Smitty’s prognosis not good

I got back from the vet this morning without Smitty with me, who is staying to get some blood tests done. Her weight is down to 8 pounds, 4 ounces: a far cry from her fighting weight of 11 pounds. Even without the results of the bloodwork I know such a drop is not good.
Continue reading →

Smitty’s still here

Smitty the cat is still with us, which surprises me after a night I thought she wouldn’t be. She’s walking around (albeit slowly) and sticking close to me, though she didn’t show any interest in her food or water today. She just crawled into my lap as I type this, to bea;lkh;kjhdfx.

I will have her at the vet within 20 minutes for a check-up.

Smitty at death’s door?

My sixteen-year-old cat, Smitty, has been sicker than I’ve ever seen her today. She hasn’t eaten, has barely drunk anything, hasn’t visited her catbox, and hasn’t been the sometimes maddening, constantly-underfoot cat that she’s always been. Windows were open and sunbeams were in ample supply but neither was enough to tempt her from her sleep at the foot of Hallie’s bed today.

Her lively, feisty self has disappeared with astonishing speed, almost overnight. I think this is it. I’ll frankly be surprised if she is with us in the morning.

Update: She’s still here this morning.

Spellcheck: a phisher’s best friend

If you’re going to the trouble of faking a PayPal email and spamming the universe with it, at least run it through a spelling checker before sending it. Typos (and random exclamation points) highlighted:

Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2007 10:05:20 -0600
To: markt
Subject: Security Center Suspicios Activity – Action requierd
From: “PayPal. Inc.”
Reply-To:
Continue reading →

Record-breaking warmth

We’re in the midst of an unusual December heat wave. Yesterday MT.Net’s weather station recorded a temperature of 84 degrees. I find it very odd hearing all of my neighbor’s air conditioners roaring away this time of year. Today is forecast to be even hotter.

There are some people who still doubt the world’s weather is askew. Won’t be long before we’re telling our grandkids: “I remember when winters used to be cold…”

Carded

My son Travis and I went out Saturday to purchase some good beer from Total Wine. As I put the Red Hook Longhammer IPA and the high-gravity Rogue India Pale Ale on the cashier’s counter, I was surprised to be asked for my identification! I guess a three year old in tow doesn’t sway some people, eh?
Continue reading →

Fifteen minutes

With amazingly warm weather Saturday, and after Kelly came back from her run going on about how awesome it was, I opted to get out myself. It was already 4:15 PM and close to sunset. The air was beginning to chill, but I didn’t care. I put on some shorts and hopped on my bike for a quick circuit down the greenway path and back. It took a mere fifteen minutes, but that ride did wonders for my health. I left feeling achy but returned absolutely energized!

I’ve got to make regular exercise a daily thing, especially since I’m working from home now. Plus, I’ve got to take advantage of these 70-degree December days.

Dual-homed home

For those of you who were waiting with baited breath to know how my AT&T FastAccess DSL was working for me (you remember, the $10/month plan?), I have been slack in updating you.

In short, it works great. Not fast enough to replace my cable modem, however, not with 768Kbps down and 128Kbps up. It wasn’t more than an hour or two before Kelly was complaining about the slow connection.
Continue reading →