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Michael Berg

Toastie — Fri, 09 Jun 2006 03:25:00 +0000

Michael Berg is an amazing guy. Of course, he’s probably being trashed by O’Reilly and Hannity and Coulter as a vile traitor who hates America. I honestly don’t want to know what the likes of them are saying.

Z at the vet

Toastie — Wed, 07 Jun 2006 15:00:00 +0000

I dropped Zellouisa off at the Morrisville Cat Hospital this morning. She’s needed a vet visit for awhile. I’ve been a very bad parent. I’ve always talked about my cats as if they’re children, but if I did to a child what I did to Zellouisa, I’d lose custody of her. I stopped giving her insulin injections about six months ago. For over a year, I made sure she got her shot everyday. While I was traveling for work during the week, I paid the cat-sitters to insure she never missed a day. When I was back home for good, I continued giving her shots. Then from time-to-time, I’d miss a day here or there. Then, with more frequency, Zellouisa would hide under the bed when she sensed I was going to the refrigerator for the insulin. She’s miss more days. Then, the Target pharmacy I’d get her needles from didn’t have the right ones in stock. So Zellouisa missed a few days. I’d keep forgetting to check back to see if the needles were in. A week passed, and then another week passed. And then a month passed. No signs of any health problems with Zellouisa. I figured I ought to check with the vet to see if I should start up with the same dosage again or bring her in to get her checked out. But I kept putting that off. I’d wait until pay-day at the end of a month. No, I’ll do it next month. And March turned into April which turned into May. No health problems apparent, still, but I know that untreated diabetes can lead to kidney failure and other problems. Finally, I made an appointment for her. But I didn’t call her last vet, Glenwood Veterinary. They hadn’t done anything wrong, but I kind of wish they’d have at least written or called to say, “Hey, we know Zellouisa has diabetes, and it’s been six months since she last had her fructosamine checked”. It’s not fair to blame them for my negligence, but I didn’t feel comfortable going back to them. So I found Morrisville Cat Hospital on the web, and I liked that it had just one practitioner and only treated cats.

I was nervous about admitting to the veterinarian that I had stopped the insulin. I spoke with her this morning when I dropped Zellouisa off. Each time I started to say, “I know I should have…” she’d interrupt to say, “It’s ok, don’t worry about it.” I really wanted to communicate that I’m not a bad pet owner, that I’m not one of “those people” who claim they love animals but then do irresponsible things to harm them. But I suppose I am. Or I was. I brought Zellouisa in today to get her back on track. Whatever she needs done, I’ll get it done for her. Unfortunately, that will mean spending about $250 today, which covers both a fructosamine check and a whole battery of blood work that they do for all “geriatric” cats.

So, there’s my confession. I can only hope Zellouisa is ok. I hated having to leave her at the vet. I haven’t left Aremid or Zellouisa at the vet for a whole day in many years. I usually bring them in on a Saturday and stay with them during their exams.

Large LJ images

Toastie — Tue, 06 Jun 2006 14:50:00 +0000

Ever get annoyed when your friends-page has a large image that isn’t behind a cut? No? Ok, read no further. If yes, I found a nifty tip. If I read more about admin console options, I’d probably find more nifty tips.

Go to admin console

set maximagesize 600×600 (or whatever dimensions you want to use)

Google Spreadsheet!

Toastie — Tue, 06 Jun 2006 13:51:00 +0000

Google Spreadsheet is coming! Apparently, it’s already here, but if they had links to sign up on their Labs page, they’re gone now. I’m a big fan of the idea of having my data stored online instead of on my PC. There are so many people concerned about security and privacy issues, and I’m simply not one of them. I probably wouldn’t keep my spreadsheet of the Triangle Islamic Extremists (TIE) members on Google Spreadsheet, however.

More TV news idiocy

Toastie — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 20:59:00 +0000

I’ve watched the Today show webcast a couple of times over the past week. Katie Couric’s farewell was a milestone in the annals of TV news, so it was worth watching. The first hour retrospective (the only one available on the web) highlighted how well she could handle serious news, and I regretted that she’s gotten this reputation for always being annoyingly perky and soft. But watching this morning show’s, I remembered why I stopped watch Today a few years ago and why Katie isn’t remembered for her hard journalism.

The first segment this morning was on the gay marriage issue. I understand why this is the lead story. It’s not the most important news of the day (Bush wants it to be), but it’s news nonetheless.

And then:
Matt Lauer: Moving on, it’s now 7:18, and it was big weekend for Jennifer Aniston…

18 minutes into the three-hour show, Today takes a break from news to become Entertainment Tonight. Unbelievable. Years, this crap usually didn’t start until at least the 7:40 mark.

Toastie Radio Requests

Toastie — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 19:20:00 +0000

I know no one listens, that it’s not your cup of tea, but after four years, I’ve finally figured out a way to automate the taking of requests. So of the 797 songs currently in the playlist, there might be one or two you want to hear. I haven’t put a link on my TR site yet, but I’m hoping it will generate more interest in listening.

Make a request

On a somewhat related note, a few weeks ago, I signed up with last.fm, and it tracks everything that plays on Toastie Radio (whatever plays on my Winamp player at home), and it creates cool charts. I stick last week’s top artists and tracks on the TR website, and more detailed and historical charts can be found here.

The World Is Flat

Toastie — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 17:20:00 +0000

Read a few pages of The World Is Flat. Friedman writes about outsourcing and the call centers in India. I already knew that some radiology work was outsourced to India. I was not aware that a good deal of accounting work is also outsourced. Just about anything that is data-driven can be outsourced. It was interesting to read Friedman’s account of a large call center in Bangladore. Thousands of twentysomethings work in this space, representing dozens of companies. They take classes in British, American, and Canadian accents, pick out Western names, and somehow manage to remain chipper as customers berate them from thousands of miles away.

Rita Cosby vs. Jack Cafferty

Toastie — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 15:36:00 +0000

TV news personalities fascinate me. Perhaps they don’t fascinate a lot of people, but I’m intrigued. Rita Cosby has always disgusted me, and I’ve always enjoyed Jack Cafferty’s blunt crabbiness, even if I don’t always agree with him. So I was pleased to come upon this blog entry by Cenk Uygar, who’s one of the Young Turks of the Sirius satellite radio program. Makes me miss Sirius. I guess I can watch the show on their website. And I should probably check out huffingtonpost.com more.

More loathing George W. Bush

Toastie — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 14:51:00 +0000

Bush, senators renew fight against gay marriage

“Government, by recognizing and protecting marriage, serves the interests of all.”

WTF? It serves the interest of some religious fundamentalists and a somewhat larger population whose beliefs are clouded by fear and ignorance.

New bad habit

Toastie — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 14:44:00 +0000

Venti Lite Frappucinos at Starbucks.