Extreme Cat Moods

Casper, wild and mild

Casper was very excited by this empty soda box. Woe to the human who was silly enough to stray into the reach of his lethal claws.

His eyes caught the full flash of the camera. He really looked like a demon cat before I toned them their green glow with an editing program. Notice that you can see them reflecting on the floor!

He does have his mellow moments, though. (Yes, that's my foot in the photo below.) Casper and I were getting ready to take a nap on the sofa. When he gets relaxed and sleepy, his face looks entirely different. I suppose mine does, too.

How many fingers do you type with?

Traditional keyboarding or otherwise?

I learned to type from Miss Tibbits, who ruled a roomful of manual, Royal office models with an iron hand.

Miss Tibbits didn't tolerate any weird fingering of the typewriter keys. I learned to place my fingers in "ASDF JKL;" position and to use my right thumb for the space bar. I think it's called "touch typing." I still type that way!

When I worked in classified ads at the newspaper and typed like crazy every day, I even learned to reach up and hit the numbers fairly accurately as I sped along.

Dennis is a hunt-and-pecker. He uses three fingers total (two on the right hand, and one on the left.) He says when he gets enough typing practice on a regular basis, he builds up speed.

Keely types as I do, more or less -- all eight fingers on the keys plus a thumb for the space bar.

Today, I learned that Isaac types with three fingers on each hand -- his thumbs, pointers, and middle fingers. He doesn't use his ring fingers or pinkies at all. He says he goes pretty fast, and I agree that he does.

I'm amazed that his keyboarding teacher allowed him to type that way! Obviously, she was no Miss Tibbitts.

I am also amazed that he hits letter keys with his thumbs. My thumbs can't even imagine that.

Technorati tags: keyboarding style, typing style, learning to type

Another Bagged Spinach Recall

Salmonella found in fresh spinach bagged by Metz Fresh

Over 8000 cases of fresh bagged spinach were recalled today by Metz Fresh LLC of King City, Calif. A single sample on their lines tested positive for salmonella, but they're recalling the entire batch.

90% of the recalled bags of spinach is still in the warehouses and won't be released. The rest of it is -- well, somewhere else. If you have fresh spinach on hand, you should check whether it fits this description:

The recall covers 10- and 16-ounce bags, as well as 4-pound cartons and cartons that contain four 2.5-pound bags, with the following tracking codes: 12208114, 12208214 and 12208314.

Source: "Salmonella Scare Prompts Spinach Recall", by staff, Associated Press, August 30, 2007.

I tried to visit the Metz Fresh website, but the page wouldn't open. Possibly, their server has crashed due to a sudden influx of visitors! However, you can still visit the Google cache of the Metz Fresh website.

I feel sorry for Metz Fresh -- no company wants this kind of publicity -- but I applaud them for issuing an extensive recall that should (we all hope!) take care of the problem.

I checked the news for what was going on with spinach after the blog got a few hits from people searching for "Netz spinach recall" and "Netz contaminated spinach." They need to search for "Metz," not "Netz" (which is my last name, you know.) The search engines were sending them to "Bagged Spinach Warning," a post I wrote a year ago when E. coli bacteria took fresh spinach off the market for a while.

Technorati tags: spinach recall, bagged spinach warning, Metz Fresh

Roadkill: Better Avoided than Regretted

Watch out for the animals!

I've heard many roadkill jokes, but to me, it's not a very funny topic. I feel terrible when I hit something, so I really try to let the little animals and birds get out of the way of my car.

Today, I am sad that I hit a cardinal. I suppose he took flight as best he could when the car startled him. He came up from the side of the road right into the front wheel of my car.

I've often wondered if people were shocked that motorized vehicles killed so many more wild animals than horse-drawn vehicles did. Or was the increase in roadkill so gradual over the years that nobody really noticed how bad it was getting?

Birds on the highway

Birds fly like airplanes. When they take off, they have to fly forward. Most species of birds can't lift themselves straight up from the ground like a helicopter. This means that when birds on the highway try to get out of the way, they may fly straight at you! I know this, and I slow down for birds, but I didn't see that cardinal today until he flew out of the ditch.

A group of vultures gathered around roadkill on the highway can be dangerous. Some of them will probably take off in your direction. When their bellies are full, they have a hard time going airborne and gaining altitude. I have heard that it's very disgusting to have a vulture disgorge in your car after it comes through your windshield.

Wild turkeys also have a hard time rising up from the ground and flying. Last year, a wild turkey broke out a school bus window in Connecticut.

Helping turtles cross the road

Isaac has always had an affectionate concern for turtles. If he sees one crossing the road, he likes to move it to the side of the road in the direction that it was headed. (By the way, if you ever pick up a turtle and he pees, be sure to put him down in an area where he can replenish his liquid within a short time.)

One day we were driving along one of our rural blacktops, and we saw a turtle about halfway across the road. I stopped, and Isaac got out to move him. He bent over to pick up the turtle, and the turtle went into attack mode! He stood up tall on all four legs and lunged at Isaac with his mouth open (as well as a turtle can lunge, that is.)

Clearly, the turtle wouldn't be picked up, so Isaac thought he could drag the turtle off the road if he would snap on a stick. The turtle wasn't fooled by a stick; he was determined to use his snap power on Isaac. So we abandoned the rescue and motored away. If we hadn't stopped, the turtle probably could have walked across the road in less time than it took him to scare off Isaac!

Drive defensively to avoid collisions with wildlife.

Many wild animals are active at dawn and dusk, because they're out looking for food and water. Unfortunately, it's hard to see them on the roads in the dim light between full night and full day. All you can do is slow down and be alert.

When you're driving at night and you see eyes reflecting in your headlights, there's a good chance that a freaked-out, light-dazed animal will run into the path of your vehicle. If you're alert to that possibility, maybe you can avoid hitting it.

And please, watch out for the possums. I think they must be the most-often-killed animal along western Kentucky's roadways. They have a hard time thinking what to do when they're frightened. In fact, panic can make their brains short out, so have some patience and a little extra care for them.

Collisions with Deer

Hey, try to avoid hitting a deer (or a moose or an elk or a bear.) It will wreck your car, and injure or kill the animal, and you could be injured or killed too!

The worst time for deer on the roads is coming up soon. Their breeding season in Kentucky is October through January. They are naturally silly from their hormones during this time, and also, their routines and habits are disrupted by hunters.

Be especially wary when driving through areas where the road is lined by woods. If you see one deer, there are probably others nearby. They may decide to follow the one you saw. They are particularly active at dawn and dusk, but you can see them anytime.

Deer behave erratically when they're befuddled by bright headlights. They might start across the road and then change directions and run back. It's better to stop (if possible) than to try to dodge them.

One last story, and I'm done with this topic. Our Mennonite neighbor has several sons -- young, single guys who are old enough to go places and stay out late. One of the boys was coming home on his bicycle late at night. A deer jumped out of the ditch directly in front of him and he couldn't avoid it. He ran right into it and both he and the deer fell down. The deer got up and ran away, and fortunately our neighbor boy wasn't hurt other than scrapes and bruises. He recuperated a little, and then he got back on his bike and pedaled home.

There's some kind of a lesson to that story, but I'm not sure what it is. Maybe it's just that you never know what will happen next!

Technorati tags: roadkill, collisions with wild animals, wildlife killed on roads, defensive driving,

Happy 22nd Birthday, Keely!

Keely, three years old

Today was my daughter Keely's 22nd birthday. I suppose most parents indulge in a bit of nostalgia on the birthdays of their children. I've been thinking about the little Keely of days gone-by. I can see her personality and sharp little mind sparkling in this photo. It's been great to watch her grow up, though I must say that the years have gone by much too quickly. She'll be graduating from college this December.