This is cool. It is a cover for an ipad made to look like an Etch A Sketch. I used to play with Etch A Sketches when I was a kid. I suppose it might not mean anything to anyone too young to have played with one, but for those of us who have it brings back memories. I don’t have an ipad, but if I did, I might seriously consider getting one of these.

What do you think?

I recently read a lens on Squidoo about the product featured in the above picture: a retro handset for cell phones. When I first saw the lens and the photo I thought it was dumb (the product, not the lens). Who would want an old-fashioned telephone handset for their modern cell phone? I remember phones with handsets like that from my childhood — aren’t we past that now? But then I read the lens and thought about it, and now I think they’re somewhat cool and could be useful.

The lens talks about the radiation issue. Cell phones emit radiation, and these handsets are supposed to lessen one’s exposure to radiation. It’s supposed to reduce up to 99% of the radiation you’d absorb using a cell phone directly. The lens has some good information about radiation and this handset in particular, including product details and videos. Check it out.

But what I think is most interesting is how useful this could be when doing chores. Yes, chores. Now I know chores aren’t usually talked about in the same sentence as cell phones, but they do relate, at least for me they do. When I was a child I remember Mom cradling the phone between her chin and shoulder so she could have her hands free to cook or wash dishes or fold laundry or care for me and my brothers. I admired the way she could talk on the phone and do something else at the same time. When I got older I learned to do the same thing. I appreciated being able to do boring chores while also doing something interesting like talking to a friend. But then I got a cell phone, and it was a lot harder to hold the phone with my shoulder. I felt like I had to bend my head over farther which made my neck hurt. Plus a problem I have with my current phone is that somehow I manage to accidently push buttons or something. At least that’s the only explanation I’ve been able to think of for why my phone hangs itself up more frequently when I’m trying to use it holding it with my shoulder.

Yes, I know there are hands-free options. I used to have a pair of earbuds that plugged into my phone, but I think those are uncomfortable. I know there’s also regular headphones, and a headset that fits over the ear. My husband says that last looks like the earpieces that people in Dr. Who episodes featuring Cybormen wore as an intermediate step before turning into Cybermen. He teases that if I bought one of those I would turn into a Cyborman, or rather Cyberwoman, too.

I may yet buy one, but finding out about this retro handset gives me one more option for using my cell phone while doing chores. It may not be completely hands free, but I already know it’s more comfortable to hold between my shoulder and chin than a cell phone is, and there’s no risk of becoming a Cyberman.

I think web design is interesting, so I checked out the website, but the topics listed are over my head. I think the website is cool, however. The mascot or logo of the conference is this cyborg Tyrannosaurus Rex. When you load the website you see him at the top of the page. As you scroll down he doesn’t scroll but appears to stay put, so that the information about the conference appears to scroll right over him and cover him up. Every so often, though, they have a “clear” section with a quote about the internet where you can see cyborg T. Rex. And he’s different every time he shows up. He goes from being a cyborg to an ordinary dinosaur T. Rex to a muscular dude that is being built into a cyborg to just dinosaur bones. I suppose if you read the website from bottom to top you could see the transformation of a dinosaur skeleton into a cyborg dinosaur. I think it’s really cool. I guess it’s good that a website about a conference devoted to web design has a cool website. It only makes good advertising sense.

You should check out the website even if you’re not interested in the conference or web design if for no other reason than to check out the transformation of the cyborg T. Rex. And if you are interested in the conference or in web design and couldn’t attend, the conference people will probably be posting about it. And I’m sure my husband will be posting about it at Just Jeremy when he gets a chance, so check that out too.

P.S. Ooh, they got a cyborg pterodactyl bird thing (it’s got feathers or fur — it’s hard to tell) on the other pages.

Today is the official release day of Ubuntu 12.04, also known as Precise Pangolin (a pangolin looks like a cross between an anteater and an armadillo). My husband is one of the developers, and he’s been working really hard on it. He’s been coming home from work and then working all evening and sometimes into the wee hours of the morning on it: fixing bugs, packaging, and writing documentation. I’m really proud of him.

So when he asked me last night to make a cake for his release party, I said I would. He wanted it white with orange frosting and white letters. Since I had no white cake mix in the house, but I did have cake making ingredients on hand, I decided to make it from scratch.

I think it turned out well. It was my first time separating egg whites from egg yokes (it’s the yokes that make cakes yellow — I didn’t know that before). I also made the icing from scratch — buttercream frosting is so yummy. This was also my first time decorating a cake with more than just words. The curled up pangolin, the logo of this release, was tricky, but it’s a tricky design. I’m proud of my accomplishment of this cake.

So Jeremy and I went to the party and had fun, and Jeremy helped some guys install the new release while we were there. So happy release day, Precise Pangolin! And bravo zulu (great job), Jeremy and the development team. Job well done!

The weekend after I wrote my last blog post I was able to bring my kitten home from the hospital. She needed a lot of care those first weeks. She was like a brand newborn kitten in a six month old body. She had to learn everything over again. (Where’s a mother cat when you need one?) She’d learned to eat soft food and to walk — sort of — at the hospital. When my husband saw her for the first time he said she looked like she was drunk. She still walks like she’s drunk and maybe always will, but at least she’s not as wobbly as she was back then.

For the first two weeks I mixed water into her food, because I wasn’t sure she could drink water without drowning herself. Over a period of three weeks I weaned her from soft food to dry food. The soft food, even the cheapest stuff, was getting very expensive to buy, especially as her appetite came back. She’s totally on dry food now and drinks water quite normally out of a dish.

Kitty's sick room in our "box room"

Another thing we worked really hard on was litter box training. She’d always been real good about it, but she hadn’t been able to use a litter box at the hospital, so she had to be re-taught. I got the cat attract litter which seemed to help. And I cleaned up lots of messes. She still has some messes but uses the box at least 60% of the time. She doesn’t dig although she does scratch; it’s as if she sort of remembers what to do but not quite. It seems she doesn’t like to use the box if it’s already been used, as she tends to have her accidents when there’s a deposit already in the box. So I’ve started cleaning it after each use instead of once a day like before. I’ve thought about getting a self-cleaning litter box since they clean the box after each use, but I have some concerns. One is that if it went off while she was inside it would scare her, and she’d never use it again. Another is the price — they’re expensive. And the last concern is whether she could even get into one. You see, she can’t climb or jump. And she hasn’t shown any sign that she can walk up a ramp either. Her sense of balance and eyesight just aren’t good enough.

The last thing to return was her eyesight. And I’m not sure how well she can see. I suspect not well. Sometimes she seems to see better than at other times, but it’s hard to know. She doesn’t really play, and she totally ignores the laser pointer which she used to love, but sometimes she shadow boxes. So what is she seeing? Anything?

So I’m left with a neurologically impaired cat with an impaired sense of balance, impaired vision, and not completely reliable with the litter box. On the other hand she’s snuggly, she purrs, and I don’t have to worry about her getting on the counters.

Cimorene wearing purple to celebrate Mardi Gras. In this photo she still can't see much, if at all.

Here’s why:

Last Friday, January 27, 2012, I took my five month old kitten to the vet to get spayed. Now this is a standard surgery, and I wasn’t expecting anything to go wrong. But something did go wrong. During the surgery she stopped breathing. While they got her breathing again and completed the surgery she had trouble waking up, and when she did, it was clear something wasn’t right. The vet thinks she may have had a stroke. So she’s had to stay in the hospital ever since. She’s making slow progress, but there’s no way to know whether she’ll recover or how much she’ll recover.

So if you have any extra prayers or positive thoughts you can send her way, I would appreciate it. In the meantime I will blog about her and maybe cats in general while I help her recover. I know not everybody likes cats or even animals. But I think everyone can probably understand or imagine what it’s like to have someone they love hurting or sick and in the hospital. And even though my kitty isn’t human I love her. And when someone I love, whether human or animal, is hurting, I hurt too.

Have you ever had someone you loved — animal or human — in the hospital or very sick? If you’d like to talk about it you can tell your story in the comments. Do you know of any cats who had a stroke and recovered? I’d like to hear about it if so.

My "princess" in the hospital

My name is Rachel Bicha (pronounced Bee ka) and you can read more about me on the About Rachel Bicha page.

On this blog I will be talking about topics concerning history, culture, science, technology, animals, my life, books, writing, reading, and anything else that strikes my fancy. I have a wide range of interests, so expect a wide subject range. To organize things I will have weekly themes, with some themes running more than one week. Think of it like those thematic units teachers sometimes do, but no homework or tests. I will also be posting book reviews, because I LOVE reading!

So why should you read this blog?

First, because reading it will make you smarter. I like to use big words, so you’ll definitely increase your vocabulary here. You’ll also learn a lot of random facts and interesting bits of useless and perhaps not so useless bits of information. Not only will the above increase your knowledge, but it will also help you do better on tests and in class, believe it or not.

Second, because I’m interested in the world around me; I like to learn; I like to use my imagination, and I hope you do too. If so, we should get along famously. And you’ll find this blog interesting.

Third, my favorite question is “why?” so you should expect to see that question explored here from time to time. If you, too, ever wonder “why?” then — I can’t promise it, but — you might just find some answers here.

And finally, because reading blogs is a social experience — you get to know the author and sometimes other readers — and know that you are not alone, that there’s other people out there who think about things like you do, who feel things you feel, and who like things you like. And this is one of the most valuable things a human can ever know.

It’s up to you. You don’t have to read this blog. If this isn’t your thing, that’s fine. Thanks for stopping by. But if you think you’ll like reading what I have to say, come back and visit often. And welcome!