life with the furry and feathered crew

Something fun from my computer woes

Why do I upgrade a program so quickly?  Following the best advice, I upgraded Firefox to the latest version that is less prone to security breeches.  GREAT, except...  now I couldn't load any extensions.  Humph.  Checking the user board, I find out that many, many others have the same problem.  And I don't like any of the fixes either.  Yet, I try a fix - a new profile - and find that there is no longer a problem.  But I have lost all my former extensions that I liked so much.  Shoot!  I go to the Firefox site and start downloading my faves.  Whoa, what do I discover but "Stumble!".  Way cool.  Pick some categories, hit the Stumble! button and surf to sites you'd never have found or never have thought you'd ever have wanted to visit, but the sites are great! It's a community, you can rate the sites, which increases the chances of a good hit.  Download and install it if you like surfing.  More extensions.

And Chris calls herself my friend.....

A few afternoons ago I was talking to Chris late in the afternoon, near dinnertime.  I innocently and naively mentioned that I was hungry and wondering what Terry would make for dinner when he got home for work.  In a sarcastic voice (I really don't understand why though) she said that she felt sorry (NOT) for me, sitting at home, wondering what I'd get for dinner. 

Another movie - "Hostage"

Terry gives this movie one thumb up.  I'm not sure how he could really rate this movie as he went to the toilet once in the middle and then again at the exciting end - so he missed the finalé. Well, I saw the end and I give the movie a 3/4 thumb up.  Bruce Willis saves the day.  That's the sum of the review.  Okay, here's a hint.... the movie should be called "Hostage Squared".  Anyone could have written the script.  Still, it was entertaining enough for a rainy Easter afternoon. 

"Downfall" - movie review

Downfall is about the last days of Hitler and is told from the point of view of his personal secretary.  This is a German movie (subtitled).  It portrays Hitler as a maniac, but also a (very) occasional softer side.  Some of his closest advisors and their spouses were absolute fanatics who committed suicide rather than be in a Germany without their Fuhrer.  The movie didn't touch on why he commanded such devotion however.  And only in the epilogue contemporary interview with the secretary did it touch on personal responsibility for the atrocities.  Basically, the movie told the story without preachiness or commentary - the viewer is left to her own feelings.  Excellently acted - the actor portraying Hitler looked like him too.  Highly recommended.

Another movie we saw on DVD was "Tampopo".  My parents may remember this movie as we watched it together several years ago.  Tampopo is a comedy, a Japanese movie that explores food interests and fetishes in many different settings.  The quest for the perfect ramen ties it together.  Fun movie - I laughed out loud. 

Geikie's trip to the vet

The card in the mail said that Geikie was due for his annual exam.  Poor Geikie was traumatized for over a day last year after his exam - he wasn't too keen on being wrapped in a towel and strapped into a strait jacket.  I could hardly blame him, actually. 

Anyway, being a good mum/mom I took him to the vet.  The vet looked in his ears, his nostrils, weighed him and then strapped him in the strait jacket.  Geikie was not a happy bird as she swabbed his mouth and bum and then took a blood sample.  He was pronounced good looking - well I knew that - but chubby.  CHUBBY?!?!  How can she tell that he is chubby?  He looks good to me. 

The vet showed me; apparently birds carry their weight in their breast; we then discussed how to cure the problem.  It's a familiar cure:  diet and exercise.  Now Geikie is on a diet - no almonds as treats - and gets exercised by going on an elevator ride to make him flap his wings.  Yesterday, I got him flapping and then ran around the room, trying to keep the flapping going.  All that happened though was that I got winded.  I'm trying to teach him to flap his wings on command.  That's got to be the ticket. 

The other problem is that he seems to have a little infection (nothing cultured out though).  OK - give him antibiotics.  Have you ever tried to give a bird medication by mouth or rather by beak?  It's 10x harder than it ever was giving Tuco eye medicine.  Wrap Geikie up, flip him on his back and drip the drug in his mouth - slowly - while trying to keep him from spraying the antibiotic everywhere by flinging his head from side to side trying to escape.  Sheesh.  This is NOT fun, not for Geikie and not for me.  NOT FUN.  NOT. 

Morning conversation

This morning over coffee I casually commented that I might be having a bad hair day.  In a show of love and support, the kind that only a loving partner can give, Terry informed me that if he loved me for my hair, he would have checked out this morning.  Gee THANKS.  I hope that I can return the favor one day.

Bob Dylan concert

Woo hoo! Bob Dylan in concert; Merle Haggard opened the show (we won't mention the very forgettable first act).  Merle came out (stumbled?) in sunnies and a cowboy hat and wowed the crowd with CW tunes, including my favorite "Mama Tried".  He claimed to have been singing beer joint songs for 40 years.  His signature raspy voice is strong however.   

After a short break, Dylan and his new band hit the stage.  Lots of pedal steel and a sizzling violinist added the right touch to Dylan's current country / swing style.  Dylan played only piano and harmonica - disappointing me because I like his guitar playing.  Part of what I like about Dylan concerts is that the old songs sound new as he constantly makes new arrangements.  "It's All Over Baby Blue", "Like a Rolling Stone" and classic anti-war song (Masters of War) rocked.  We rocked too!

Concerts have changed a lot since the 70s and 80s.  In those days, we yawned and fidgeted when the bands were 45 min late starting the concert.  Mostly, there were two sets of 45 min or so, also with excruciatingly long break in-between.  What a difference to last night - we showed up at 7:05 for a 7:00 concert and it had already started!  The breaks between groups were about 10 - 15 min.  Bands only do one set these days, but it's at least 1 hr, maybe 1.5 hr.  Maybe it's because the performers are like us - we need to get our sleep. 

The set list is in the continuation.

Is this Seattle in the winter?

Sunny, warm (18C / 65F), sunny, warm... very little snow in the mountains.  Oh did I mention it is sunny and warm?

"Be Cool" Movie Review

Paul will be glad to know that we have seen yet another recently released movie!  Be Cool is the sequel to Get Shorty.  Get it?  John Travolta (who Tom used to call John Revolting) is back as Chilli Palmer, the shyster turned movie star - who is now tired of movies and breaking into the music industry.  He gets to practice being a shyster again - AND he gets the girl (Uma Thurman) too.  Although not as entertaining as Get Shorty - but then what sequel is better than the first one - it's cute enough.  The best part I think was the Rock playing a gay bodyguard.  OK, definitely this movie doesn't deserve a huge review, so I will stop HERE.

Agility competition

Watch this space for the results of our first competition in agility trials the end of April.