Have you ever heard the This American Life story “Squirrel Cop”? This is one of the funniest stories I’ve ever heard. This is totally worth the 15 minutes to listen to. The longer the story goes, the funnier it gets!
The “Squirrel Cop” story from Jack OnFlickr on Vimeo.
I LOVE This American Life, but hadn’t heard that story before! It does just keep getting funnier, doesn’t it?
A new video! Be sure to watch to the very end!
That is a very catchy song! Heh.
I got an email last week about someone doing the photography at my wedding. She broke down how much her fees were by each set of photos, including one that said she’d charge ‘a little extra’ for the sitting with the mother of the bride and mother of the groom, seeing as they ‘do not care for each other or approve of the marriage at all.’
I emailed her back and told her that would be the highlight of the job and she could probably get some very candid shots of the two of them fistfighting, as that is what they do best when in each other’s presence.
And then at the end of the email I told her I was just joking and that my name was not Kim and she had in fact, emailed the wrong person.
You made me LOL.
Your squirrel reminded me that the radio station I listen to posted a video about a little girl playing with a dead squirrel. It’s actually kind of funny. Poor squirrels!
OH MY GOD, CHILD, PUT THAT FILTHY DEAD RODENT DOWN!
Pardon me while I go take a Silkwood shower.
I’m sure you’ve Eddie Izzard’s bit on printers. I totally thought of this as I was reading
LOVE it!!!
I don’t have a printer yet. My laptop is still on the kitchen table. I did have problems with gmail and lots of things freezing all the time. If I didn’t like the colorfulness of igoogle so much I’d switch to yahoo. I know too little but feel better when you say it’s acting up for you too so I know it’s not just me.
Rest assured that it is never EVER just you. If I took the amount of time I spend swearing at my computer on a daily basis and spent it doing something productive like studying science, I could probably have cured cancer by now.
Forgive me if this is too nosy a question, but how will they handle the billing for the revision? Are you going to have to pay for everything twice? That’d piss me off, even though I understand the mechanics of medical billing.
Y’know, originally I thought that there’d be no charge at all, then after I read your comment, I was like “Oh, fuck me. Am I going to have to pay for this again? Because if so, there’s going to be no revision in my future, I cannot handle the thought of having to pay again!” But then yesterday my surgeon’s nurse called to talk to me, and told me that it wouldn’t cost anything and I just needed to tell her when I wanted to have it done. After finding out how long the recovery would be (about two weeks of not lifting anything heavier than 5 or 10 pounds), I told her it’d either need to be right away or put off until the Fall. The soonest it could be scheduled was for June 13th, so it looks like it’ll be this Fall. She’s going to talk to him to be sure there’s no problem putting it off ’til October (she expects that to be fine) and should give me a call back later today.
With the gardening revving up (FINALLY), I just thought it made sense to wait ’til I could afford to sit on my butt for two weeks.
Have you seen this? I love the very end when he says “cheese”….
Awwww.
My husband had a dream that we were animal control officers, and we would trap animals of all kinds and the city would pay us per animal to euthanize them. What the city didn’t know was that we would secretly in the middle of the night, load up the truck and take all the animals out to live with you and Fred. Thanks for helping us cheat the city and save the animals.
Oh, it’s our pleasure.
Apart from scooping poop most of the day, do you spend the rest of the time brushing the herd? They all seem to have amazing coats.
I brush the ones who’ll put up with it, because I LOVE using the Furminator on the cats. It’s so satisfying to get so much fur so quickly! Some of them – especially Spanky – don’t care for being brushed, though, and in fact will run when they see the brush. Which always makes me laugh – you’d think I use the thing to beat them with instead of helping to get that annoying loose fur off their bodies!
In the kitten photos, are those double bowls attached to each other? Close up photo and purchasing information, please.
They certainly are! Here’s a closeup:
I got them at Old Time Pottery (I always want to call it “Old Tyme Pottery”) last year sometime. When you have a large number of kittens, it’s easier to use the attached bowls rather than trying to balance 6 individual dishes at snack time. I was actually looking for one of those hors d’ oeuvres dishes, one of the round ones with several individual bowls around the plate? That apparently doesn’t exist except in my own mind, since I can’t seem to find an example online anywhere. But now that I’m thinking about it, a deviled egg tray might work pretty well.
Actually, what would make the most sense would be to take a regular dinner plate and put blops (that’s the scientific term) of canned food around the plate and let them figure it out. It’s not like they stick to their own plate anyway, is it?
The Andersons know NOT the insane amoount of photos I have stolen from them…I just use them as inspirations of future art works, nothing untoward!
I just would like y’all to know that as long as you aren’t using my pictures to make money, or claiming that you took them yourselves, feel free to use them as wallpaper or whatever it is you want to use them for – it makes me happy to think of my babies making y’all happy!
Do you mean to say that that cheeky Alice has worked out how to exit the backyard? Why else would she be wearing the “special” collar?
The collar is just a preventative measure. She’s actually small enough that I don’t think she could get over the barriers we’ve put in place around the fence posts, but I’d rather be safe than sorry. Fred would be very sad if he lost his bratty little princess!
For some reason, I didn’t think Miz Poo ever went outside. She looks extra-lovely in the open air!
She doesn’t spend as much time outside as the other cats, but except for Stinkerbelle all the cats go out into the back yard from time to time. For that matter, Stinkerbelle could go out into the back yard, but she’s never quite figured out the cat door, and since she’s what we refer to as our “house feral”, I’d rather not have to worry about her getting outside and then figuring how to get over the fence, so I’m okay with her being inside-only.
Oh wise (and slightly crazy) cat lady, I need your help.
For a few weeks, one of my 4 cats has been pooping in the corner of one of the bedrooms. Doesn’t matter if the litter boxes are clean or not. Keeping the door closed solved that problem. Then, on Monday, my husband decided we needed a dog. He’s an outdoor dog, the cats are both indoor and outdoor. None of the cats are happy about this at all. And now the oldest of our cats, an 11 year old male is spraying (I didn’t know fixed cats could do that!), peeing and pooping on all the bathmats/bathrooms in the house. Short of never letting him in the house again, what do I do? I promise to send you cookies if you can solve this problem for me! we are pretty sure the bedroom pooper is the same cat, but have no proof.
I’m sure there’s advice out there to be had – and anyone with advice, do feel free to leave it in the comments! – but despite the timing I’d still suggest you take the offending pooper to the vet to be checked over, just in case. The fact that the pooping started before you got the dog indicates that it could possibly be a health issue, especially given his age. If he checks out as healthy, all I can suggest is to try Feliway (the plug-ins and the spray).
I’m sure someone out there has more/ better advice for Jennifer. Chime in here, folks! (Note: Jennifer, make sure you check over at Love & Hisses, I’m sure there will be advice in the comments over there, too.)
Gracie and George are the prettiest puppies ever. Do you have any baby pictures of them?
Have you met me? OF COURSE I have baby pictures of them. Well – toddler pictures, I guess. They were about four months old when we brought them home.
There are a TON more of them, of course, over at Flickr.
Someday soon, could you post individual photos of the McMaos and point out their distinguishing features? I know it’s a lot to ask, but they’re so darn cute!
I’ll have you know that I didn’t even have to go take more pictures to fulfill this request – the amount of pictures I take of these kittens is absolutely ridiculous – but I can’t help it! So in no particular order, here they are.
Declan:
Before I taught myself which kitten was which, I secretly called Declan “nostril” because one of his nostrils is black. In a comment, McFinn said Declan has always been the Batman kitty to me since he looks like he’s wearing a dark (tabby) cowl that comes down to his nose, exposing his lower face. Even has the bat ears going on. I can definitely see the resemblance, and now I like to hold him up and say “I’m Batman!”, which he does not appreciate in the slightest.
Macushla:
Macushla has a black nose and white whisker pads. He’s also a snuggler, and he and Fergus Simon are almost always either in my lap or about to climb into my lap. Macushla and Ciara are the darkest kittens.
Ciara:
Ciara’s the only girl, of course. She’s got the pink nose and then all that white on her face, and then the very dark fur. I’d almost call her black and white except for the brown tabby stripes on her sides and legs.
Finnegan:
Finnegan also has a pink nose, but his dark fur is a lot lighter than Ciara’s. He’s always the first one to run for the closet if startled, usually closely followed by Cillian. Finnegan plays really well with the other kittens, but is also just as happy to play with a toy by himself.
Cillian:
Cillian has that pretty clay-colored nose with the dash of white above it. He has such a serious little face, and he always looks like he’s worried about something. Whereas the other kittens jump right into playing, Cillian will observe what’s going on before he joins in. I call him my little detective, because he misses nothing.
Fergus Simon:
Fergus Simon is my little lovebug, and will usually fight with Macushla for dominance of my lap. He likes to sit in my lap and swipe at the other kittens as they race by (though he’ll eventually be overcome with the need to fight, and will go racing after them).
Can you believe these little monsters are 7 weeks old as of tomorrow? The time has flown by! I weighed them the other day (I don’t know that my scale is all that reliable, though, given that it told me Dorothy was over 2 pounds when we got her, and she was quite a bit less at the vet’s!) and except for Ciara, they’re all right around 2 pounds. Which means it’ll be time to spay and neuter the little monsters in a couple of weeks. But no hurry, we can wait a little while to be sure they’re all solidly over 2 pounds before I take them to the vet.
Miss Dorfy, hanging out in her favorite cat bed.
Stinkerbelle, atop the kitchen cabinet, keeping an eye out for her beloved Tommy.
Previously
2010: Sights from around Crooked Acres.
2009: Way to look ferocious and defend those chickens, puppies.
2008: And I’m sure there’ll be plenty o’ bitching.
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: It is, in fact, a happy-go-lucky-shpadoinkle-dy daaaaaaaaaaaaay.
2004: First day with the new brain, you know.
2003: So, Fred got it into his head a few weeks ago that he wanted a kayak.
2002: And further, you don’t get to be indignant and hurt when they act pissed off and boo you off the stage.
2001: No entry.
2000: Yesterday, I sneezed twenty-three times in a row. Fucking allergies.
Robin, is this the kind of dish you are looking for?
http://www.deluxehire.co.uk/Lazy-Susan-with-6-Bowls
That’s the idea of what I was looking for, Lisa, but I was thinking of something that was one piece. Like I said, I’m not completely sure it even exists outside of my brain.
Robyn, you didn’t make the chip&dip dish up. Pfaltzgraff has the dish in their Heritage pattern. I’m out of time, but I’ll find and post the link later.
Hi, Robyn,
Tupperware has the “Service Center Set” (link below). I have it myself and find it useful (for people, I mean). Its plastic, which I know is often a no-no, but it might work for a short amount of time. May be a bit too high for very little kittens, though. Oh, and it also has a cover.
Lisa
http://order.tupperware.com/coe/app/tup_show_item.show_item_detail?fv_item_category_code=5000&fv_item_number=P10055116000
So this is what I’ve decided (lol). Last week, our beloved not-even-three-year-old cat Jake passed suddenly. I want a McMao but I live in NJ and my husband has already stated that we are not driving to Alabama to get a new kitty. Can’t we somehow involve Nance in this plan? I could easily convince him to drive out to Western PA!! I could take Fergus Simon, or Macushla, or Finnegan…really come on now, help a broken-hearted family out!
They are just too adorable and I was laughing out loud about the “I’m Batman!” mental picture. Thanks for the pictures, they truly are helping to heal us all:)
Awww, Sarah, I’m so sorry about Jake!
I’ve been fighting this very hard, but I WANT Dorothy (Dorfy – hee!), badly. As we have two dogs AND will be moving soon, there’s not a chance in hell I can get her, but if you’d like to hang onto her for a year or so, I’ll be by then to pick her up. ‘K? Thanks!
LOL – Crooked Acres Boarding Facility!
The fact that you called Declan “nostril” made me literally laugh out loud. I’m still laughing as I type this.
I am a astrophysicist and I was giving a presentation at a quirky conference in Europe a couple of years ago. I themed my presentation “Tell me something (name of famous astrophysicists)’s cat doesn’t know” and (because I made this up in Europe and didn’t have pictures of my own cat readily available) I used pictures of your cats throughout the presentation. On every cat picture, I put a disclaimer “Not (name of famous astrophysicist)’s real cat.” It was a really fun talk and the other astrophysicists loved it. In subsequent talks, people started showing pictures of their own cats.
I love that!
Last summer my seven year old daughter came bouncing up to us to tell us that the squirrel’s tail was just as soft as it looked. After several minutes of barely controlled panic, we determined that the squirrel was NOT dead, just suffering from some sort of severe neurological disorder. We also figured out that she had not been bitten and then she got a modified Silkwood shower. We also changed our rule from “No petting dead things” (http://farmhousefling.wordpress.com/2009/12/21/electric-raccoon/) to “No. Petting. Non-domesticated. Animals. Ever. Ever. Ever. The. End.”
Oh Kathy, you cracked me UP!
On that episode of TAL (I think the there was fiascos)there was also a story about a community theater production of Peter Pan that almost had me wetting my pants. Also worth the listen.
Regarding the cat pooping and peeing outside of the box, we have one (Luna) who started occasionally pooping outside of the box (not peeing, thank God) when when we got another cat, and she was no longer the center of attention. It really escalated when said new cat had four kittens–Luna was really not the center of attention then! The Vet recommended Prozac, but I didn’t do it as I didn’t want her personality to change (well, most of it). I thought about it, and we decided to try it. A miracle! Within a week the pooping started to decrease to every other day, then every few days, then once a week and then….never! It didn’t change her (very fresh) personality at all. I would definitely recommend it. Oh, and as to how to get her to take the pill? Pill Pokkets! I can’t believe it works, but you wrap the pill in the pocket-shaped treat and she just eats it, no problem. I thought for sure she would eat the treat and spit out the pill (she’s wiley that way) but no, no problems.
Hope this helps.
Lisa
The surgeon may not charge you, but you should make sure that means there will be no hospital and other charges (unless he does in his office).
I echo Connie’s comment (she beat me to it). Unless surgery will be done in-office (or owns facility or is partner) there will probably be charges.
His office is attached to a surgery suite, and he’ll be doing the revision there (and actually did the original surgery there, as well).
Oh this is too good, thought you might like it: http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110520/us_yblog_thelookout/adorable-lady-finds-missing-cat-during-interview-outside-tornado-ruined-home
Yeah, I’m all tears now.
That’s the first thing I watched this morning and it made me all teary-eyed. I LOVE a happy ending!!!
I don’t know why, but the dead squirrel video made me laugh and giggle until I cried. (My coworkers are probably somewhat concerned about me now.)
And I can’t believe the parents let her hold on to it for so long.
I swear I am not a damn skimmer! I realized later I have in fact seen Miz Poo outside before (“Miz Poo in the sun”), so…yeah.
Looking at your past entries, it’s hard to believe your first batch of foster babies are six years old now. Where does the time go?
I’ve been curious about this, and I can’t remember if you mentioned it before – why does the shelter not like to repeat names? I get that you don’t want twenty kittens named Spot running around at once, but it must be hard to think of names after a while.
I was thinking about this just last night while I was trying to fall asleep!
What happens if the shelter gets a cat that HAS a name, and it’s a name that’s already been used? Like, someone adopts Uniquenamecat and in their home he becomes (say) Rufus. Then two years later something happens and they have to return now-Rufus to the shelter – since he’s been Rufus for so long, would the shelter continue calling him Rufus even though there was already a Rufus I? Or if, for another instance, a stray was found with a collar that had the name “Rufus” on it but no contact info. Would they make an exception to help (I would think) make the transition(s) easier on the cat? I’d think it’d add to the stress to suddenly have a new name on top of everything else.
Oh, the things I think about, trying to get myself to go to sleep…!!
(The name “Rufus” is now nonsense to me, by the way.)
Oh, my god – the first picture of Cillian with the paws and the straight-up tail KILLS ME DEAD. I am dead from the cute.
If I never see another 4 year old girl flopping around a dead squirrel, that will be fine with me.
Also, put down the video recorder and get your kid in the bath!!
I’m visiting my mom this week and in her MASSIVE collection of garden catalogs, I found this and wanted to make sure you saw it: http://www.gardeners.com/Asian-Ladybeetle-Traps/IndoorPestControl_Cat,37-499,default,cp.html
I couldn’t remember if you’d already solved your ladybeetle invasion problem.