Shad

Here ya go…

Last night I walked over to Stubb’s for the Bela Fleck show. There really aren’t words to describe the Flecktones. Four extrememly talented guys working together to produce some of the most interesting and complex music today. Victor Wooten is quite possibly the greatest bassest of our time. There are really not words to describe the appeal of watching a true master doing what they do best.

Luckily for me, the show was outdoors, so in addition to the show I’d paid for, I was also able to see the incredible show that the cosmos was putting on for us. There was a total lunar eclipse last night. You don’t see those very often, and to be outside on a beautiful night listening to beautiful music… well… what else can I say. It was awesome.

In other news, the cats are well. I actually managed to get one of them to hang out in my lap last night for a while. He’s a real lover. While his sister is still a bit skittish, you can tell that she’s watching and learning.

I gotta come up with some names. Any Ideas?

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Cats in the house. They’re super skittish… and I’m not really sure how to let them know that they’re wecome here.

Hmmm.

I tried Tuna… I really thought that would cement me as a decent guy. I tried the cat toys. I was able to get one of them to come out an play a little, but he still runs everytime I make any attempt to even move in his general direction. The other one has yet to really make any attempt to venture out from behind the sofa. I’m starting to think that it really isn’t a cat at all, but more of a furry squishy rock. Hmmmm….

So anyone out there have this happen to them? Are cats really this skittsh when they get moved to a new environment? Will they get past this? Or are they just going to live behind the couch for ever? Sneaking out at night to scavenge for food. Bolting back to the safety of thier couchy home at the slightest noise.

This would make me very sad.

Now for the funny story. When they got here last night, within a couple of hours they somehow managed to get into the broiler of the stove (there was a hole in the back). Now, at first I didn’t really think this was a super bad thing. I mean, cats get into and out of some odd places, so what’s the big deal… right?

Well it turns out that down in the broiler is where (you ready for this?) the pilot light is! And I don’t know if you knew this, but fur… yeah… um… it burns. All I can think about is… well… let’s not even go there.

So, of course, I blew out the pilot light. So now, at least the cats wouldn’t catch fire. And that’s good, cause I gotta tell ya, I’ll place odds that that would NOT smell good.

I then realized that the stove now filling with gas was probably not much better. Now I’m no veterenarian, but I’m pretty sure kittens can’t breath propane. I think I read that somewhere…

Cats for Morons - Chapter 12 - Cat Maintenance
Do not, repeat, do not think that cats can breath propain. This is a common misconception among new cat owners. Attempting to place your cat in a propane filled closed space will not be in the best interests of the animal…

See.

So I pulled the stove away from the wall to turn off the gas. And in the process of stretching to reach the shutoff valve, I pulled my back out. Ouch. At least I got the gas turned off though so at least the cats were safe. Unfortunately, it cost mea a number quality minutes spread out on the kitchen floor. Fortunately, Katie and Mark were around. Otherwise, I would’ve had no one to laugh at my predicament.

Anyway, the back is better (thanks Mom for listening to me whine at 1:30am) and the cats are safe. I’m hoping they’ll just need some time to adjust. Hmmmm….

604 Highland. Saturday night. 10pm.

Wow… computers replaced by… um… brains. yeah.

This brings up an interesting thought for me. If we indeed are able to program a brain, doesn’t that mean that we, at some level, understand how brain “material” works? As we learn more about how to manipulate that material, will it be possible for us to “build-a-better-brain” at some point? By that, I mean brain tissue that we are capible of making full use of… in a way we will never be able to make use of our own brains.

Thoughts?

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Once again, Stewart is my personal hero. Common John… at least run for Congress. We need more like you.

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Is Bush slowly loosing his ability to speak in public? You be the judge.

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For the last couple of weekends, I have have been working furiously in the yard trying to get it cleaned up a little bit. I built a pathway from the patio to the driveway. It had been a nasty little dirt trail, but now its pretty sweet (pic 1 and 2). I also put in a little fire circle. It will be pretty nice once it starts really getting cold again (it’s 90 here today… blah).

This is great. John Stewart calling the right-wing guy on Crossfire a dick. He really seems to be taking the media to task over thier half hearted coverage of our presidential candidates. Very very funny.

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