Current running total on the CA wildfires is 5,700 homes destroyed and 90,000 people displaced. All the schools in the North Bay were closed today because of the poor air quality and logistical disruptions. Ready for this week to end ...

Yeah, several of my sisters coworkers' homes and friends' businesses were destroyed and she's been posting charity after charity including many animal both domestic and wild...and then she posts pics of her hike in sunny, blue-skied Washington, and I say, "good for her!"  Because I want her away from that shit.

Also, air-filter/fan trick to take much of the ash out of the air.  It's on my Facebook page, but let me know if you need a link...although it's as simple as it sounds.

(Continually) Updated aggregate of affected wineries, etc.

https://sf.eater.com/2017/10/10/16451014/northern-california-wine-country-fires-affected-restaurants-wineries-businesses

 

Note to self...when the home depot guy tells you to buy knee pads, you should buy knee pads. 

Installing tile takes forever...doug/steve, any recommendations for speeding up the leveling process? Or is that something I should take my time on? 

Saw My second robotics tournament today.  Still learning the scoring and strategies.

Several lightning delays for WMU/Akron.  First delayed getting in stadium.  Now under the stands waiting for all clear to go to seats.  Game will start sometime after that

And the game was postponed until tomorrow @ 1:00 p.m. 

 

Why did they postpone the game?

 

Edited October 14, 20178 yr by Aimless1

Mostly-white cat performs ridiculous dance for several minutes while playing with newly found twist-tie. Jacob takes twist-tie, thinking that it's a choking hazard (Jacob knows very little about cats). Mostly-white cat makes pathetic mewling sounds. Jacob returns twist-tie. Mostly-white cat performs ridiculous dance for three seconds, then decides that magically appearing-and-disappearing twist-tie is fickle, and thus not deserving of respect. Mostly-white cat proceeds to ignore twist-tie, forever after. Jacob looks to computer to type post about cats. Mostly-white cat is replaced by mostly-black cat, in the meantime.

This is Jacob's life, now, because Jacob now has cats. 

Edited October 17, 20178 yr by EdipisReks1

Wow - you go away for a week or two and there is so much to catch up with!

California burns. Bloody hell, what a mess. So many dead, so much destruction.

Cats, Jacob? What prompted that? I'd have thought you were a dog person.

We got our two back from the cattery after our time away and they are going though the cycle "I want to be out, I want to be in, I want to be out...." repeat maybe ten times until they settle back in.

Here, the remains of hurricane Ophelia came across the Atlantic and went mainly through Ireland and Scotland yesterday. 100mph wind. Three dead and widespread damage. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41627442 . A bit gusty where we live, but we are 400 miles South of the route, so we're OK.

Edited October 17, 20178 yr by Craig Sawyers

Quote

Cats, Jacob? What prompted that? I'd have thought you were a dog person.

Oh, I am. It was an emergency adoption caused by an asshole being an asshole out of spite, and cats not having a place to go. I'm getting used to them, though one of the cats (the mostly-black one) had some kind of conniption fit, and kept me up last night for hours. 

The mostly-white one seems to have been embarrassed by the whole thing:

This was after mostly-black one calmed down, but before I went back to bed. I've gotten used to having them around.

Edited October 17, 20178 yr by EdipisReks1

"some kind of conniption fit" -- around 3am?  I call that the "midnight nutties".  Most cats do that.

 

"some kind of conniption fit" -- around 3am?  I call that the "midnight nutties".  Most cats do that."

"around 3am" wouldn't be entirely incorrect.  I'm learning something about cats everyday.  The "love-bites" made me a bit nervous, at first, but apparently cats do that when they are overstimulated, even if they are just laying on you purring while you pet them, so I learned that, too

I think I'm now a cat-person, honestly. 

They are sucking you in like the Succubi they are....cute little balls of furry Satan's Spawn.....

2 hours ago, skullguise said:

They are sucking you in like the Succubi they are....cute little balls of furry Satan's Spawn.....

They absolutely are.

Cats have simple rules. Meow cuddle me. Meow let me out. Meow feed me. And that is about the limit of their vocabulary and needs. The 3am madness seems to stop once they get a bit older - at least that was the case with ours.

Granted there is another level of dialog comprising purrs and chirps, and a particular type of meow which means "I've caught something, and I want to bring it inside and give it to you"; as if we need yet another mangled rodent or frog.

Al and I are catching a movie in Sutton's Bay, MI., and Mario Battali is 4 seats over.

Did you know him by his crocs?

On 10/17/2017 at 6:04 PM, Craig Sawyers said:

... a particular type of meow which means "I've caught something, and I want to bring it inside and give it to you"; as if we need yet another mangled rodent or frog.

Yeah, that one's almost a siren/wail.  I was completely taken aback the first time I heard it.  It's so perfectly repetitive, I thought it was a recording or something.

That was the first thing I noticed, that he wasn't wearing them. He said that he's now wearing something else. He was very fun and engaging.

2 hours ago, dsavitsk said:

Did you know him by his crocs?

 

Office upgrades from earlier today

Andrew Jones makes some good speakers. 

Edited October 21, 20178 yr by crappyjones123
Changed things up a little more. Lot more work space. Monitors in portrait mode were hurting my neck. Now need to find a reasonable way to get the speakers off the desk and a little farther away from my chair and it should be a pretty good office setup :)

Visiting Brits this weekend, so playing tourist.

Went to the top of Mt. Tam,

Saw San Francisco / Bay Area views

I can see Skylark / rancho borago / Fairfax from here

 

Sure looks a lot less smoky than it was a few days ago!

The rain has improved the air quality

A tale of two Als. Had a very nice dinner in the park with the Als. Al (Voltron) grilled sausages and asparagus, and we had my macaroni recipe. And Al (aimless1) brought his beautiful dog Nitro.

Looks like a great time. Can’t wait until I can join the travel team.

Great time with Al & Steve!  Good food, great friends, incredible fall scenery and I do believe the three of us wore Nitro out.

That is one tired looking doggie.