Lucky Strikes Again

That crazy cat was sleeping near our driveway, all tired out from hunting and killing this big old rat.

Lucky/Not Lucky

On the way out of the house looking for breakfast I saw enough feathers to make me think of a pillow fight gone bad. Spotting the pretty but dead woodpecker I said "Oh crap!" out loud and within seconds heard the familiar voice of Lucky, one of the many cats who live on our street.

Out of all the kitties around here, this guy is the only one who not only doesn't run away but actually comes up to me for attention.
LOTS of attention, and he never shuts up!

Being a life-long "cat person" I was frustrated for years by the skittish pussies on our street, so after making Lucky's aquaintance I actually bought a can of treats to give my new buddy whenever we crossed paths, and I guess the dead bird was his way of returning the favor in this Thanksgiving season.

You can see the hunter in him.
I was a little bummed that such a pretty woodpecker died on my driveway or porch or sidewalk (feathers are everywhere!) but such is the circle of life.
(Edit: This was a male Golden Fronted Woodpecker, and a real fine example at that. I saw him the day before hanging upside-down from our patio timbers looking for lunch in the form of ants and the bumblebees that live in big holes.)


Here's the funny part:
Around Halloween I found a familiar red cat collar on the driveway behind my car, and brought it inside.
Over a week later I hung out with Lucky for a few minutes and remembering the collar (partially seen in photo #1) fetched it and hooked him back up.
My hope was that his owners would be completely mystified as to how this goofy cat managed to not only find it again but also put it back on by himself!

It was one of those pranks where you don't get to witness the results, but it still gives you a warm feeling of satisfaction and makes for a good story.

Blogger, Your Ass Is Showing

First, the picture:
When I go out in public, I wear pants and shoes and a shirt, minimum.
And should I need to put air in my tires or anything else that requires my hands to be near the ground, I crouch, kneel, sit...whatever gets the job done while retaining a shred of dignity.
An ass covered with a thin layer of shorts isn't dignified, and can start a fight when aimed at you.
I was disgusted.


As for the title of this post:
Blogger's post editor/composer isn't working with my Opera browser, yet again.
I suppose they made some recent "improvements" because that's always the first sign of trouble for those of us in the minority.
No movie upload button, no blockquote button, nor bold, italic, or even 'insert link'.
No compose mode, either.
The title box moves into the body of the post randomly.
Other than that it's just great!
I hate having to use Firefox just to put up a blog post correctly.

I hate MySpace, too.
What a mess!
Can't remember a single time when MySpace actually worked without major problems.
404 errors, having to log-in twice, not staying logged-in even though the 'remember me' box is checked, being sent to MySpace Mobile for no reason, pictures that don't load, audio that only plays 10% of the time, complete browser freeze-ups, pages that take 10 minutes to scroll all the way down (I'll admit, this one is likely due to 3rd party page apps and codemonkey dillholes that throw too much crap onto the page).
But seriously, has anyone EVER gotten through a session at MySpace without something random and stupid happening?

So why do I still use it?
It's part of my job description.
Blogging is better, so I guess I'll shut up about the minor irritations that affect Blogger every few months--at least is isn't 24/365.

Time For a Dozen Beers

Beer is the only way to cope with all the losing going on around here.
First The Spurs vs. Dallas, then...

My main point, America, is that those who don't study history are doomed to repeat it.
And those who don't take real human nature into account when dreaming up "new ideas" and "change" will always be surprised when it doesn't work.
Ronald Reagan proved many things during his years in the White House, and so did Clinton and dos Bushes.
Those lessons (good AND bad) are being ignored, at our peril.

I have read the candidate's words from way before they started running for President.
Either way it wasn't a great choice, but we're well and truly fucked now.

History will repeat itself:
Gas prices will go back up again starting.......right now.
The economy will weaken even more than it has recently because amateurs are in power and the people who have the most to lose are going to play it safe.
Jobless rates will rise.
Our enemies will get stronger.
Terrorists will again hit us on our own soil.
Mark my words--I've been watching this shit since Obama was wearing diapers and a charismatic desire for "change" means nothing.
It's a rough world out there, and now we're the biggest pussies on the block again.


At least it isn't Hillary.
I doubt Obama will play any bullshit games like those that resulted in the Randy Weaver travesty, the Waco mass murder, and the Oklahoma City bombing that was a direct result of them. The Clintons hated/feared guns so much that hundreds of innocent people died and the blood is still on their hands.
Any elected official that fears guns in the hands of honest citizens is not to be trusted. (You take them away from criminals, not good upstanding Americans, stupid).

Read the words of our founding fathers--not the usual stuff, but the books and essays and letters they wrote--when they spoke from the heart and mind. All of that stuff still makes sense today and still works as the single best system of government.


I need another beer...