Geeky Cat Miusings

Here are some pictures from Jungle Cat World in Orono. I loved seeing the animals there, especially this baby tiger:

The llamas roamed freely:

While the monkeys swung around their cage like only they can:

Does anyone know if this is a black panther or a jaguar? Is there a specific animal that is refered to as panther or is it a genus?

Another question I have….do big cats cough up fur balls? I saw the cats in Jungle Cat World chowing down entire chickens…feathers, beaks, legs and all. Do they cough up feather balls?

In the middle of last night while I was asleep I heard a big BOOM that startled me awake. I thought it must be thunder, but it was immediately followed by more booms in quick succession and I knew it couldn’t be thunder. I looked out my window and saw that the sky was pretty clear but there were explosions on the northern horizon — big balls of light, deep booming sounds, and clounds of smoke. I had no idea what was going on so I turned on the radio and television for news updates but there was no mention of the explosions. I heard fire trucks — lots of fire trucks so I knew the city knew something was up. I paced around for an anxious hour, looking out windows trying to see if anyone else was awake. I wanted to share the moment because I was frightened but I didn’t want to waken anyone. My mind raced through various possible scenarios and some of them very dark. It was a very stressful night for me, waiting to find out what was happening and I wondered why there was no mention of it in the news that night. When I woke up in the morning I found out there was a large explosion of propane tanks at Keele and Wilson and people were evacuated from the area. It really bothers me that there wasn’t a news flash on any channels within minutes of emergency crew arriving on the disaster scene to let people know what is happening. Where is the news when you need it?

I take the TTC almost every day and spend a substantial amount of time on it so you would think I should know a fair amount about it, but surprise….I don’t. I have used the TTC website more than a few times and wondered why it is so poorly organized and can’t provide commuters with instructions for getting from point A to point B. Apparently, they realize that this is necessary and are working on the system but it won’t be ready until next year. Too long. Do it now!

There is an unofficial site created by some volunteers that does just that with mixed results. If you are looking for the best method to get to your destination, check out myttc and enter your start and end address and click on Plan it. It gave me the correct buses, but it didn’t give me the closest bus stops to my start and end points. It seems to not recognize that there are closer bus stops than ones at major intersections, but a little walking is good for everyone. Nice job! I think the TTC should give these fellows free metropasses for the year

After some many years of wanting to take a hike, I have finally experienced a 13km hike in all its glories and a few of its hardships. I convinced a friend to join me in my trek with the Toronto Bruce Trail Club members…someone who is willing to wake up early on a Saturday morning and take a jaunty ride on a school bus from Toronto to Grimsby.

When we got off the bus we had a pit spot (yes, using the woods to relieve ourselves…which is a bit dangerous since I can’t identify poison ivy) and covered ourselves with bug spray. My first hike started off with a steep climb and the trail had a fair amount of hills to be climbed, slippery paths to slide down, boulders to be negotiated, as well as fallen trees and mischievous tree roots to be dealt with.

The scenery was gorgeous. Every once in a while you could see a neat orchard below the escarpment. We came across Ball’s Falls which is 2/3 the height of Niagara Falls.

At one point I came out of the woods and I found myself in a soya field and started to sing “The Hills Are Alive With The Sound Of Music”. La la la la.

For about ten minutes the skies were very gray and we heard the roar of thunder. I know that it is very adviseable to head for shelter, but if you are in the woods where can you find shelter?

Then we came across this cute white church surrounded by the sound of bagpipes…and the wedding guests were entering the church in their beautiful attire while I stood there in my muddy clothes.

Then we went to a peach and apricot farm for a little insight into the growing, harvesting, and shipping of peaches. I always wondered why the peaches of my childhood were so fuzzy. It seems that peaches are now defuzzed with jets of water. I bought a basketfull of peaches and ate a whole yummy bunch as I chillaxed after that intense workout.

I felt so good about doing it. Proud of myself really, even though I did not find it very hard to do and I was not sore the next day. Just a sense of achievement and the lasting memories of the beautifully lush landscape.

Can i blog with cell? Si! But it is challenging. Going to book club and eat ice cream.

I lucked out on Friday…my friend got some free tickets to see the Wise Guys at the Just For Laughs Festival. It was hilarious — the line up of Italian comedians poked a lot of fun at Italians. All in good fun though. Excellent insight as to how an Italian would have effectively dealt with Osama Bin Laden. The street festival was pretty good too.

We popped in to a convenience store for some drinks. The owner was sitting behind the counter, his cigarette shelves were covered as is required by law in Ontario. But he had a cigarette behind his ear. I pointed out that he advertising cigarettes in his own sly way. My friend asked if she could sign the cigarette so that she could verify if the cigarette was strickly there for marketing purposes. He declined.

Saturday looked liked it was going to be a stormy day but the cold front cleared the skies in time for the BBQ. I finally got a chance to meet the lady who has five ferrets. She recently adopted her last ferret and had a ferret shower to welcome her to the clan. I must say I learned a lot from her.

Sunday was a great day to take in the Beaches Jazz Festival. I spent the afternoon sitting in Kew Gardens listening to Brandi Disterheft, Anne Lindsay, and Lady Son y Articulo Veinte. I didn’t remember the name but I recognized Brandi when I saw her — I saw her playing with the Richard Whiteman Trio earlier this year — she is good.

It was a great weekend to be out and about. I enjoyed walking around the beaches though I was somewhat lost without good signage. I love stopping for Dufflet pastries and exotic tea blends. I missed applying sunscreen to a few areas on my back so I’m slightly burned, but not too bad. There has to be a better way to apply sunscreen to the back, don’t you think?

I wish every weekend had food, music, and laughter in hearty doses!

When you look at the photo above are you thinking to yourself, “Sweet Kitty, why is she posting a picture of her dirty litter box?”

First of all, it is not my kitty box…. I found it on the web. And it is not dirty…not at all; it is edible and apparently delicious too. This is a photo Kitty Litter Cake and what appears to the untrained eye as poo in the litter box is actually tootsie rolls.

It is an interesting idea and some people have commented that it is great for Halloween and it is a yummy dessert. The receipe is even posted on epicurious.

I am curious to know if you would care to try Kitty Litter Cake, or would you give it a pass? Personally, I think I would give it a pass. I may even have to remove the photo from my blog before we all permently lose our appetites. But I post here for now for all of us to share in all kitty-related things.

Yesterday I took the bus home and I kind of noticed that the drive was a bit erratic. The bus driver was hitting the brakes pretty hard and a woman who was standing slightly lost her balance. It wasn’t blatantly bad driving, but you notice it. I was pretty focused on my book and just saw this in the corner of my eye. The woman beside me nudged me and asked, “he sleeping?” I looked at the driver and indeed his eyes were stuggling to stay open. They would flutter close and then he would pull them open. Fortunately we were close to the subway and were getting off, but that was scary.

A couple of months ago I bought a new Sony Ericsson Z750a cellphone. About a month after that I received a text message from Fido that they would give me 3 months of free video on demand and free radio on demand. Sounds very cool so I try it on my phone but the message on my cellphone says it does not support this feature. I reply to the text message that I cannot use the system, even though realize that they will never get back to me with this communication system. So a few days later I call up their customer service and ask them if they can help sort up the problem. The customer support person was not aware of the promotional offer and claims that Fido is giving me free video messaging for three months. I let it go at that.

Weeks later I get a phone call from Fido saying how happy they are to have me as a customer and if I have any questions or concerns. Of course I have questions!!! I decide to limit it to two questions so as to not scare the guy off.

First question I ask I thought would be easy: How do I stop the screen saver from coming on every 5 seconds? It is difficult to read the news when the screen goes dark to save energy. My workaround is to push the down button every 5 seconds but I’m sure their must be a setting on the phone to set an acceptable timeout period. Unfortunately, his answer was that I would need to go to the Fido retailer. Not a good answer from Mr. Fido Rep. “Hello, from which company are you calling?” I want to shout.

But I’m so mild mannered that I smoothly move on to the next question…. the one we all want to know the answer to…How do I access the Video on Demand that they have so thoughtfully provided me unlimited access to in order to get me hooked. The guy had to go talk to the tech support for this and he would come back and ask me if I could continue to hold. I patiently waited. After waiting 50 wasted minutes on the phone (in total) I was informed that my cellphone does not support this feature! Nobody can explain to me why the phone is advertised as having this feature and it has the navigation buttons for this feature. But somehow this feature is not supported on my fabulous 3G phone.

I don’t get it.

Maybe wasting gas and time going round and round searching for a parking spot will be a thing of the past when Smart Parking gives drivers a heads up on free parking spots. Or at least that is the hope of the city of San Francisco when it converts 6,000 of its 24,000 metered parking spaces into “smart” spots. These special parking spots are being fitted with sensors that will allow drivers to find available spaces over a city-wide wi-fi network. The network will show available spots on drivers’ cell phones and on dynamic street sign displays. I am a bit worried about this “smart” plan. First of all, drivers shouldn’t be talking on cellphone, let alone looking at them when driving. I see lots of accident potential here. Secondly, when there is a high demand for parking spaces there’ll be many cars rushing to the one free spot, increasing the road rage potential because these drivers are expecting a free spot because their cellphone told them there was a free spot. Compare that to the current system where there are several cars scattered around the parking lot, hoping to find a free spot.

I think a “smart car” of the future is one that can be folded up and stored in my purse.