Arwen is by far and away the single most responsive cat we’ve had the pleasure of living with. We’ve had a cat (only one at a time) for the past 37 years. The first two were Siamese, Arwen is mostly Maine Coon. She does not have papers to detail her bloodline, she was a rescue cat. Her obvious and striking gratitude in being adopted was obvious from the first hour she connected with Debbie. The entire crowd in attendance (Debbie’s surprise birthday party) were amazed at how fast the two bonded.
Arwen has demonstrated to me, on hundreds of separate occasions that her command of the English language is far more sophisticated than expected. She picks up and responds to subtle conversations that Debbie and I have. Her daily expectation of her ritualistic grooming is delightful to see, and at times exasperating because typically my arrival from work coincides with her desire to receive the brush. She knows she cannot get brushed until we “meet and greet”. This ritual is played out every afternoon at some point in time between 4:30 and 5:30. She awaits my movement to sit upon the ottoman. Once seated she comes up to me and rubs against my legs for dozens of times. I’ll rub her as she passes by, or twirl her tail. She continues circling back in elaborate figure eights across the den floor and swipes both legs coming from the left. Then, in a mirror image of the previous maneuver she swipes from the right side. After some minutes of this slow motion activity she heads over toward the brush.
——- to be continued.
Friday, August 31, 2018
How Much Hotter is Your Hometown Today Compared to the Year of Your Birth?
The New York Times offers up a glimpse of how many of those 90 degree days we typically saw each year and how many we may expect to see over the next twenty or more years.
All you need to do is input the name of your home town and your year of birth. Note, the data set does not go back further than 1960, so those born earlier than then can use 1960.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/30/climate/how-much-hotter-is-your-hometown.html?emc=edit_nn_20180831&nl=morning-briefing&nlid=8099462420180831&te=1
I'm going to "cheat" and give you the results from my hometown, Birmingham, Alabama. In 1960 the temperature hit 90 degrees an average of 56 days a year. Then we went through the well known short period when the climate chilled a bit in the late 60's - the 1970's. I remember those times as snowy in the winter too! Today, in 2018 I can expect an average of 69 days above 90 and by the time I'm 80 years old that figure is expected to be approximately 84 days!
Why don't you pick your hometown and give it a whirl?
-------------------------------------
The climate modeling was performed by Climate Impact Lab.
See the bottom of the web page for details on the numerical models used for this graphic display.
All you need to do is input the name of your home town and your year of birth. Note, the data set does not go back further than 1960, so those born earlier than then can use 1960.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/30/climate/how-much-hotter-is-your-hometown.html?emc=edit_nn_20180831&nl=morning-briefing&nlid=8099462420180831&te=1
I'm going to "cheat" and give you the results from my hometown, Birmingham, Alabama. In 1960 the temperature hit 90 degrees an average of 56 days a year. Then we went through the well known short period when the climate chilled a bit in the late 60's - the 1970's. I remember those times as snowy in the winter too! Today, in 2018 I can expect an average of 69 days above 90 and by the time I'm 80 years old that figure is expected to be approximately 84 days!
Why don't you pick your hometown and give it a whirl?
-------------------------------------
The climate modeling was performed by Climate Impact Lab.
See the bottom of the web page for details on the numerical models used for this graphic display.
Thursday, August 30, 2018
Cruising for breakfast
Arwen has food anxieties. No, she isn’t starving and her bowl of dried food is never empty. She just wants to insure that her human caretakers understand the importance of receiving canned food on time and served with a flourish. This morning she “got in my face”about it, albeit with the sweetest demeanor. Yes, she will receive her breakfast in about five minutes!
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
What’s Going On
Well, after a hiatus I’ve returned to my blog and hope to keep up some semblance of continuity. We’ll see if that pans out. In the meantime I’ll close today’s activities with a link to one of my recent Modular musical excursions.
Cumulous cloud Terrarium floating over Morpheus
Cumulous cloud Terrarium floating over Morpheus
Vacation Books - Arwen's Recommendations
Vacation means many different things to different folks. One of the things I associate with a vacation is trying to pick up a “vacation book” to carry along and read when ever time and space allow. This past week I had two books to read. Both of which fit the “vacation book” criteria: not work related, not too intellectually taxing (no philosophy books), and interesting. Arwen has exactly the same criteria! She is sharing our vacation books with you.
“Hope Never Dies” is a work of fiction (obviously), wherein Joe Biden and Barack Obama play the part of amateur detectives in unraveling the mysterious death of an Amtrak train conductor. This at times hilarious, and at times thought provoking novel is the work of author Andrew Shaffer, whose work “Fifty Shames of Earl Grey” established the author as a purveyor of malarkey! Arwen agrees that the book is pretty crazy at times but an entertaining and fast read. She recommends this book but refuses to give any plot secrets away.
“The Stranger in the Woods” is the non fictional account of a man who walked into the woods of Maine and disappeared as a hermit for twenty seven years. Christopher Knight survived in the woods for almost three decades by ingenious survival techniques and by becoming an accomplished burglar. A lake community was terrified by the unknown and uncatchable thief who was highly selective in what he stole, and what he refused to steal. After being arrested his encounters in jail, court and with a community of people, and his difficulties in dealing with that transition are detailed in the book. The author also examines the life of hermits, and others who have walked away from mankind and dealt with solitude.
Arwen likes this book because the hermit did not kill animals to stay alive. She recommends this book highly!
“Hope Never Dies” is a work of fiction (obviously), wherein Joe Biden and Barack Obama play the part of amateur detectives in unraveling the mysterious death of an Amtrak train conductor. This at times hilarious, and at times thought provoking novel is the work of author Andrew Shaffer, whose work “Fifty Shames of Earl Grey” established the author as a purveyor of malarkey! Arwen agrees that the book is pretty crazy at times but an entertaining and fast read. She recommends this book but refuses to give any plot secrets away.
“The Stranger in the Woods” is the non fictional account of a man who walked into the woods of Maine and disappeared as a hermit for twenty seven years. Christopher Knight survived in the woods for almost three decades by ingenious survival techniques and by becoming an accomplished burglar. A lake community was terrified by the unknown and uncatchable thief who was highly selective in what he stole, and what he refused to steal. After being arrested his encounters in jail, court and with a community of people, and his difficulties in dealing with that transition are detailed in the book. The author also examines the life of hermits, and others who have walked away from mankind and dealt with solitude.
Arwen likes this book because the hermit did not kill animals to stay alive. She recommends this book highly!
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