Here's a couple pictures of the newborn kittens a friend and I rescued after its stray mother abandoned them (click "Read More" to see more). Of the five original kittens, only the black has survived (the white one below really was trying but still had to be put down because of necrotic tissue).

Baby kittens are born blind and deaf and are entirely dependent on their mother for all aspects of survival - they can not even urinate on their own. That means it has needed to be fed and stimulated every 2-3 hours, a process that feels like has taken months. Fortunately, now that it's in its third week, it's at least able to be left alone for 6 hours at night. It is now twice its original weight and continuing to grow. I'll post more pictures later.

UPDATE 3/23/2011: "Ninja", the black kitten, is still alive and doing very well. She will play with everything that moves (or that she makes move, if she can not find anything).. and is anything from a purring tribble-like ball of cuteness who crawls on my bed next to me for a nap to a hissing monster rebellious demon-possessed.. well.. you can probably imagine. She's definitely worth the trouble though. :)

I recently heard a comment from someone that said what's the worst that could happen if their computer got infected. After all, so what?

While I won't explain the context further, here's the reality. You can't even pretend to have a secure computer when a criminal has control of it. You might as well leave for work with your front door unlocked or store your keys on the hood of your car. What's the worst that could happen?

It costs you and others money. It can even put people in danger.

Someone who would see nothing wrong with leaving their keys on their car could reasonably be said to have no concept of physical security. Sadly, with computers it seems most people assume their anti-virus software will protect them. When's the last time you updated Adobe Flash/Reader/Java? Did you know that's all you have to do to protect yourself from a lot of attacks? Is Windows Update even turned on? I've helped enough friends with their computers to know that a lot of people haven't installed a single update the entire time they've had their computer. It's fun watching 80 download all at once. Take some simple steps to protect yourself and it might spare you a lot of frustration later.

The Lion of the tribe of Judah is bigger than the lions of the Senate.

I added a web calendar for my schedule. There's a link at the top, but it's not open to the public. Contact me if you want the non-admin login.

Sorry for the lack of personal updates lately, especially with some people. Last week was a bit hectic with a tropical storm and my car needing work, and this week I haven't been able to sleep more than a few hours at a time. I think it could be that I've been fighting something, so hopefully this will get better, but it's left me in a state of grogginess where my mind is foggy and in no mood to sit down to compose anything. Even my last post here was pre-written. Anyway I'm not sure who's actually reading this, but I just wanted to say I'm working on it.

The bad news is my Internet was down most of the day. Storms tend to do that to DSL, but it turns out the line was just unplugged. Doh!

The good news is this thing somehow completely missed Orlando.. the strangest prediction route was actually the most accurate. But.. you know even if it had hit us, I still wouldn't have cared. It's not even a hurricane yet (it's supposed to strengthen and come back way north of us). I'm totally desensitized after the 2004 season. Charlie knocked out our power for a week, Francis for the better part of a day, and Jeanne actually did a complete loop in the Atlantic before nailing Orlando for the third time in six weeks. I just slept through that one. pfft.. don't even tell me unless it's a Category 4. Seriously.

8/12/2004 - Charlie

9/1/2004 - Francis

9/24/2004 - Jeanne

In other news, President Bush made a statement today that because of the diversity in America, all nations should be rooting for the US in the Olympics. "When we win, you all win!" (ok not really, but it would be amusing)

ps: I forgot that I had set the site slogan to "cones, cubes, spheres, and more!" from Cheesy Invaders. "It's the cheesiest!" I think it's funny though, so it's staying on my news feed.

Alt title: "Little Me"
a poem about how I feel and my disgust at others apathy.

This poem is an attempt to convey how I feel about everything and has been inspired by my life so far. Everything in this is true, though edited for style. I got the idea about a year ago by writing a few lines, and the rest just kind of came together. It's been a work in progress since then. It could still use minor work, but I'm pretty proud of it. Enjoy!

Bob (94) was born in Lockney, Texas on March 14, 1913 and grew up in Oklahoma and Texas. He served in various Army Hospital Units during WWII and married Viola Heron in 1947. They moved to Pryor in 1953 with their 3 children, and continued to live there for 53 years. They have been members of Pryor's First Baptist Church and longtime supporters of Billy Graham Ministries. He was a respected supervisor at work and a loving husband, father and grandfather at home. Bob enjoyed family visits and travel out west.

He is survived by his sister, Helen Horn, and his children, Clifford Martin, Jack Martin and Patricia Martin. He has two grandchildren, David Martin and Jonathan Martin. He follows his dear wife, Viola who passed away March 22, 2007. The Martin family appreciates the care and assistance provided by the local medical community and friends.

http://www.shipmansfuneralhome.com/service-information.asp?ID=898
http://www.ultimatetributes.com/tributes/intro.asp?ID=3240
http://www.ultimatetributes.com/tributes/intro.asp?ID=2380

I lost my 64 MB Micro SD card (with SD adapter) somewhere in San Francisco. I don't think there was anything on it, but if you found it (and the text file leading you here), please contact me. I'll be happy to mail you a self addressed stamped envelope, or I could just send you my address. Thanks, it would be appreciated.

Update (1/17/2008): I was hoping that an honest person would find it, but I'm starting to accept the fact that I'll probably never see it again. I know I would have made an effort to return it, but I guess the world isn't full of people like me. Fortunately, none of my trip pictures were on it. I don't have an album up yet because I'm still waiting on others to send me pictures, but expect some progress in the next few weeks.

I had forgotten how enjoyable walking is, especially when it's accompanied by four paws, a tail, and a leash. That's fun, but I wanted to go further. Unfortunately, my dog has a tendency to walk in front of my bike in such a way that it's not very safe for either of us, so I just got some inline skates. I think they're going to be a lot of fun for us both, especially once my balance improves. Apparently they're also good for ski training.