Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Mmmmm, Toasty!
I just went out to look at the sunset; the Cave Creek complex fire has left a huge plume of purple smoke over the northwest Valley, turning the last rays of the sun into an odd shade of pink where it strikes the walls. Here in the east the smoke is still smellable, but at least we've got clear sky overhead. Reminds me of the fire they had out in the Globe area eight or so years ago. The smoke from that one totally filled the Valley, blotting out the sun completely for several days. I was working in a closed area fairly deep in the bowels of the plant, but the entire place still smelled like barbeque.
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Omega's biopsy came back negative for everything, which is good because it means he doesn't have cancer, but we don't know what is his problem. We can't go on indefinitely with me giving him anti-nausea injections and him eating little dabs of baby food.
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In answer to Keith's comment on my last post, Concertino will be held in Worcester, MA. You can find more info here. Sorta. (The website for 2006 is still under construction.)
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I just went out to look at the sunset; the Cave Creek complex fire has left a huge plume of purple smoke over the northwest Valley, turning the last rays of the sun into an odd shade of pink where it strikes the walls. Here in the east the smoke is still smellable, but at least we've got clear sky overhead. Reminds me of the fire they had out in the Globe area eight or so years ago. The smoke from that one totally filled the Valley, blotting out the sun completely for several days. I was working in a closed area fairly deep in the bowels of the plant, but the entire place still smelled like barbeque.
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Omega's biopsy came back negative for everything, which is good because it means he doesn't have cancer, but we don't know what is his problem. We can't go on indefinitely with me giving him anti-nausea injections and him eating little dabs of baby food.
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In answer to Keith's comment on my last post, Concertino will be held in Worcester, MA. You can find more info here. Sorta. (The website for 2006 is still under construction.)
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Sunday, June 26, 2005
Now the official announcement has been made at Contata, I guess I can make the announcement here:
June next year I will be going to Concertino, the northeast filk convention in Massechusetts, as Interfilk guest! Nick contacted me on Monday, and it was one of those out-of-the-blue things; I didn't even know I was on the short list.
For those not familiar, Interfilk is a non-profit organization that sponsors guests at filk conventions, the emphasis being on bringing artists to distant conventions that they wouldn't otherwise be able to attend. This will, in fact, be my first trip of any kind to New England (I don't think Baltimore counts) and I'm hoping to be able to go out a few days early and see some sights.
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Omega is back home, eating baby food and keeping it down, which is an unimagineable relief. He's even feeling well enough to be a pest again. At 2:30 in the morning. Biopsy results will be back sometime this coming week, though if he can't take the medicine without ralfing I don't see that it makes much difference what he has.
2 comments
June next year I will be going to Concertino, the northeast filk convention in Massechusetts, as Interfilk guest! Nick contacted me on Monday, and it was one of those out-of-the-blue things; I didn't even know I was on the short list.
For those not familiar, Interfilk is a non-profit organization that sponsors guests at filk conventions, the emphasis being on bringing artists to distant conventions that they wouldn't otherwise be able to attend. This will, in fact, be my first trip of any kind to New England (I don't think Baltimore counts) and I'm hoping to be able to go out a few days early and see some sights.
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Omega is back home, eating baby food and keeping it down, which is an unimagineable relief. He's even feeling well enough to be a pest again. At 2:30 in the morning. Biopsy results will be back sometime this coming week, though if he can't take the medicine without ralfing I don't see that it makes much difference what he has.
2 comments
Friday, June 24, 2005
Gah!
Not one, but two reporters on 12 News last night repeatedly referred to wildfires "sparked by thunder". What, the noise panicked the trees so badly they burst into flames? Where do they get these people?
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Omega is home and being a grump.
1 comments
Not one, but two reporters on 12 News last night repeatedly referred to wildfires "sparked by thunder". What, the noise panicked the trees so badly they burst into flames? Where do they get these people?
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Omega is home and being a grump.
1 comments
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
When you walk through a storm, hold your head up high /
And get smacked in the face with a branch
Did anyone see the Solstice moon that was supposed to be so spectacular? Here in Phoenix a ton of clouds had rolled in by evening, and turned black and boiling after sunset, so I was only able to see a little bit of moon peeping through about bedtime. No rain in my part of town, but the wind at least dislodged the roll of TP stuck in the top of my palm tree.
We'd had an informal team dinner up at the Tortilla Factory, pretty good food. While we were gathering in the bar beforehand, the customer-side contracts manager informed me of a four-day meeting in Minneapolis next week that had materialized out of nowhere and he wanted me at. I spoke with my PM after dinner and he told me not to worry about it. Talk about hideous timing.
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Omega is doing much better at the emergency clinic; I went in for a visit this morning and he was remarkably cheerful, considering his right front leg up to the elbow was wrapped in turquoise gauze to keep the catheter in for his IV fluids. Peaseblossom meanwhile is having conniptions; all day in the house alone with no-one to hiss at.
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And get smacked in the face with a branch
Did anyone see the Solstice moon that was supposed to be so spectacular? Here in Phoenix a ton of clouds had rolled in by evening, and turned black and boiling after sunset, so I was only able to see a little bit of moon peeping through about bedtime. No rain in my part of town, but the wind at least dislodged the roll of TP stuck in the top of my palm tree.
We'd had an informal team dinner up at the Tortilla Factory, pretty good food. While we were gathering in the bar beforehand, the customer-side contracts manager informed me of a four-day meeting in Minneapolis next week that had materialized out of nowhere and he wanted me at. I spoke with my PM after dinner and he told me not to worry about it. Talk about hideous timing.
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Omega is doing much better at the emergency clinic; I went in for a visit this morning and he was remarkably cheerful, considering his right front leg up to the elbow was wrapped in turquoise gauze to keep the catheter in for his IV fluids. Peaseblossom meanwhile is having conniptions; all day in the house alone with no-one to hiss at.
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Monday, June 20, 2005
On Friday I found myself sitting in the waiting room at the dealership all morning while they figured out what was making the strange noise. Not too bad by itself, since I had a book to read; but the TV was tuned to some Fox News channel that kept running the same three stories over and over, while somehow managing to avoid any semblence of depth. One of the stories was the disappearance of the young woman in Aruba. The anchor expressed surprise bordering on outrage that the Aruban government didn't want a foreign law enforcement agency taking over the investigation. Soon after, some "expert" (on what, I don't know, since I wasn't looking at the TV) made an extraordinary rant about how Americans should stay in America because the whole Carribean is a lawless hellhole worse than the Black Hole of Calcutta.
OK, now I've travelled a bit, both in the U.S. and out. Apart from Canada, the "out" has mostly been in the past few years, now that I can afford it. For the most part my friends and co-workers have been encouraging - at least pretending to be interested when I drag out the photos from my latest trip - but there are occasions when some of my more conservative colleagues pop up with scare stories. These tend to fall into three categories:
1. Out-of-date information. Example: bringing up Shining Path when I mentioned my trip to Peru last year. Shining Path was a terrorist organization active in Peru in the 80's and pretty much wiped out in the early 90's.
2. Inaccurate information. "Don't dive the Great Barrier Reef because of shark attacks." I did a bit of research on this one, and there are some real dangers in the GBR. Primarily from small, annoyed venemous creatures. There are also parts of Australia where great white attacks happen. They're nowhere near the GBR.
3. Stuff that could happen in any big American city, like, I dunno, Phoenix? Yes, it's sad that someone went to Timbuktu and was shot for their money. They could just as easily have gone to the corner 7-11 and been shot for their money. Hey, I live in a flight path. I could stay in bed the rest of my life and still have a plane fall on me.
None of this is to say that there aren't dangers and inconveniences in travellin abroad. But there's a happy medium between thinking the world beyond your borders is Disneyland and assuming it's Mordor. Do your research before you go. Then go.
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Omega's still not eating much, but nonethless he was in my face first thing this morning, chirping and purring his brains out. If he doesn't pick up the pace I may have to take him in to be hydrated and force fed, which sounds like No Fun For Anyone.
0 comments
OK, now I've travelled a bit, both in the U.S. and out. Apart from Canada, the "out" has mostly been in the past few years, now that I can afford it. For the most part my friends and co-workers have been encouraging - at least pretending to be interested when I drag out the photos from my latest trip - but there are occasions when some of my more conservative colleagues pop up with scare stories. These tend to fall into three categories:
1. Out-of-date information. Example: bringing up Shining Path when I mentioned my trip to Peru last year. Shining Path was a terrorist organization active in Peru in the 80's and pretty much wiped out in the early 90's.
2. Inaccurate information. "Don't dive the Great Barrier Reef because of shark attacks." I did a bit of research on this one, and there are some real dangers in the GBR. Primarily from small, annoyed venemous creatures. There are also parts of Australia where great white attacks happen. They're nowhere near the GBR.
3. Stuff that could happen in any big American city, like, I dunno, Phoenix? Yes, it's sad that someone went to Timbuktu and was shot for their money. They could just as easily have gone to the corner 7-11 and been shot for their money. Hey, I live in a flight path. I could stay in bed the rest of my life and still have a plane fall on me.
None of this is to say that there aren't dangers and inconveniences in travellin abroad. But there's a happy medium between thinking the world beyond your borders is Disneyland and assuming it's Mordor. Do your research before you go. Then go.
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Omega's still not eating much, but nonethless he was in my face first thing this morning, chirping and purring his brains out. If he doesn't pick up the pace I may have to take him in to be hydrated and force fed, which sounds like No Fun For Anyone.
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Saturday, June 18, 2005
Omega wouldn't eat at all today. He kept his pills down this morning, but this evening he sicked them up soon after I'd given them to him and I don't think any medicine got absorbed. The only bright spot is I found him later nibbling on some of Peaseblossom's leftovers.
And to make my day complete, some mouth-breathers TP'd the front yard overnight.
1 comments
And to make my day complete, some mouth-breathers TP'd the front yard overnight.
1 comments
Friday, June 17, 2005
Omega went in for his sonogram today. He has pancreatitis. Unfortunately there's no single definitive treatment, so Dr. Lucy is upping his prednisone dosage and added some other meds, and we'll check his weight again in two weeks. It should be an entertaining two weeks, trying to get a smorgasboard of pills down a cat who doesn't want to eat.
Meanwhile, I went to the dealership to get my oil changed and find out what's been making that growling noise since I got back from Flagstaff. It turned out to be the serpentine belt, which needed replacement. I never should've bought a serpent-powered car in the first place.
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So this post isn't all gloom & doom, here are a few links of note:
Robot nurse auditions for role in next Doctor Who serial
Tour the Gulag Archepelago!
1 comments
Meanwhile, I went to the dealership to get my oil changed and find out what's been making that growling noise since I got back from Flagstaff. It turned out to be the serpentine belt, which needed replacement. I never should've bought a serpent-powered car in the first place.
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So this post isn't all gloom & doom, here are a few links of note:
Robot nurse auditions for role in next Doctor Who serial
Tour the Gulag Archepelago!
1 comments
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
My cat smells funny
I got back from Flag Sunday evening - nice festival, and kind of a novelty to have to ask the front desk at the Day's Inn for a space heater - but came home to a cat who's not doing very well. Omega has been barely eating for about three weeks now, which is cause for concern because he's already skinny as a rail and he's almost 17 years old. I took him to the vet on Monday, but the tests didn't turn anything up so now he has to go in again on Friday. In the meantime, I've started giving him this high-calorie vitamin paste called Vita-Cal, which he really loves. Peaseblossom loves it too, but she doesn't exactly need the extra calories.
When I bought the Vita-Cal I also picked up some "bath wipes" - basically the same thing as diaper wipes, only they're for bathing your cat. They're advertized as "deodorizing" but have such a strong smell themselves that Omega fled the room when I opened the package. And now he smells funny. No worse, I guess, than I do after I've had my hair cut and various stinky salon products applied.
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I got back from Flag Sunday evening - nice festival, and kind of a novelty to have to ask the front desk at the Day's Inn for a space heater - but came home to a cat who's not doing very well. Omega has been barely eating for about three weeks now, which is cause for concern because he's already skinny as a rail and he's almost 17 years old. I took him to the vet on Monday, but the tests didn't turn anything up so now he has to go in again on Friday. In the meantime, I've started giving him this high-calorie vitamin paste called Vita-Cal, which he really loves. Peaseblossom loves it too, but she doesn't exactly need the extra calories.
When I bought the Vita-Cal I also picked up some "bath wipes" - basically the same thing as diaper wipes, only they're for bathing your cat. They're advertized as "deodorizing" but have such a strong smell themselves that Omega fled the room when I opened the package. And now he smells funny. No worse, I guess, than I do after I've had my hair cut and various stinky salon products applied.
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Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Well, now I know where the defibrilator is in my building.
Seems once you open the door to the cabinet, it beeps every fifteen seconds. Loudly.
Yes, yesterday was "bring your child to work" day.
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Seems once you open the door to the cabinet, it beeps every fifteen seconds. Loudly.
Yes, yesterday was "bring your child to work" day.
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Monday, June 06, 2005
And while we're at it,
Why, whenever I channel-surf into SpongeBob SquarePants, is it always the same episode? Even in Peru?
2 comments
Why, whenever I channel-surf into SpongeBob SquarePants, is it always the same episode? Even in Peru?
2 comments
Today's burning questions!
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- Why does this new "International Music Feed" channel run exactly the same videos as MTV?
- How do you tell when a cat is senile?
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Saturday, June 04, 2005
It's a good thing I didn't sleep in this morning, because there was a guy at my door at 8:30 wanting to trim my palm trees. Kind of embarrassing if you're still in your jammies.
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Tell me if this makes sense to you: My credit union won't let me use my VISA in Australia, or for business with Australian companies. However, they did let me use it in New Zealand. And in fergoddessake China, which is one of the worst places in the world for credit card fraud. Is there any other place in the world where my charges have been blocked? Why, yes - Mongolia! Quick, what do Australia and Mongolia have in common?
Fortunately my other card (from my Mom's credit union) has no such restrictions, so I've been able to make my final reservations for my Australia/Fiji dive trip in December. Yay! I've got my new Henderson lycra skin from El Mar and signed up to get my Advanced certification at San Carlos in August.
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Artichoke season is pretty much over; they're starting to bloom and the ones that haven't are getting stringy. Now the tomtaoes are beginning to ripen in earnest. The Brown Berry are doing well - kind of an interesting taste to them, that I can't quite describe - as are the tiny yellow volunteer ones, and the Sunmasters. Tomcat hybrids are producing some fruits, haven't tried them yet. There's one nearly-ripe Cherokee Purple that I'm thinking about bringing indoors before the insects get to it. The Rainbows, the only multicolor I planted this year, ain't doin' diddley. I think they didn't get pollinated before the heat hit.
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Tell me if this makes sense to you: My credit union won't let me use my VISA in Australia, or for business with Australian companies. However, they did let me use it in New Zealand. And in fergoddessake China, which is one of the worst places in the world for credit card fraud. Is there any other place in the world where my charges have been blocked? Why, yes - Mongolia! Quick, what do Australia and Mongolia have in common?
Fortunately my other card (from my Mom's credit union) has no such restrictions, so I've been able to make my final reservations for my Australia/Fiji dive trip in December. Yay! I've got my new Henderson lycra skin from El Mar and signed up to get my Advanced certification at San Carlos in August.
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Artichoke season is pretty much over; they're starting to bloom and the ones that haven't are getting stringy. Now the tomtaoes are beginning to ripen in earnest. The Brown Berry are doing well - kind of an interesting taste to them, that I can't quite describe - as are the tiny yellow volunteer ones, and the Sunmasters. Tomcat hybrids are producing some fruits, haven't tried them yet. There's one nearly-ripe Cherokee Purple that I'm thinking about bringing indoors before the insects get to it. The Rainbows, the only multicolor I planted this year, ain't doin' diddley. I think they didn't get pollinated before the heat hit.
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