Introducing Betty White

[daftcat75]

I hope that was the last Xfinity outage for awhile. But I am getting my money's worth out of my mobile router. Near as I can tell, since they don't tell us anything despite us paying their paychecks, some time ago, some cable got cut. The workaround was an above ground cable. The other week GPRS was out here mapping the area to put a new cable into the ground. Last week, Xfinity was here to put the new cable into the ground. And this morning, Xfinity came out to change the tap from the above ground cable to the new underground cable. None of this work was without outages. But at least I'm prepared and practiced and can switch between uplinks relatively easily now. I can probably figure out how to make the handoff between Xfinity and mobile router seamless. It would probably require a third device. I'm not sure I want to spend on a new device right now. I am still hoping I can pick up a generator with solar panels before the power outages start up again.

I think Betty rolls me over in my sleep. I am waking with her sleeping on my chest more often and I don't remember rolling onto my back.

 

[tarasgirl06]

I hope that was the last Xfinity outage for awhile. But I am getting my money's worth out of my mobile router. Near as I can tell, since they don't tell us anything despite us paying their paychecks, some time ago, some cable got cut. The workaround was an above ground cable. The other week GPRS was out here mapping the area to put a new cable into the ground. Last week, Xfinity was here to put the new cable into the ground. And this morning, Xfinity came out to change the tap from the above ground cable to the new underground cable. None of this work was without outages. But at least I'm prepared and practiced and can switch between uplinks relatively easily now. I can probably figure out how to make the handoff between Xfinity and mobile router seamless. It would probably require a third device. I'm not sure I want to spend on a new device right now. I am still hoping I can pick up a generator with solar panels before the power outages start up again.

I think Betty rolls me over in my sleep. I am waking with her sleeping on my chest more often and I don't remember rolling onto my back.

Hopefully you won't need to, or at least you can defer it. Once they get everything situated, hopefully you and all of their other hapless customers will be okay for awhile. Your philosophy is good and I work continually on having it be mine as well. Where I used to be a gibbering idiot climbing the walls every time there was an outage or other IT issue, they are so common now as to be "oh, yeah, there's another one. Be patient. Let them get it fixed. It may take awhile." Of course it sucks in the middle of trying to work. But it's not like we can make their bads, or natural causes, okay. The mobile router is an excellent idea.

Just read this with appreciation: Technology's grip on modern life is pushing us down a dimly lit path of digital land mines
Elvis doesn't sleep with me now. He prefers the kitchen countertop.
Mr. Fluffy does this weird thing. He will straddle me and make biscuits on the blankets. *Well, okay, Fluff. At least I don't get perforated on my ribs to match the perforations on my legs. Knead away.*

 

[daftcat75]

Hopefully you won't need to, or at least you can defer it. Once they get everything situated, hopefully you and all of their other hapless customers will be okay for awhile. Your philosophy is good and I work continually on having it be mine as well. Where I used to be a gibbering idiot climbing the walls every time there was an outage or other IT issue, they are so common now as to be "oh, yeah, there's another one. Be patient. Let them get it fixed. It may take awhile." Of course it sucks in the middle of trying to work. But it's not like we can make their bads, or natural causes, okay. The mobile router is an excellent idea.

Just read this with appreciation: Technology's grip on modern life is pushing us down a dimly lit path of digital land mines
Elvis doesn't sleep with me now. He prefers the kitchen countertop.
Mr. Fluffy does this weird thing. He will straddle me and make biscuits on the blankets. *Well, okay, Fluff. At least I don't get perforated on my ribs to match the perforations on my legs. Knead away.*

Betty showed up on the kitchen counter to inquire why lunch was taking so long to prepare. She hasn't done that in a long time. And I approve of that behavior. Mostly because I know she won't get into any trouble on that counter and she thankfully has no interest in the counter with the stove.

I started to read some article last week (didn't finish it) about how Microsoft could have prevented the Crowdstrike failure a couple of years ago before EU told Microsoft to purposely cripple their security to open up their kernel to third parties. Now EU is sticking its ill-informed nose into Apple's business. Won't be much longer before well-designed and secure systems are mandated to be blown apart or blown open because government Luddites who know nothing of the technology want it to be more open for competition.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Betty showed up on the kitchen counter to inquire why lunch was taking so long to prepare. She hasn't done that in a long time. And I approve of that behavior. Mostly because I know she won't get into any trouble on that counter and she thankfully has no interest in the counter with the stove.

I started to read some article last week (didn't finish it) about how Microsoft could have prevented the Crowdstrike failure a couple of years ago before EU told Microsoft to purposely cripple their security to open up their kernel to third parties. Now EU is sticking its ill-informed nose into Apple's business. Won't be much longer before well-designed and secure systems are mandated to be blown apart or blown open because government Luddites who know nothing of the technology want it to be more open for competition.

Elvis, on the other paw, goes where he goes. Including the tiny countertops on either side of the stove. Fortunately he likes to change things up and right now he prefers the countertop to the right of the sink. Or the left. He's focused on the faucet for some reason, even though he has his (just cleaned) fountain and 4 other bowls of fresh water to choose from. *Oh, and the other day he did his PURRformance art thing on this roll of paper towels, which has disppeared into a cupboard since.*
Yeah, there's that. Nothing like people who haven't the foggiest trying to run the show.

 

[daftcat75]

Oh poop! Or should I say hairball!

After she 3/4 of her lunch, she decided she was bringing up a hairball. It was a hairball of impressive size and I'm sure we're both sorry that lunch had to come up with it. Three spits. Two of them got Bissell'ed and one of them was small enough for Resolve spray and blot up.

It hasn't even been that hot lately. So my thought was I started using a slicker brush on her again in the past couple of days. I think those, like the glove and the Zoom Groom, are actually just too good at pulling hairs out that she ends up ingesting more hair than the non-static, non-slicker brushes. So I put away the slicker and opened up another comb. Good thing that one Instagram buy gave me like four combs for $20.

I picked up her lunch remainder. After I finished cleaning, I squirted her with a couple drops of CBD mixed into a little water. "Just a little medicine with water. I promise this won't taste as horrible as the last one. Or the next one." (referring to her usual meds.)

This is a "Mercury in Gatorade" kind of day. (I know it's "Mercury in retrograde" but that was a hilarious ADHD word salad mix-up from one of my satellite radio DJ's.) I didn't get all my reminders and notifications about my dentist appointment tomorrow. That was the easy one. I called up after my run and they said, "you're already confirmed. That's why we didn't send all the reminders. And yes, you're still on schedule for tomorrow." Rent was $12 higher this month. I didn't authorize this increase and I don't know where that extra charge came from. I tried my best to send a civil email to management but I'm not sure I struck the right tone. I told them rent is high enough without an unauthorized increase and I don't want this to be the new basis for the next increase. Because rent control means, "your rent is going up by the maximum amount we're allowed to each year. You can count on that!" (This is despite the fact that they have historically high vacancies right now. I don't have details but I've seen units vacant for a long time now that were not vacant a couple of years ago or maybe even last year.) So I'm waiting on an explanation or a refund from them. And I started investing in private credit and I'm still waiting on a promised interest payment today.

Ooof! It's almost 4 and I'm still working on my lunch salad and protein shake from 2 hours ago. Yup. I'm ready to sign off today already.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Oh poop! Or should I say hairball!

After she 3/4 of her lunch, she decided she was bringing up a hairball. It was a hairball of impressive size and I'm sure we're both sorry that lunch had to come up with it. Three spits. Two of them got Bissell'ed and one of them was small enough for Resolve spray and blot up.

It hasn't even been that hot lately. So my thought was I started using a slicker brush on her again in the past couple of days. I think those, like the glove and the Zoom Groom, are actually just too good at pulling hairs out that she ends up ingesting more hair than the non-static, non-slicker brushes. So I put away the slicker and opened up another comb. Good thing that one Instagram buy gave me like four combs for $20.

I picked up her lunch remainder. After I finished cleaning, I squirted her with a couple drops of CBD mixed into a little water. "Just a little medicine with water. I promise this won't taste as horrible as the last one. Or the next one." (referring to her usual meds.)

This is a "Mercury in Gatorade" kind of day. (I know it's "Mercury in retrograde" but that was a hilarious ADHD word salad mix-up from one of my satellite radio DJ's.) I didn't get all my reminders and notifications about my dentist appointment tomorrow. That was the easy one. I called up after my run and they said, "you're already confirmed. That's why we didn't send all the reminders. And yes, you're still on schedule for tomorrow." Rent was $12 higher this month. I didn't authorize this increase and I don't know where that extra charge came from. I tried my best to send a civil email to management but I'm not sure I struck the right tone. I told them rent is high enough without an unauthorized increase and I don't want this to be the new basis for the next increase. Because rent control means, "your rent is going up by the maximum amount we're allowed to each year. You can count on that!" (This is despite the fact that they have historically high vacancies right now. I don't have details but I've seen units vacant for a long time now that were not vacant a couple of years ago or maybe even last year.) So I'm waiting on an explanation or a refund from them. And I started investing in private credit and I'm still waiting on a promised interest payment today.

Ooof! It's almost 4 and I'm still working on my lunch salad and protein shake from 2 hours ago. Yup. I'm ready to sign off today already.

UH-oh! *Poor Betty. Yeah, it's not "that" hot. And I'm wondering if I need to go on a furball hunt. The boyz have had their groomies for the day and so far we're good It's good about the combs, though!
Weird about the increase. Why??? Inquiring minds want to know. Oh, yeah, how well I remember the rent control/rent increase thing. That's very disingenuous of them if they have a lot of units sitting empty, especially, and you're a very good long-term renter. But don't get me started here.
Hope your payment arrives soon. And that you enjoy the rest of your (late) lunch. The boyz are doing that today, too.

 

[daftcat75]

Betty’s been showing up on the feed me counter the past day or two. Doesn’t surprise me she was hungry after literally losing her lunch yesterday. Her and that triathlete in Paris.

“I didn’t come here to come top 10 but I gave it everything I had. I went for it. No regrets — vomited 10 times.”

- Canadian triathlete, Tyler Mislawchuk who proved that the Seine wasn’t quite safe enough to swim in.

Finished 9th!

I feel like I’m getting Mercury out of Gatorade and the Gatorade out of Mercury. My private credit interest payment arrived this morning. Property managers got back to me and the overcharge was their system believing I was without renters insurance and charging me an automatic enrollment fee. I’ve been assured that this has been reversed, a refund is imminent, and the glitch in their system would be resolved to prevent this in the future. It was a much better response than I was expecting considering the tone of my email. I don’t like feeling cheated and I can overreact.

I got my teeth cleaned and xrayed with new hygienist while my preferred one is on maternity leave. New one has that light touch that I appreciate. I’ll be happy to see her again. Also she adores cats and Betty. It had been awhile since we had done X-rays and I’m pleased that I finally passed and don’t need to schedule new work. Done with the dentist for the year. Next cleaning in January. New insurance year too since they always come up short.

Just enjoying post dentist burger and beer before I have to log on to work today.

Something still feels “itchy” in my head like I’m forgetting something I should be worried about. Oh well. Wouldn’t be ND if I didn’t have that.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Betty’s been showing up on the feed me counter the past day or two. Doesn’t surprise me she was hungry after literally losing her lunch yesterday. Her and that triathlete in Paris.


I feel like I’m getting Mercury out of Gatorade and the Gatorade out of Mercury. My private credit interest payment arrived this morning. Property managers got back to me and the overcharge was their system believing I was without renters insurance and charging me an automatic enrollment fee. I’ve been assured that this has been reversed, a refund is imminent, and the glitch in their system would be resolved to prevent this in the future. It was a much better response than I was expecting considering the tone of my email. I don’t like feeling cheated and I can overreact.

I got my teeth cleaned and xrayed with new hygienist while my preferred one is on maternity leave. New one has that light touch that I appreciate. I’ll be happy to see her again. Also she adores cats and Betty. It had been awhile since we had done X-rays and I’m pleased that I finally passed and don’t need to schedule new work. Done with the dentist for the year. Next cleaning in January. New insurance year too since they always come up short.

Just enjoying post dentist burger and beer before I have to log on to work today.

Something still feels “itchy” in my head like I’m forgetting something I should be worried about. Oh well. Wouldn’t be ND if I didn’t have that.

Yeah, 100% on the "itchy." There are videos up on YouTube as to why "we" are always exhausted. I haven't watched any of them. I KNOW why. *Hope it finds you soon, hopefully not at an inopportune time.*
Great about the property mgrs! and about the dentist. Yeah, the light touch is SO appreciated! and even more so, by a fellow cat lover! My hygienist is a bit too personal-question chatty for my taste, but I did find out that her son is also on the spectrum, so she understands about stimming and is cool. Not sure how she is on cats, but she does make it a point to like my jewelry, which is something.
Hope your taproom visit is 100% happy!

 

[daftcat75]

Also it’s that time to salt the air again.
I have a smart speaker in the kitchen that’s basically one press ttpd since its release in April. It’s time to rotate into folklore.

Jack looks like he’s having at least as much fun as Taylor.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Also it’s that time to salt the air again.
I have a smart speaker in the kitchen that’s basically one press ttpd since its release in April. It’s time to rotate into folklore.

Nice vid/song. August is hard for me -- several memorial anniversaries. But it is further along into the promise that summer WILL end. Which is good, for me at least.

 

[daftcat75]

I have Krista’s passing in August (8/12.). But then I also have my nephew’s birthday (8/8.). Thank you SIL for the memorable birthdate. Usually the anxiety of getting a Target gift card out to them on time drowns out any I might feel over Krista. I tend to remember her year round rather than dwell on the day I never want to remember again.

 

[daftcat75]

Betty hasn’t touched lunch and just had a couple of unproductive spits.

I wonder if that was just sympathy anxiety over my dentist absence. But I’ve left her like this before and she ate just fine.

Hoping this isn’t the early signs of her next needed dentist visit.

 

[tarasgirl06]

Sorry for your anniversaries. I still miss Krista and I never met her but the sharing we do on TCS makes so many of us feel like we know each other, feline and human. I guess if I was to write them all down, I'd have at least a third of the days in a year as memorial anniversaries. But I believe that the more loved ones you have, the more losses you have, and I wouldn't trade the joy of having lots of loved ones for a lack of losses.
It still sounds like heat-related to me, with Betty. It's not "that hot" here -- only 90F tops today -- but it's humid and it feels icky. I still haven't found any new furballs, though. Hope I'm not speaking too soon on that one.
*On an unrelated topic, how are you liking your SE3? and is the lightning cable a separate expense?*

 

[daftcat75]

Sorry for your anniversaries. I still miss Krista and I never met her but the sharing we do on TCS makes so many of us feel like we know each other, feline and human. I guess if I was to write them all down, I'd have at least a third of the days in a year as memorial anniversaries. But I believe that the more loved ones you have, the more losses you have, and I wouldn't trade the joy of having lots of loved ones for a lack of losses.
It still sounds like heat-related to me, with Betty. It's not "that hot" here -- only 90F tops today -- but it's humid and it feels icky. I still haven't found any new furballs, though. Hope I'm not speaking too soon on that one.
*On an unrelated topic, how are you liking your SE3? and is the lightning cable a separate expense?*

I like my SE3. The keyboard is still too small leading to a lot of unnecessary typos and dumb autocorrects. If AI was going to improve anything, it needs to improve phone typing and autocorrect. (Why would I type “anf” instead of “and”, and why would you correct me back to the mistake or suggest it as an alternative spelling?!) I still want the button over Face ID so it’s worth the little annoyance. I know a lot of people were unhappy with the new Sonos app. But I thought they finally made it usable for me. That was the whole reason I upgraded. I needed the new app to add the new speakers to my system.

 

[tarasgirl06]

I like my SE3. The keyboard is still too small leading to a lot of unnecessary typos and dumb autocorrects. If AI was going to improve anything, it needs to improve phone typing and autocorrect. (Why would I type “anf” instead of “and”, and why would you correct me back to the mistake or suggest it as an alternative spelling?!) I still want the button over Face ID so it’s worth the little annoyance. I know a lot of people were unhappy with the new Sonos app. But I thought they finally made it usable for me. That was the whole reason I upgraded. I needed the new app to add the new speakers to my system.

I don't ever use autocorrect. Yeah, the keyboard could be bigger, though. I'm thinking about getting a 3.

 

[daftcat75]

I don't ever use autocorrect. Yeah, the keyboard could be bigger, though. I'm thinking about getting a 3.

I don't remember if the lightning cable came with it or not. The lightning headphones came with it. That was helpful. I think there was a lightning to USB-C cable which is also helpful. I'm ready for USB-A and micro to be retired. (The inventor of USB-A, when he's dead and buried, they'll lower his grave halfway into the ground, pull it out, turn it around, and then reinsert him. As for the inventor of autocorrect, his obituary will read, "Restaurant in Peace" ) I have plenty of lightning cables already. I also really like the Qi charging pads. I have one on the desk, one next to "the chair", and one on the nightstand next to bed. Nice to just toss my phone onto the pad and not worry about the cable.

 

[tarasgirl06]

I don't remember if the lightning cable came with it or not. The lightning headphones came with it. That was helpful. I think there was a lightning to USB-C cable which is also helpful. I'm ready for USB-A and micro to be retired. (The inventor of USB-A, when he's dead and buried, they'll lower his grave halfway into the ground, pull it out, turn it around, and then reinsert him. As for the inventor of autocorrect, his obituary will read, "Restaurant in Peace" ) I have plenty of lightning cables already. I also really like the Qi charging pads. I have one on the desk, one next to "the chair", and one on the nightstand next to bed. Nice to just toss my phone onto the pad and not worry about the cable.

So I bought Midnight. With cable.
*He might get confuzzled. Or a tad bit dizzy.*
Yeah, "Restaurant in Peace" or perhaps in Pieces. Don't mean to boast, but if you win the top prize in your school's spelling bee, you don't need autocorrect.

 

[daftcat75]

Ooof! Betty was spending good time on the counter with me while I was prepping her lunch. Then I finally plated it and she wouldn't even sniff it. What the....?! I'm wondering if she's not so keen on the salmon oil that the other CBD is suspended in. She did eventually eat second dinner last night. Let's see how lunch goes today. If she skips it again, I'll switch her back to the other CBD oil.

This is after she got a good rubdown and shed a fair amount on the counter itself. She then relocated to the tree next to the counter. “Hurry up already so I can snub it and get back to my next nap”

 

[tarasgirl06]

Ooof! Betty was spending good time on the counter with me while I was prepping her lunch. Then I finally plated it and she wouldn't even sniff it. What the....?! I'm wondering if she's not so keen on the salmon oil that the other CBD is suspended in. She did eventually eat second dinner last night. Let's see how lunch goes today. If she skips it again, I'll switch her back to the other CBD oil.

This is after she got a good rubdown and shed a fair amount on the counter itself. She then relocated to the tree next to the counter. “Hurry up already so I can snub it and get back to my next nap”
View attachment 481734View attachment 481735

I'm pretty sure that's exactly what she was thinking. If it's any consolation, which I'm sure it isn't, Elvis and Mr. Fluffy are snubbing their beef, too. "Where's the beef? We don't care!" It's hot (91F) and the entire ant population of this area has decided to make our home their destination. *This isn't an A(nt) B&B. Clear out, you guys.*

 

[daftcat75]

I'm pretty sure that's exactly what she was thinking. If it's any consolation, which I'm sure it isn't, Elvis and Mr. Fluffy are snubbing their beef, too. "Where's the beef? We don't care!" It's hot (91F) and the entire ant population of this area has decided to make our home their destination. *This isn't an A(nt) B&B. Clear out, you guys.*

It's not even hot. She took a few nibbles. Then she was just sitting next to it like maybe I'd take a hint and bring her something else. I came down and took a couple of morsels off the plate onto the carpet. She ate those. I figured a little food in her is better than none at all. I'm not going to press the issue and let her tell me if she's going to finish lunch. If she's not going to finish it, we'll switch back to the other CBD and see if that's the issue. That salmon oil is pungent. Even two drops is enough for me to smell it. So if she's really not crazy about the stuff, that could certainly be putting her off.

Trace the ant path back to its source and create a moat of either cinnamon (never worked that well for me) or diatomaceous earth. Better if you can just pour the DE into the source if it's a hole or something. It's not very humane if you're an all creatures lover. Personally, I have a four limb limit in my home. Anything with more than four limbs is going to be shown the door if it's cooperative, or the shoe if it's not.