“Here’s to books, the cheapest vacation you can buy.”
― Charlaine Harris
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Archive for the ‘Other’ Category
Taking A Little Time
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, creativity, Fiction, inspiration, Thoughts on August 8, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Cat Tale
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, cat herding, home, Thoughts on August 4, 2022| Leave a Comment »
This is a story about the cat. Also other things.
Lord Argyle suffered through his first trip (with us) to the vet today.
Like so many other vets these days, ours is extremely busy. Between pandemic restrictions, new pet owners, reduced hours and practitioners, vets are having to deal with a lot lately.
Why It’s So Hard to Find a Veterinarian These Days – The Atlantic
Our original meet and greet appointment was scheduled for mid-October, but when we noticed that our fellow was having some issues, they got us in right away. Our vet really is great.
And yes, I made her brownies.
The final report was not bad. Not 100%, as he is having some allergic reactions, has a weird hole in his gums and oh yes, weighs sixteen pounds.
Sixteen! Big is fine, but we want to make sure he’s healthy too.
So while we think most of these issues will be relatively easy to resolve, we have a bit of work to do.
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Heading home, cat loudly protesting the recent indignities, I watched a thought fly by.
“I was hoping this time would be a little easier. What if he’s not ok?”
To which the rest of me responded, “Are you kidding? One, you are not bleeding, so this cat is definitely easier than Neko.”
Truth.
“Two, if our three-year old cat were instead a newly-rescued kitten, he would have other issues. Fun stuff like conjunctivitis, bad digestion, ticks, fleas and worms.”
Also true. Ew.
“And three, if you went for a check-up today you would have issues too. Are your teeth perfect, your blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar ideal, your heart rate and joints and eyesight all functioning at peak levels? Do you exercise enough? Do you eat only what you should and not what you shouldn’t?”
Wellll… You may have a point.*
“And yet, your life is good. Not perfect, but good. Do your best and his will be too.”
Ok. You’re right.
Here’s to a good life.
Not perfect, but good.
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* Erm. See the previously mentioned brownies.
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In Progress
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, cat herding, home, Thoughts on July 31, 2022| Leave a Comment »
The new cat is settling in. Despite the initial freak out and subsequent hiding marathon, today he came out from under his chair and decided that we would be allowed to pet him. We spent an hour demonstrating our kitty servant bonafides, and he graciously decided to give us a chance.
Progress, hooray!
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The Menagerie
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, cats, home, the menagerie, yay on July 27, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Our menagerie is about to expand. Not only have three adorable little bunny rabbits taken to frequenting the front yard, but we finally decided on a cat. We went with the slightly older, shy, fluffy and adorable option. We’ll pick him up this weekend so no pics yet, but here’s what he looked like as a kitten.
I asked DALL-E to make you an image of “a white cat with black spots and three rabbits in a garden, layered paper style” and got this.
Kitty Quandary
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, cats, choices, decisions decisions, kittens, Thoughts on July 25, 2022| Leave a Comment »
I believe I mentioned that we are just about ready for a new cat. (Honestly, can I even call myself a writer if I don’t have a cat?) The problem is, how to choose?
We’ve started the search at our local rescue, the one we turned to when we realized that the local strays were breeding up a storm and both they and their progeny needed to be trapped. Now we’re on the other side of that equation, which feels good. Still, there are so many options, each a door into a different version of the future. (It’s kind of fun when you think of it like that.)
Do we go for a kitten, engineered by evolution to be cute (nice) but without any idea what sort of personality they’ll develop as they get older (feels a bit risky)?
Do we go for a more sedate, cuddly cat with a couple of years under its collar, both to know what we’re getting and to skip the crazy kitten “It’s four a.m. and you have toes! I will eatz them!” phase?
Or somewhere in between?
Friday we met a pair of kittens relatively fresh from the trap and still a bit skittish. Yesterday we met the shy adult cuddler. Tonight we meet the in-betweeners.
This is why I don’t visit the animal section in pet stores; I want to help them all.
How to choose?
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Lovely Afternoon By the Lake
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, inspiration, Thoughts on July 23, 2022| Leave a Comment »
“. . . what I like doing best is Nothing.”
― A.A. Milne, The House at Pooh Corner
“How do you do Nothing?” asked Pooh, after he had wondered for a long time.
“Well, it’s when people call out at you just as you’re going off to do it, What are you going to do, Christopher Robin, and you say, Oh, nothing, and then you go and do it.”
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Shopping
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, cats, home, Thoughts on July 19, 2022| Leave a Comment »
After many months, we are finally ready to start searching our local rescue for a new cat. Or two!
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After All
Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, supermoon, Thoughts, Writers on July 14, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Tonight, if you have a moment and remember that we are, after all, just passengers on a ship hurtling through space with only one true companion, look up. The Buck Moon will be waiting.
Supermoon / Super Moon – Why and When?
“Don’t tell me the sky’s the limit when there are footprints on the moon.”
― Paul Brandt
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Cat In The Style Of
Posted in Other, Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, #craiyon, computer-aided fun, creativity, design, inspiration, Thoughts on July 11, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Welcome to Monday, brought to you by an AI’s idea of a “cat in the style of Vincent van Gogh.”
Not bad, actually.
Running through different versions using the same root prompt (“cat in the style of”) made the artistic differences (and any deficiencies) clear. A lot of the images produced by the DALL-E mini system are a bit odd, particularly when faces are involved. (The site even has a FAQ on “Why are faces so weird?”)
Even so, it was interesting to see what an AI considers the essential style of an artist or technique, and there were a number of attempts I found fun.
Rather than upload all images I made a slideshow. It’s lower-resolution (I shrunk it down to 16MB instead of 80MB+) but you should still get the picture.
(Did I leave out the truly disturbing results? Yes. I don’t know what this AI has against Vermeer but I want no part of it!)
Thanks, Craiyon!
Yesterday’s News
Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2022, home, technology, Thoughts on July 9, 2022| Leave a Comment »
(written 07/08/22)
Today I’m dealing with a new kind of challenge.
We have power, which I no longer take for granted. The microwave works, the computers work, the TV and stove and washing machine and lights all work, and for that I’m grateful.
Our components are all functioning. What isn’t working? The network that connects those components, and us, to the wider world.
We woke up, started the laundry and coffee and breakfast and booted up the work computers. Then? Nothing. No signal. I can work in my design program, for example, but I can’t deliver my project. I can’t check my email, log in at work or make calls (sorry Mom!).
Somebody at internet central did something and somehow it all went wrong. (The part of this equation that interests me the most is that apparently no one thought to ask, “What happens if this thing we’re about to do doesn’t work?”).
So today has been business as unusual. On the plus side? Another opportunity to appreciate all the technology, infrastructure, and other amenities that we typically take for granted.
And while I’m not even sure if I’ll be able to post this today (spoiler alert: nope), my target was to write every day. Goal achieved.
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Note from the future: it wasn’t just us, here, it was every Rogers customer, everywhere.
Rogers outage shows need for Plan B when wireless, internet services fail, analysts say | CBC News
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