Been A While....

As my "Cat'lic" friends in the old hometown of NYC might say, "Bless me, fadda, for I have sinned. It's been six weeks since my last post."


Since I'm like CommanderGuy in that things are never, ever my fault, I can only throw myself on the mercy of my readers, with an explanation. It's been quite busy at work (which, from the bosses' point of view, is A Good Thing), plus I'm trying to get another business off the ground, plus we're still stuck with dial-up at the spacious yet luxurious 618Rants Galactic Headquarters.


Obviously, time to play some catch-up.


Part I - Pet Blogging... or, the Ministry of Homeland Security strikes again


Most important things first. As previously noted, the Ministry of Homeland Security strictly enforces the Federal Pet Blogging and Associated Silliness Act of 2002. I just received a threat-o-gram from them, pointing out that my last pet blogging occurred on January 14. They... implied... that I'd better get my poop in a group before they disappear me to Club Fed - Gitmo.


Emily, our Lab, has a slight problem. She has a severe case of OCD -- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder -- about chasing her tennis ball. She'd be out there 24-7 if she could. We found a gadget called a Chuck-It, which launches a ball further than my tired old arm ever could. Anywho, she's coming back from about her 83rd full-speed dash into the back yard, when Joey pounced on her. Yup, that big mean 12-pound catbeast terrorized my poor little 65-pound dog.

Joey, in a typical "Dreaded Wild Kitty of Borneo" pose

Speaking of Joey (the cat), he's pissed at me because Mr Bailey (a local feral cat) decided to de-feralize himself and moved in with us. Bailer, as he's not so affectionately known, thinks he's maintaining his feral street cred by only snuggling with Mommy when I'm not around. But Mommy finks him out. Bailster sneaks into the house underneath Emily, jumps on the bed, grabs the wife's hand in all four paws, curls around the hand like a lobster, and purrs contentedly for 3-4 hours of belly-skritching.

Mr. Bailey, on the porch, expressing his disdain for becoming a house-cat

Politics and Other Less-Fun Stuff

The always-talented, always informative Red Girl, Blue State has a whole slew of posts up, all of which are worth reading. Topics range from Sirius Radio (which I had thought about getting till I read this), and the hypocritical mouth-breathin', Bible-thumpin', hooker-humpin', sister-marryin', rifle-rack-in-the-pickmup neocon wingnut idjits, to CommanderGuy and a pat on the back for a handful of Rethugs (Hagel, Coleman, Sununu, Smith, Warner, Collins and Snowe for voting for Webb's amendment to the Defense Authorizations Bill, and Bond for voting to suspend the Pentagon's use of a sleaze tactic to cheat injured vets out of benefits they earned).

Disaster Preparedness and Other Stuff We Wish We Didn't Have to Worry About


Been a lot of articles, both in the Tubes and in the dead-tree sector, on disaster preparedness. As I get through them, I'll do additional posts on items of interest.



And, In Parting, A Sign of My Deep Admiration for CommanderGuy Decider