Whew! I can rest a little easier now.

That stollen notebook computer with the Veteran's Administration database on the hard drive was found and returned to the VA earlier today. I had received notice that my information was in that database, so I was a bit relieved to learn that the data hadn't been accessed since the theft.

I wasn't so concerned with malicious use of the information, but I was a little nervous about the potential hassles that might have accompanied the 'cure' for any compromised information. I thought that I would spend the rest of my life explaining that my arrest for fraud was really someone pretending to be me, or that I would be repeatedly dunned by a string of collection agencies for debts that I didn't incur, etc. Woo Hoo!

More Itty Bitty Kitties

I took a few more pics today after feeding Angel/Bach. Just 30 hours old! The little one on the left in this picture is the spittin' image of her mother.

Click for a closer look.

The original 'riot grrrls' are calling it quits. Sad.

Sleater-Kinney has been one of my favorites for many years; the girls are calling it quits. They've decided on an "indefinite hiatus" status, so at least they aren't making any proclaimations that would preclude a future record or tour.

If you haven't heard a Sleater-Kinney record, go out and buy one. I'll recommend The Woods as a starting point, but I'm not sure they've ever made a bad record. Go to the used record store and pick up something with their name on it!

Bon mot, ladies.

Angel aka Bach

Mystery solved. Bach' s real owners came to the delivery room tonight -- what a surprise for them! It turns out that Bach's real name is Angel.

(And, we don't feel so bad about not knowing that the cat was female -- they didn't know either!)

Presents from Bach

This neighborhood cat likes to visit our house nearly everyday. My wife named him Bach because she liked the name for this particular cat. Gregarious, even affectionate, Bach wormed his way into our regular habits, timing his arrivals at the children got home from school each afternoon and leaving once the kids went to bed. They loved this cat -- and what a great cat! Nothing seemed to bother it!

As time passed, I noticed that Bach was a little fat on the sides. I told my wife, "I think this cat is pregnant." "Look at it." She denied that it could be; after all, it was a boy.

Well, it became more and more obvious that Bach was pregnant. Then everything changed. I guess that my wife was more traumatized by pregnancy than I ever thought possible because now she was running interference for Bach, scolding the rest of us for disturbing her naps or rousting Bach from a chair when we wanted to sit down. "Poor thing, " she'd say with true sympathy.

Today Bach is definitely having kittens. In our house. In her 'favorite' spot. Four so far, and I'd guess from the looks of things that's it. Maybe one more.

So the question is: what to do when your neighbor's cat gives birth in front of your refrigerator?

Post Script:

Bach ended up having 6 kittens.

2001 Redux: Yours is a Very Bad Hotel

I just love this internet phenomenon from the kinder, gentler time in business travel. That is, before the draconian security measures were inplemented post 9/11. If we had only known then.....

Everyone that travels has a story like this. It's just that most of us don't have four-hour flights to generate fancy-schmancy PowerPoint presentations to tell them. This presentation spread across the country so fast that Promus Hotels (now a division of Hilton) contacted the authors the next day begging for relief and offering them free stays and other perks.

Martin Roth is a German guy that I've never met.

I've never met Martin, but he's either got a lot of time on his hands or he's a brilliant mechanic. Either way, he's a Saab man, which makes him great in my book.

Martin took a Saab 96 (early 1960's) and installed a turbocharged B202 engine from a Saab 900 and built a new rear half for an early 1970's Saab Sonett two-seater for a similar engine transplant. Interesting reading, for sure. (Oops, the site is in German -- not much reading there, just look at the pictures!)

Camping at Bledsoe Creek

We went camping this weekend at Bledsoe Creek State Park. We saw all sorts of things -- deer, ducks, muscovy ducks (they are quite noisy), woodpeckers, bluebirds, and all kinds of mosquitos.




Hot dogs just taste better roasted on a stick over the fire....













Lance and Diane were gracious hosts to us and the deer!