August 2009 Archives

We have two cats at home. Gavin, who turned 13 back in May, is a seal point Himalayan, and Smidge, who is 11 and Gavin's half-sister, is a Himalayan blue lynx point. We love them both.

Smidge has had medical issues all of her life, including a botched Cesarean that nearly did her in. One constant is a skin condition that requires her to get regular injections at the vets. She tolerates the visits to the vet pretty well.

A few years back when I brought her back from the vet, I left the cat carrier on the living room floor by the front door, with the door unlocked. For whatever reason, Smidge decided she wanted to live in the carrier for a few days — maybe the cool plastic felt good against her itchy skin, or maybe she just likes being in a cozy spot. In a few days, once the medicine has made her feel better, she comes out and resumes her normal routine. Since that first time, we always leave the carrier open for her to use for a few days after a shot.

She got a shot last week, and I left the box on the end table in Justin's room like always. And, like always, she hung in there for a few days. Today, though, we got a surprise.

I'm working from home today (don't ask), and when I went to get a glass of water Justin waved me into his room, telling me to look in the carrier. Smidge was sitting on Justin's table (like usual), so I wasn't sure what to expect.

I peered in — and saw Gavin laying in there, all cuddled up, with his face towards the open door. It was very cute. He's never done this before. I thought he hated the cat carrier.

By the time I got my camera together he'd woken up and moved onto Justin's bed, but it was still a cool sight to see.

Smidge	Gavin

I woke up this morning with a spring in my step, looking forward to a long but wonderful day of riding up to Yosemite for my last Dam Tour stop. It didn't work out that way. Instead, for reasons I can't go into here, I spent the day at home, frustrated at myself and annoyed with the world.

I saw my first car with a CA license plate beginning with 6J. It was a beautiful gray Mini, parked on Fair Oaks north of California, by the Starbucks. It had a June month sticker.

I've had some fluid on my right knee for the last few months. There's no pain, no redness, but it's really puffy. My supportive family tells me it feels like a silicon implant just under the skin...

I wasn't certain what kind of doctor I should go to about it. Luckily, Justin had an appointment with Dr. Ackerson, the orthopedist, and he asked him about my knee. Dr. Ackerson said he was the guy for the job, and the sooner the better. My first visit was last Wednesday. Everyone else in my family have been regulars with Dr. Ackerson, but this was my first visit to him as a patient.

He looked it over, then told me a scary story about a former colleague of his who had drained the fluid from a patient's elbow, which somehow introduced an infection, which led to surgery, which led to the guy having a fatal heart attack on the table. He recommended a compression bandage and some daily anti-inflammatories, for seven days.

I went back this morning for the follow-up. I haven't noticed any big changes, but Dr. Ackerson said it felt more fluid than it had been. He felt a little guilty about it, but he suggested I keep on with the ace bandage and the anti-inflammatories for another two weeks. He said even if it doesn't go down much, the compression was loosening the fluid up, which will make it easier to extract. He warned me that he'll probably need to make a small incision to get all the fluid out - a needle alone won't do the trick.

I can walk, and ride a bike, but no running for the duration, and I'm supposed to avoid kneeling down on the knee — so no sprinkler work for a while. I was hoping to get it over with today, but he's the doc.

I installed a new, PHP-based URL shortening package today. The home-built one I've used in the past remains in place, but new entries will use the new package, which is more robust than the old one.

Inside Man today, with Drew.

Too cute not to post. From NatGeo:

My husband and I were exploring Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park-Canada when we stopped for a timed picture of the two of us. We had our camera set up on some rocks and were getting ready to take the picture when this curious little ground squirrel appeared, became intriqued with the sound of the focusing camera and popped right into our shot! A once in a lifetime moment! We were laughing about this little guy for days!!

Here's a map showing the states that Carole has visited. It does not include South Dakota and/or Nebraska, which she likely visited as a very young child with her parents. It now includes Wyoming and Montana, which she visited on her way to Spokane in August, 2009.

She has also visited three Canadian provinces: British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec.

In chronological order.

• Killing Floor (1997)
• Die Trying (1998)
• Tripwire (1999)
• Running Blind (2000)
• Echo Burning (2001)
• Without Fail (2002) †
• Persuader § (2003) †
• The Enemy (2004) †‡
• One Shot (2005) § - due for re-release in paperback on 10/27/09
• The Hard Way (2006) †
• Bad Luck and Trouble (2007) †
• Nothing to Lose (2008) †
• Gone Tomorrow (2009) §
• 61 Hours (2010) º

† = acquired, but not yet read
§ = unowned
‡ = prequel, time frame occurs before Killing Floor
º = not yet released.

• Black Out
• Old Flames
• A Little White Death
• Bluffing Mr. Churchill †
• Flesh Wounds §
• Second Violin §

† = acquired, but not yet read
§ = unowned
º = not yet released.

• The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
• Tears of the Giraffe
• Morality for Beautiful Girls
• The Kalahari Typing School for Men
• The Full Cupboard of Life
• In the Company of Cheerful Ladies
• Blue Shoes and Happiness †
• The Good Husband of Zebra Drive §
• The Miracle at Speedy Motors §
• Tea Time for the Traditionally Built §

† = acquired, but not yet read
§ = unowned
º = not yet released.