back inside.

A bit later, when the current load of laundry was done, I transfered the wet clothes into the dryer. Lo and behold, in the bottom of the washer was 's key fob, which, of course, controls the car locks and alarm. It had broken off of his key ring a few months ago, and apparently was left in his pants when I washed them.

We tested it out, and it appeared to work. Ok, mystery solved.

Time passes.

2:30 am. We're sound asleep, with a cat or two curled up next to us and the dog on the floor.

Outside the Beast honks once. Pause. Honks again. Pause. Pause. Honks again, a couple of times.

Apparently, the electronic key is beginning to dry off. We frantically search for it, and after it's located we remove the battery. The inside of the thing is pretty yucky. We'll let it dry out and try it, but I'm guessing it'll be better to just buy a new one, since he can't put it on his key ring anyway.

This was funnier in my head.