El Gato

This morning I took Tigger to the vet for some greater insight into why he isn’t eating or drinking. Michelle had to take him in to the emergency vet on Sunday because he was looking very bad. His eyes were vacant and he smelled. The emergency vets did a geriatric panel (every thing’s good) but his bladder was empty and he was quite dehydrated. He was given subcutaneous fluids but he still hasn’t drank of his own will. At near 17 years of age, and down to 7.8 lbs, he’s going to have a hard time bouncing back from whatever it turns out is ailing him. Good luck you surly cat.

another RTFM day

On most days my annoyance by people’s lack of initiative to solve their own problems is fairly low. Yesterday however was a bold-font red-letter RTFM day. It was like all easy to use and searchable documentation had been obliterated and reading had gone out of style. On top of that, no one was willing to try even the most trivial of tasks out.

Show cancelled

Michelle and I were going to go see David Gray with one of her co-workers last night until Ticketmaster called to tell us that the show had been cancelled. This was probably the first show in a long time that Michelle had picked to go to and while I’m not much of a fan, I decided I would just be quiet and enjoy the show without any of Andy’s ™ snide remarks. But it was cancelled. So we had dinner at the Blue Nile. Nothing like gorging yourself on Ethiopian food.

We interrupt this web site to bring you..

Tivo
Somehow my web server got replaced by Tivo today. I was somewhat surprised when I went to one then the other of my sites and found a Tivo welcome screen instead of the normal somewhat dated content. Turns out my rooftop gave up it’s IP and Tivo took it, then Tivo wouldn’t give it back. Everyone got a shut down and things are happy again.

Away Cell Call

There’s just something unsatisfying about that cell phone call from your loved one when they’re away with some group and they can’t talk much because the groups is going on in the background and frequently requires their attention. The thought is nice, but the conversation usually makes you more lonely than before. Someone on the other end invariably notices the call and accosts the caller. I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. We’ve all been at least one part of the equation. The caller, the receiver, or the haranguer.

Measure 37 Overturned … for now

We just caught the mid-commercial news blurb from a show Tivo recorded yesterday about a judge overturning Measure 37. I did an early morning-before the voice works woohoo that cracked all over the place, but it was an honest woohoo.

I fully understand why people wanted the measure, but I think what makes Oregon unique and so much more interesting than, say, Camas, is that we are trying our best to maintain some semblance of a plan. This is far from over but I hope we take this tack from now on.

Taxman Cometh

Last night we found the county assessor’s card on our door when we got home from dinner with Scott & Stephanie. Looks like our unbelievably low property taxes won’t last long. Damn.

We also had the furnace serviced for what appears to be its first time since installation. It was fairly dirty and the jets were somewhat corroded, but it kicked on for the first time this morning when the temperature inside reached 61F. I’m pretty sure Michelle is going to crank the temperature up to an opulent 64F though. I’ll just have to turn it back down afterwards.

Our last place had a fancy thermostat where you could set temperature ranges for days and times. This one is just your classic knob with a temperature scale. The fancy one was nice because we could drop the temp to 60F overnight and have it start warming to 64F in the morning, then drop back down during the day while we were away. I think it counts as one of those situations where technology improves life. I guess the furnace probably can be lumped in with the fancy thermostat too.

Bike Commute Tally

So I was only able to muster 6 bike commutes for September – a rather poor showing compared to last year where I rode 14 days. Why the difference? Last year the commute was 2.5 miles, this year it’s 12.5. Last year I only had to do my job, this year I’m doing what feels like twice as much. I do feel kind of bad, but the totals I think speak nicely. Last year: 70 miles, this year: 144 miles.

Also, with today’s ride, I’m now at 40 rides with only 10 left for my goal of 50. That’s encouraging. With Jake, I’ve shortened the ride to 50 minutes and found a couple short cuts. Barbur Blvd, though ugly, noisy and dirty shaves off ten or more minutes when compared to Terwilliger, and on the ride home, the view of Hood and St. Helens is a treat.