Quotable

I have realized that the past and the future are real illusions, that they exist only in the present, which is what there is and all there is. -- Alan Watts

(Almost) Friday Pet Blogging | Long Day

Can you tell what this is:

Hmmm, let's see...

1. There's a metal table -- with a lift, no less.
2. Plain walls.
3. Roll of paper towls.
4. Bundle of blankets on the table.
5. Feels maybe a tad confining in this room.

Oh my Gods! Milo had to go to the emergency vet again!

Milo blocked on the way home Thursday night. For the uninitiated, that means he wanted to pee -- but couldn't. And a urinary blockage can be fatal for cats. What an unbelievable ending for his long day. On top of fasting (Milo couldn't have food from 11pm Wed night up to his Thur 5pm appt); being driven all across Bucks county (oh, and crapping on the way) to the only board-certified, specialist radiologist; getting shaved for the ultrasound; learning that indeed a PU surgery was in his future; and then making the long trek back home ... Milo had to be catheterized as well. You see, we were on our way home from having tests done to determine what is at the root of the recurring bacterial infection that causes Milo's urinary problems -- the results of said tests, as I mentioned earlier, confirm that Milo will need the PU surgery just like his brother, Otis, had last year -- and his urinary tract became blocked. Well, we weren't certain he was blocked, but we knew something was wrong. We could tell he was trying to pee. So we pulled over and checked him out to see if he had done anything. He had not peed ... but he had left a few spots of blood on the carrier floor. Good thing we were driving right by the emergency vet, huh? Milo was there from 6:30pm through about 10:00pm -- that's gotta be a record, even for us. Of course, we just dropped by without a phone call, so they were unprepared for us. Tommorow, Mrs. Brainwise will talk to our regular vet and schedule Milo's upcoming surgery.

More Pet Blogging See the Friday Ark, featuring a compilation of today's pet blogging posts, over at The Modulator. Check the M&O Archives for previous Milo & Otis appearances. Carnival of the Cats, coming at you every Sunday.

Squirrels?!?

Interesting weekend near the Motherwise-in-law's home. But this is the big news that hit the local paper:

I should mention that one of the "interesting" things that occured was ... gunfire! But I guess a little squirrel action is much more important news. That's right. It's almost as though they were saying: Rest easy everyone. Even though we won't tell you anything about the gunplay that occured practically in your backyard, aren't you glad you only have to worry about horny, not rapid, squirrels? Yeeesh!

Quotable | Attention

The moment one gives close attention to anything, even a blade of grass, it becomes a mysterious, awesome, indescribably magnificent world in itself.

-- Henry Miller, American author (1891–1980).

 Of note: Miller’s first two works, Tropic of Cancer (Paris, 1934) and Tropic of Capricorn (Paris, 1939), were denied publication in the U.S. until the early 1960s because of "alleged obscenity." Apparently, some folks were focusing too much attention to some of Miller's confessional material. So we see that the States' puritanical and "holier than thou" campaigns keep coming around. Ah, the cycles of inanity.

Fruits Fighting Forgetfulness

From EurekAlert:

British Blackcurrants Beat Alzheimers' Public release date: 23-Jan-2006 "Compounds in blackcurrants could prevent Alzheimer's disease and the characteristics of British berries suggest they do it best…New research led by Dilip Ghosh of the Horticulture and Food Research Institute in New Zealand, shows that compounds in blackcurrants have a potent protective effect in cultured neuronal cells against the types of stress caused by dopamine and amyloid-b, a peptide associated with Alzheimer's disease."

I wanted to make a comment about this story, but I cannot remember what it was.

Chinese Government on the Dover (ID) Verdict

Man, the Chinese are not only a burgeoning economic powerhouse, they're already ahead of the curve regarding Intelligent Design! The Chinese government, via the People's Daily Online (People's Daily, China) has weighed in on the Dover verdict. The concluding statement, in English:

"...not everyone agreed with the [Dover ID] ruling. One poll after another has shown that quite a few people really believe that God creates the world and the people in six days described in Genesis. Thus people don't think this ruling has ended the dispute for good. Although creationists will not stop here, they will surely fail in front of science."

Go check out the full piece: Is Intelligent Design Science?

Tickle U.

The psychology of tickling: The following quote comes from a Queen's University (Canada) press release about an article in PLoS Biology:

"'It's well-known that you can't tickle yourself … One explanation is that since all the sensations are completely predictable, we do "sensory attenuation" which reduces our touch perception.' Because people continually receive a barrage of sensory information, it's necessary to distinguish between what is caused by our own movements and what is due to changes in the outside world."

I'm betting that this "sensory attenuation" occurs in many other areas of life, too. Click to read the full Press Release and see pics of the Virtual Eye-Hand Coordination Laboratory.

Friday Pet Blogging | Update on Milo

Whew! What a week we've had. Or, rather, what a week Milo has had. You may recall that we had to run Milo to the emergency vet last Thursday night (Jan. 12). He was blocked, and he had to be catheterized. He spent two nights with the catheter, one night at the emergency vet (V.E.T.S.) and then the next night at our regular vet's office in Doylestown. Milo stayed at the Doylestown Animal Hospital for the whole weekend. I did get to visit him on Saturday afternoon, just before the catheter was removed. He was happy to see me, but tired of being poked and prodded:

::: SIGH :::

Milo came home on Monday, January 16. Mrs. Brainwise swooped by on her way home from work. The PU surgery is not an option at this time because Milo's blockage -- or near blockage as the case had been prior to that weekend -- is always prefaced by some kind of infection. Usually a raging infection, in the words of our vet. The antibiotic Clavamox is usually prescribed. And, in general, it does a good job of beating the infection back. But because the infection does return, often within mere days of finishing the Clavamox, it is now apparent that this antibiotic does not eliminate the source of the infection. Of course, to do that, we need to know the specific bug that is, ahem, "bugging" our boy. But efforts to culture the bacteria from samples have come up empty. The thinking now is that the Clavamox beats the bacteria into a retreat, but then it lies low somewhere in Milo's body and waits for an opportune time to once again do its thing. In order to determine if this is the case, we need to take Milo to a radiologist for tests. But there is more than one way to do the screening, so we are waiting for our doc to speak with the local radiologist and choose the most effective test. As I said, Milo came home on Monday night. And, as per usual, he has a two week prescription for Clavamox. And he was doing fine. Just fine. But you knew there would be a wrinke, right? Wednesday evening, I am on my way home following a chiro appointment, and I finally notice that Mrs. Brainwise has tried to call my cell phone no less than three times. I don't see a message indicator (not just yet, anyway), so I quickly return the call. I get Mrs. Brainwise on the line, and she says she is at the vet's office ... again. And she says a few other things rather quickly. I am completely flummoxed ... because I have not listened to a message she left (and she thinks I have). Once I tell her that I only saw an indicator for three missed calls, and saw no message indicator, she briefly brings me up to speed before the doctor comes to speak with her. Milo peed ... in the litter box (well, that's good) ... and there was some blood (what?! oh my gods!!). She said he seemed fine afterward, and that there had been no straining or complaining when he was in the box. But she did call the vet (of course). When she supplied this latest news, the receptionist understandably told her to come on down. She did not have to bring Milo with her. But she was going to meet with Dr. Ran, who was probably going to change Milo's prescription. Mrs. Brainwise then had to get off the line because the vet was ready. I got home before Mrs. Brainwise, and I saw Milo under the "living room" blanket -- something he rarely does, but he did seem to be a little chillier than his norm:

Milo: Still a sick boy

We do have a new prescription to fight the infection (the name escapes me). Now, instead of two pills per day, he needs to get two pills in the morning, and once again in the evening. No word yet on when the radiologist will be testing him. He seems to be more or less OK. He is eating and drinking regularly. He is playing. He is not complaining, as far as we can tell (he is a quiet boy). The only issue since Wednesday is that he does not seem to have used the litter box at all yesterday. And he is regularly quite ... um ... regular. Please, keep your fingers crossed for a positive, and healthy outcome.

More Pet Blogging See the Friday Ark, featuring a compilation of today's pet blogging posts, over at The Modulator. Check the M&O Archives for previous Milo & Otis appearances. Carnival of the Cats, coming at you every Sunday.

Friday Pet Blogging | Separated at Birth?

Tiger at Mexico City's Chapultepec Zoo ...

(San Francisco Gazette - SFGate.com)

Otis, in my dining room ...

"Give me the freakin' feathers!!"

I dunno about you, but I sure see a resemblance.

More Pet Blogging See the Friday Ark, featuring a compilation of today's pet blogging posts, over at The Modulator. Check the M&O Archives for previous Milo & Otis appearances. Carnival of the Cats, coming at you every Sunday.

Bishop Spong on "Death with Dignity"

The following statement was made regarding the Supreme Court's decision in the case of Gonzales vs. the State of Oregon.

Affirming choice as a human right at the last phase of life requires a shift in thinking about death. Death is not evil or sinful; rather, it is as natural as our birth. Each of life's stages, including the last, must be embraced with vigor.

I challenge those who see the Supreme Court's decision as a harbinger of abuse – who imagine scenarios of state-ordered executions of the elderly or health maintenance organizations curtailing medical payments until a quick death is achieved. The risk of abuse can be eliminated by investing this life-and-death decision solely with the affected individual. Results of Oregon's seven-year experience with the aid-in-dying law show NO evidence of abuse.

The right to a good death is a basic human freedom. The Supreme Court's decision to uphold aid in dying allows us to view and act on death as a dignified moral and godly choice for those suffering with terminal illnesses.

-- Bishop John Shelby Spong

You can read the whole piece here.