Book Ratings

Book ratings explained:

* I didn't like it | ** It was OK | *** I liked it | **** I really liked it | ***** I loved it

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Windows Vista Plain and Simple

by Jerry Joyce and Marianne Moon.

This book is not for Dummies or for Idiots. This book is for people who've never seen a computer and are probably hard pressed to even spell the word. If this book were any plainer and simpler, it would be in baby-speak. For an absolute newbie to the Windows environment, this book would probably be heaven sent. For those of us who've been using Windows since the Devil was in diapers, this is baby-speak.

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Interestingly enough . . .

Your Eyes Should Be Brown

Your eyes reflect: Depth and wisdom

What's hidden behind your eyes: A tender heart

Thumbs up!

You Are the Thumb

You're unique and flexible. And you defy any category.
Mentally strong and agile, you do things your own way. And you do them well.
You are a natural leader... but also truly a loner. You inspire many but connect with few.

You get along well with: The Middle Finger

Stay away from: The Pinky


(I find it funny, what I should stay away from. How about you, Best Friend? Do you think it funny?)

Thursday, May 24, 2007

I have a new monitor

I picked up a 19" wide screen flat panel on sale at Best Buy. Weird! It's going to take some getting used to, but at least everything is bright and clear. The old CRT was starting to get dull and dark.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

I thought Trigger was a horse . . .

Well . . . (Deep subject for such a shallow mind.)

My finger ailment has a name. Actually, it has two of them. There's the sort of generic medical term - tenosynovitis - and then there's the catchy name everybody uses - trigger finger. And the lovely hand surgeon has put me on a third anti-inflammatory to see if this one will help. The catch is that I have to take it for two weeks before we'll know. And if this one doesn't work, there's a few dozen others we can try. And if none of them work, then there's a steroid injection into the tendon. And if that doesn't work, then there is a minor surgical procedure that can be done that will leave my hand unusable for at least two weeks. (The minor part is that it can be done under local anesthetic and takes about 20 minutes.)

~ sigh ~

It looks like I have to live with my finger problem for a bunch more weeks.

~ sigh ~

Thursday, May 17, 2007

Looking for a hand surgeon

Three weeks on various drugs and no improvement in the hand situation and I'm now recovering from the effects of the last drug - digestive tract, blood pressure, and vision all affected. I stopped taking the medicine yesterday and I'm still sick as a dog today. And my finger has gone back to being almost completely unusable. The drugs were just masking whatever the problem was, not dealing with it. So now I'm on the hunt for a hand surgeon who is on my insurance plan.

And all I want to do is knit. There's a pair of socks I'd like to make.

~ mumble grumble ~

Saturday, May 05, 2007

Can you believe this wee, timorous beastie . . .

Baby Horus sitting on the coffee table


Baby Horus sitting under the coffee table

. . . turned into this grooming lion king?

Horus grooming

Horus taking a small pause from grooming

Horus resuming his grooming

It only gets better

20 million chickens may have eaten tainted feed

WASHINGTON - Federal officials on Friday placed a hold on 20 million chickens raised for market in several states because their feed was mixed with pet food containing an industrial chemical.


Later on in the article they mention pigs as well.

Buy American

Exporter mislabeled tainted pet food ingredient

SHANGHAI, China - The exporter of a contaminated pet food ingredient blamed for the deaths of dogs and cats in the United States may have avoided Chinese export inspections by labeling it a nonfood product, a U.S. government report says.


I feed my cats Purina One. The last time I checked, it was not one of the brands affected. And all my cats are thriving and as annoying as hell, just like they're supposed to be.