We shoulda called him Spot
The cat left something absolutely dees-gusting in the middle of the bed this afternoon. Uncle B thought it was something that had been through the cat, which called for an emergency vet visit. Which we were lucky enough to get.
Turns out, it was probably the remains of a victim (possibly after being lightly processed) and he’s fine. He needed worming anyway.
The duvet went straight into the trash, though.
He yelled at us the whole way there, was deathly quiet at the vet’s, then yelled at us all the way home. But since we’ve been back, he’s doing the oddest thing. He’s following me around, looking me straight in the face and meowing like he’s trying to tell me something.
It’s not food. It’s not outside (the door is open). He’s not mad. He’s been very friendly, in fact. It’s like he’s trying earnestly to tell me something about what happened to him today.
Oh, and the doctor said were aren’t to feed him any more. Ever. For as long as he lives. He’s just that fat.
Have a good weekend!
May 17, 2024 — 7:41 pm
Comments: 4
There really is an app for everything
Wifi controlled egg incubator.
I’d be interested if they included a candling egg cam. I was astonished when I candled my first egg. Folks, they flap around in there!
Meanwhile, I have just received the least effective phishing spam ever. The subject is “Purchase Confirmation 0991935444” – one of those where they try to trick you into opening a malicious pdf file masquerading as an invoice.
But the body of the email is “Good morning, cherished one! With each new dawn, may you be reminded of the blessings that fill your life. Start your day with a heart full of gratitude, and watch as the universe unfolds its wonders before you.”
You can’t fool me! That’s not a real invoice!
May 16, 2024 — 7:14 pm
Comments: 4
I can hear the wah wah pedal
I think this is the chicken equivalent of sexy times in the hot tub.
One of these days, Uncle B will remember he shares his Google photos with me. I am thief.
Oh, ew. He’s just sent me a picture of a dragon chicken. Obviously a painful mutation that some sadistic bastard decided to breed.
Ah, yes. Vietnamese mandarins.
May 15, 2024 — 7:34 pm
Comments: 9
Lookit this!
I got my machine back a couple of hours ago. They charged an eye-watering price for putting the drive in for me (never again – next time we bull through it ourselves).
But look at this! Is there anything more beautiful than a two terabyte SSD with one folder on it? I’m so looking forward to corralling my games in this one place. I shall bring them all to heel!
My house may be chaotic, but my hard drives – when I have the capacity – are neat as a pin.
May 14, 2024 — 7:31 pm
Comments: 6
I have no computer and I must post
My birfday present was a nice fast SSD to put games on and which we could install ourselves in a flash!
Yeah. No. Computer’s at the shop. Might get it back tomorrow. All my stuff is on it, including the old stuff I’ve been posting. So – hello!
I did play the cat game through during the break. It was beautiful and sweet. And weird. (Fair warning, it hurts the cat a couple of times in unavoidable cut scenes).
Also, I did something I’ve never, ever done. I take a tiny sliver of pride playing games through on normal difficulty, old lady though I be. Not resorting to easy or – god forbid! – story mode. What do I look like, a games journalist?
But I gave up and downloaded a cheat trainer for this. That’s what they call them now – cheat trainers. Kitty has to run through swarms of little parasitic creatures and I got sick of hearing him get jumped, scream and die.
Insult to injury, I watched other people play through on YouTube and they had no problem zig-zagging and avoiding trouble. I suck under pressure.
Now, to top it off, I miss the little cat and feel really sad about it. Stupid monkeybrain. Nothing for it but to play through again. When I get my computer back.
May 13, 2024 — 7:33 pm
Comments: 7
It was fine and hot
Another from the Litterbox.
Britain doesn’t have a lot of murder. Well, it didn’t. Cultural enrichment is putting an end to that. But back when all the murderers in England were Englishmen, it was a rare phenomenon.
Rare, but always weird. The Fanny Adams murder is one of the weirdest. The murderer was such an ordinary young man, the act was so awful and his demeanor afterward was so cool.
And then there was the dreadful temporal overlap of the potted mutton.
May 10, 2024 — 5:00 pm
Comments: 4
The failed diary
This was an experiment that didn’t work. It was a series of short memories – my memories, duh – that were linked together in three different ways: chonologically, as I posted them, chronologically, as they had happened in time, and topically. You could navigate the stories any way you liked.
Turns out, there was nothing particularly interesting in doing it that way (and keeping track was a nightmare).
Remember, this was early days and people were trying experimental comics that branched in different ways and ‘choose your own adventure’ and things like that. Turns out, there was nothing particularly interesting in those, either.
Because of the nature of it, I dropped a lot of personal (and likely traceable) information in this section. I later decided that was unwise – another reason I never tried to get the site back online.
The graphic was a take on an Altoids tin. Altoids were popular in my circle then, for some reason. I was particularly proud of the rusty tooth marks (see the color version). The pills are 1 milligram Xanax – a precious prescription I wrangled out of my doctor when I was a frequent flyer.
May 9, 2024 — 5:00 pm
Comments: 2
I apologize in advance
And now for something completely different. The Litterbox section was where I put the less savory bits of weaselbrain.
It started with a couple of True Crime stories. I had originally intended to do a whole True Crime site. Remember, this was early days and every idea hadn’t been done to death yet.
I never really gave up on the idea. When I moved, I brought my enormous TC library with me. Not only did I buy such books, but both my parents did and sent me their paperbacks when they were done. I managed to accrue a whole bunch
I’d honestly like to get rid of them now. I’ve forgotten most of the stories I wanted to tell. I’d like to find someone just starting a TC site or podcast and ship the lot to ’em. Any ideas how I could go about looking?
But this post isn’t about True Crime. Oh, no. This is an essay about human genitals.
May 8, 2024 — 5:00 pm
Comments: 3
Beelions and beelions
One more from the Laboratory, for now anyhow. This one is about visualizing our solar system.
I was a big fan of those this is what a million pennies look like in stacks of ten graphics. They were a staple of the early Web.
Come to think of it, I guess 2004 was the early web.
May 7, 2024 — 5:00 pm
Comments: 7
What do mice dream about?
When I lived in a sad, pokey apartment in Pawtucket, I kept pet mice. I soon came to appreciate what sweet, clean — and above all, individual — little creatures they are.
It didn’t make me rethink what we do to mice in the name of science – I am firmly on Team Human – but it made me distinctly uncomfortable about it.
Also, when I wrote this, it had long since been proven true:
“Alone in clear acrylic boxes with a handful of cedar shavings in a brightly-lit laboratory eating pellets is about as antithetical to a mouse’s happy inclinations as you can get. If, indeed, emotional well-being turns out to play a significant role in health, all our medical studies using mice are gefukt.”
There was a famous addiction experiment where mice were kept in lab boxes and given a choice of plain water or cocaine water. They all chose cocaine water until they OD’ed and died.
Then in the Seventies came psychologist Dr Bruce Alexander, who wondered if mice drank the coke because their lives were so shit. He designed an experiment that has come to be called “Rat Park” – a fun, happy rodent environment with friends and toys and sex. These rats seldom chose the coke-water, seemed to use it recreationally when they did and never, ever OD’ed.
May 6, 2024 — 6:00 pm
Comments: 5