Cat capers

So last night I followed the instructions given to me by Littermaid to “reset” the box.  I didn’t dump the litter, I just took it apart, pressed the switch a few times and hit it with compressed air.  After doing that and putting it back together it seemed to once again sense movement with the electric eye.  However that doesn’t fix the various other flaws with it.  I am planning on calling Littermaid back, hoping they will send me a replacement unit which I can in turn sell.  I bought one of the older versions to replace it.

I threw together a small but clean website for the local Phi Mu chapter that Ali is president of.  If you want to see it, look here.  I just used a template that I had and modified it to fit the content.  It actually looks color coordinated, amazing.

This morning I got a notice from Ebay that three of my auctions that were supposed to be ending today were cancelled for “keyword spamming”  Evidently it is a no no to put “like new” in the title of the auction?  Why I don’t know but it annoys me.  I better have the listing fees refunded.  Now I have to relist these items for another week without “like new” in the title. Yay. 

Spook actually has been more receptive to taking her medicine.  She isn’t sprinting for cover when I’m coming.  I pet her as I restrain her and we give her tuna after each medicine dosage.  Maybe she is putting two and two together, realizing that yea, the medicine sucks but getting the tuna makes up for it.

Not much to say although I am disgusted by the reports that John McCain is currently in pretty much a dead heat with the democratic candidates.  How in the world this country could even consider voting in someone from the same party that drove America into the abyss we find ourselves us in is incredible.  Of course I never thought Bush had a shot in hell of getting reelected.  I guess I should know better than to underestimate American stupidity. 

Read what Lee Iacocca says about this wonderful time we are living in ….

Remember Lee Iacocca… the man who rescued Chrysler
 Corporation from its death throes? He has a new
 Book, and here are some excerpts.
 Lee Iacocca says……
 
 “Am I the only guy in this country who’s fed up
 With what’s happening? Where the hell is our
 Outrage? We should be screaming bloody murder. We’ve
 Got a gang of clueless bozos steering our ship of
 State right over a cliff, we’ve got corporate
 Gangsters stealing us blind, and we can’t even clean
 Up after a hurricane much less build a hybrid car.
 But instead of getting mad, everyone sits around and
 Nods their heads when the politicians say, “Stay the
 Course”
 
 Stay the course? You’ve got to be kidding. This
 Is America not the damned “Titanic”. I’ll give you
 a sound bite: “Throw all the bums out!”
 
 
 You might think I’m getting senile, that I’ve
 Gone off my rocker, an d maybe I have. But someone
 Has to speak up. I hardly recognize this country
 Anymore.
 
 The most famous business leaders are not the
 Innovators but the guys in handcuffs. While we’re
 Fiddling in Iraq , the Middle East is burning and
 Nobody seems to know what to do. And the press is
 Waving ‘pom-poms’ instead of asking hard
 Questions. That’s not the promise of the ” America ”
 My parents and yours traveled across the ocean for.
 I’ve had enough. How about you?
 
 I’ll go a step further. You can’t call yourself a
 Patriot if you’re not outraged. This is a fight I’m
 Ready and willing to have.
 The Biggest “C” is Crisis!
 
 Leaders are made, not born. Leadership is forged
 In times of crisis. It’s easy to sit there with your
 Feet up on the desk and talk theory. Or send someone
 else’s kids off to war when you’ve never seen a
 Battlefield yourself. It’s another thing to lead
 When your world comes tumbling down.
 
 On September 11, 2001, we needed a strong leader
 More than any other time in our history. We needed a
 Steady hand to guide us out of the ashes. A Hell of
 a Mess
 
 So here’s where we stand. We’re immersed in a
 Bloody war with no plan for winning and no plan for
 Leaving. We’re running the biggest deficit in the
 History of the country. We’re losing the
 Manufacturing edge to Asia , while our once-great
 Companies are getting slaughtered by health care
 Costs. Gas prices are skyrocketing, and nobody in
 Power has a coherent energy policy. Our schools are
 In trouble. Our borders are like sieves. The middle
 Class is being squeezed every which way These are
 Times  that cry out for leadership.
 
 
 But when you look around, you’ve got to ask:
 “Where have all the leaders gone?” Where are the
 Curious, creative communicators? Where are the
 People of character, courage, conviction,
 Omnipotence, and common sense? I may b e a sucker
 For alliteration, but I think you get the point.
 
 Name me a leader who has a better idea for
 Homeland security than making us take off our shoes
 In airports and throw away our shampoo? We’ve spent
 Billions of dollars building a huge new bureaucracy,
 And all we know how to do is react to things that
 Have already happened.
 
 Name me one leader who emerged from the crisis of
 Hurricane Katrina. Congress has yet to spend a
 Single day eva luat ing the response to the hurricane,
 Or demanding accountability for the decisions that
 Were made in the crucial hours after the storm.
 
 Everyone’s hunkering down, fingers crossed,
 Hoping it doesn’t happen again. Now, that’s just
 Crazy. Storms happen. Deal with it. Make a plan.
 Figure out what you’re going to do the next time.
 
 
 Name me an industry leader who is thinking
 Creatively about how we can restore our competitive
 Edge in manufactur ing. Who would have believed that
 There could ever be a time when “The Big Three”
 Referred to Japanese car companies? How did this
 Happen, and more important, what are we going to do
 About it?
 
 Name me a government leader who can articulate a
 Plan for paying down the debit, or solving the
 Energy crisis, or managing the health care problem.
 The silence is deafening. But these are the crises
 That are eating away at our country and milking the
 Middle class dry.
 
 I have news for the gang in Congress. We didn’t
 Elect you to sit on your asses and do nothing and
 Remain silent while our democracy is being hijacked
 And our greatness is being replaced with mediocrity.
 What is everybody so afraid of?  That some bonehead
 On Fox News will call them a name? Give me a break.
 Why don’t you guys show some spine for a change?
 
 Had Enough?
 Hey, I’m not trying to be the voice of gloom and
 doom here. I’m trying to light a fire. I’m speaki ng
 out because I have hope I believe in America . In my
 lifetime I’ve had the privilege of living through
 some of America ‘s greatest moments. I’ve also
 experienced some of our worst crises: the “Great
 Depression”, “World War II”, the “Korean War”, the
 “Kennedy Assassination”, the “Vietnam War”, the
 1970s oil crisis, and the struggles of recent years
 culminating with 9/11. If I’ve learned one thing,
 it’s this:  “You don’t get anywhere by standing on the
 sidelines waiting for somebody else to take action.
 Whether it’s building a better car or building a
 better future for our children, we all have a role
 to play. That’s the challenge I’m raising in this
 book. It’s a call to “Action” for people who, like
 me, believe in America . It’s not too late, but it’s
 getting pretty close. So let’s shake off the crap
 and go to work. Let’s tell ’em all we’ve had
 “enough.”

Eh that’s it.  I want to live on Mars, alone.