I Have Returned

People of the Blogosphere ... I have returned! Don't everyone jump up and down at once. Yeeesh. Quick Updates:

• Disney World was great, albeit hot and humid (with a few rounds of showers to boot). Mrs. Brainwise and I loved hanging with our six-year-old niece and watching her enjoy her first visit to Mickey's place.
• Otis is doing well. His stitches were removed on June 30. There is very little scarring from what I can see. And he is handling the adjustment to his new plumbing pretty well. His accuracy has returned (which means he gets everything in the litter box), but he is suffering a bit of a bout of the runs.
• Milo is not really happy with Otis' return. Oh, he was initially sad about Otis' absence. And Milo even tried to find him every now and then. But then Milo seemed to get comfortable with the situation and even enjoy his stint as an only child. So ... right after Otis returned on July 2, Milo initiated an attempt to assert his dominance over Otis, hissing and swatting at his brother whenever he could.
• Milo's bid for alpha status may, however, be rather short-lived. Otis had been backing down whenever Milo hissed at him. But this morning, Otis charged Milo and knocked him off his perch. Milo hissed, but did nothing to reclaim the spot. So ... I think Milo will eventually have to accept his previous position in the hierarchy. [The funny thing is ... Otis didn't even realize that he had been the alpha cat ... he was just more outgoing.]

More detailed updates and rants as I can afford the time.