Friday, April 18, 2008

A Cat's Eye View

Baxter here. I've been Waiting All Week to get a chance to Blog. "I'm too busy," my Female Human kept saying. "I don't have time to help you!"

It's not My fault that my Toes don't work well on the Keyboard and she has to help me Type. If they just invented Telepathic Computers my Problem would be solved. Maybe in the 23rd Century they will have them. But it will be Too Late for Me by then.

Now I'm really Peeved, because, on top of having to wait to Blog, They took me to the Vet's today. The Nerve!

I had to go for my checkup along with That Dog that I am forced to live with. And, worse yet, I had to hang out in the Vet's Examining Room in that stupid Carrying Box for a half hour until the Vet and her Assistant got done Oohing and Aahing over how Cute and how Friendly That Dog is and how much they Love her.

Finally it was My Turn. I tried to resist when they told me to get out of That Box. They finally had to tip it on end until I fell out onto the Examining Table. It was very Humiliating. So I hunched down and pretended I wasn't There while they poked and prodded at me. The Girl who helps The Vet was patting Me and kissing Me, so I became somewhat Mollified and allowed The Vet to do whatever She needed to. I didn't even flinch when they stuck me with a Needle but I did get Annoyed when they made me snort some vile-tasting Stuff up my Nose. But I was kind and didn't bite or scratch anyone.

My Day got better once That was all over with. I relaxed the rest of the Day and enjoyed Myself. Now I'm finally ready to Blog.

So, let's see...this has been a Busy Week. The Obama and Clinton Humans had another of those Things they call "Debates" but of course it is really more like a Catfight with other Cats watching and egging on the Fighters. There was pretty universal Agreement that the moderators of the Debate wasted the Viewers' and the Candidates' time with trivial and irrelevant questions designed to stir up controversies that had already been Dragged Out more than long enough, such as the Obama Human's fire-breathing Preacher or the Clinton Human's Exaggeration about her trip to Bosnia. And would you believe, they even brought up the Flag Lapel Pin bit again??? Puh-leeze. Even we Cats know that you don't have to wear a Pin to be Patriotic! The Real Issues were basically ignored for most of the "Debate."

In the Meantime, the Clinton Human got three more Superdelegates and the Obama Human got three endorsements; but they aren't Superdelegates so it doesn't add to his Delegate Count.

As you know, both my Humans and I have been supporting the Obama Human for the Nomination. I don't know about Them, but I for one am having Concerns now, given that the Clinton Human just isn't going away, and her constant hammering on the Obama Human has managed to pull him down into the Political Dirt with Her and he doesn't look as much like a Change anymore. David Brooks, writing in the New York Times, paints a rather Depressing Picture of the current State of the Campaign. Yes, he's right, Everyone is Miserable. Of course, That Dog is probably Happy. She's been supporting the Clinton Human all along.

In other News, there was an Earthquake in, of all places, the Midwest. It was 5.2 on the Richter scale. You don't usually think of Earthquakes happening There, but actually this particular Fault, which isn't far from St. Louis, has produced some pretty Nasty ones in the past. Back in the early 1800's there were two Earthquakes there that were 7.0 or more on the Richter scale! Right up there near the strength of the Great Quake of 1906 in San Francisco! If they happened today it would be Big Trouble.

Moving on....

One of the Things no one realizes is that not only are there Soldiers in Iraq, but also Dogs. Being a Cat who doesn't generally Appreciate the Canine Species, I'm not usually one to praise Dogs, but the ones in the Military are an Exception. This story brought a tear even to My eye. According to the story on CNN, "Staff Sgt. Donald Tabb, 29, serving his fourth deployment with the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force, died February 5, 2007, when his vehicle was hit by the roadside bomb." His partner, Bo (a 2-year-old black Laborador Retriever), who was trained to clear roadways, find explosives and bomb-making materials, was injured, but survived and has been adopted by Tabb's family.

Bo and Sgt. Tabb went through extensive training together, and had graduated in March of 2007 from the Defense Department's Dog Training Center at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, according to the article.

"Tabb served with the Military Working Dog section, 6th Military Police Detachment, 1st Battalion, 13th Aviation Regiment at Fort Rucker, Alabama.

Traditionally, a military working dog outranks the handler by one grade. Bo was officially retired as master sergeant. Tabb, an Atlanta native, was posthumously promoted to sergeant first class at Friday's ceremony at the Gwinnett County Fallen Heroes Memorial."


Sending My Sympathies to the family of Sergeant First Class Tabb and my Congratulations to Bo for his heroism, and best wishes for a Long and Happy Life in his new home.

On a lighter note, I was Surfing About the Internets and decided to check out Scott Adams' Dilbert Blog, which actually has quite a few fairly Serious Posts and poses some Interesting Questions. One post pointed me to an interesting Link about the idea of free will. Apparently Humans don't really have it. (I'm not so sure about Cats. We may be Different). According to this Article, scientists have discovered that Humans' choices can be predicted seven seconds before they actually make them, by using Brain Scanners. Of course, it was done on a very Simple Level; more Complex Decisions may be another Story. And after all, perhaps the Brain Activity IS the beginning of making a Choice. So I am not at all Sure about the Conclusion that is drawn.

Using my own Free Will, which I am quite Certain that I have, I am going to end this Post. I have Blogged enough for This Evening and I am now ready to take a Nap. I may even partake in some Catnip before I Pass Out. And I hope you will enjoy some of your own as well.

(But of course at 4 a.m. I will be Awake, wide-eyed and Bushy-Tailed, and be playing with my favorite Toy, which makes a fascinating rattling sound and I just can't resist it. The other night I was playing with my Toy and somehow a Lamp and some other things ended up on the Floor. I have No Idea how it Happened but my Female Human was sure it was My Fault.)

14 comments:

enigma4ever said...

oh baxter..thank you ...I look forward to seeing you...Lilly- my yellow dog...and Xena and Harry the Cats of the house don't blog- I wish they did....your human is so lucky to have you...and you always do such a good job...hard to blog about the Crappiest Debate in History- but you were kind and served up a Heart-tugger and some Dilbert ta-boot...

Have a good weekend....

( That Lamp Incident- I bet it was the quake..yeah..that is what it was..the quake...ahem...Preshocks..)

Fran said...

Baxter- I am ever so happy to see you here. I am up this early on a Saturday because of another feline.

BooBoo thought that 5am on a Saturday was a good time to knock Things off of the shelf in our room. Mr. He Is grumbled and returned to sleep. FranIam however was awake and annoyed.

I am using my time doing some blog catch up.

You have elucidated many important matters here and you have done it so well. I wonder if BooBoo has it in him to do the same.

Oh- I can't ask... he is curled up sleeping on the sofa right now.

Cats - can't live with them and can't live without them!

(Sorry about the vet. BooBoo has had to go twice recently, his food was making him sick. But now he seems very happy and he does not have to travel in the Box!)

Randal Graves said...

Scanners? Oh no, don't they know what happens when you use those?

Distributorcap said...

baxter.... i think you should tell your humans to take you on vacation........

you have been way too busy as of late.

Mauigirl said...

Baxter's responses:

Enigma, thank you for Taking My Side about the Lamp Incident. I'm so Flattered that you Appreciate my Efforts.

Fran, tell Boo Boo that actually 4:30 a.m. is an even better Time to knock Things off Shelves. It makes your Human wake up even earlier! I am very glad that Boo Boo has recovered from his Sickness.

Randal, that Scanner picture was Scary!

DCap, actually I don't think I would Like to go on Vacation. I kind of get Worried if I Go Places. But maybe I could get used to it eventually.

Dorothy said...

Good post baxter, however, aren't you sick of the political news we are subjected too?

I wish they'd focus more on the price
of gas and how many small businesses will be going down this year because of cost they cannot recover. I frankly am not concerned with the elections at this time as if you think about it, we have more important issues to decide. Health care, gas, food and many seniors who have to go back to work in order to eat. Hillary and Obama, take a break go back to work (which we are paying you for anyway) and solve some of our real problems. That is the middle class not the corporate fund raisers etc. And oh by the way Baxter, aren't you sick of the commercials on television which tell us which pills we should be taking and then spend half the commercial time telling us the possible side affects. Oh Baxter life is so sad today...even for you....Hope to hear more from you in the future...good points, way to go Baxter...

Dorothy from grammology
remember to call gram
www.grammology.com

The Future Was Yesterday said...

"BAXTER!!"
Oh man, am I glad to see you!!! I'm in deep dog s... Whatcha hissing for? Oh. Sorry. Didn't mean to barge in like that. My name is The Future Was Yesterday. Yeah, it is kinda long. Listen, I have a problem with your Human. I mean she has a problem with me. Oh Cripes! Here's the deal.

I did something reellllly stupid. Way worse than getting high on catnip. Huh? You already knew us humans do stupid things. Get to the point. Ok. Well see. I have to admit to something really stupid, and I'm hoping you'll kinda help me out a little bit by breaking the news for me.

It comes down like this:
I was a reader of your humans blog for a considerable period of time. During that time, I found it necessary to change RSS readers, as the one I used to have, wasn't showing all the new posts. So I switched to the one I have now, and I love it. My old reader, in one last fit of spite, randomly neglected to port over some of the blogs. Since I have about 110 blogs on my reader, I didn't notice the "dropouts" that my old reader gave me for a going away present. Guess who was one of those that didn't port over? Uh huh. So if you maybe could see your way clear to....what's that? How stupid can one human get? Baxter, the answer would be worse than a trip to the vet, trust me!

I have a couple felines myself. Snowball and Ebony. Ebony's just a kid, and she still does all that dumb kid stuff... ???? And I think I can teach her anything? You do have a point. So thanks, and those trips to the vet are for your own good. You'd rather stay in a Cat AND Dog hospital a few weeks instead? Yup. If you miss em, that's what happens. No problem, glad to give you the tip. Thanks a ton for the helping paw too, huh?

Sue J said...

Baxter looks an awful lot like the foster I had recently, Little Gray. Hmmmm. Baxter? What have you been up to?

Mauigirl said...

Dorothy, you said it. Both Baxter and I agree we are tired of it all!

Future, thanks so much for your comment. Baxter relayed your message as you hoped, and all is well. I haven't had as much time to blog visit lately and am feeling bad about that myself! So glad to see you back here!

Sue J, I saw Little Gray got adopted - that was great news! Baxter takes no credit for his existence, however. He's never been to your neck of the woods!

Anonymous said...

Baxter - You just reminded me. I need to take Chester for his annual check up and shots. He's a dog, so go ahead and have a laugh at his expense.

Mauigirl said...

Spartacus, Baxter says he is very happy to have been of service by reminding you to take your dog to the vet's. (And yes, he is having a laugh!)

Anonymous said...

Dear Baxter,
You look just like me but bigger. My human saved me from the pound 2 months ago. She keeps talking to the other man human about "fixing" me next week, whatever that is. Aloha, Tigera

Mauigirl said...

Tigera, thank you for your comment on my Blog Post. I hope your "fixing" goes well. I vaguely remember undergoing Something Similar. It was a Long Time Ago now so I can't remember much about it. Best of luck!

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