Peace is possible in our time.
Tag: cats
The Cats are Better Together
Sharing the cat tree is a huge breakthrough for Cali and Neko.
Meet Cali
On October 20, my daughter’s cat Cali moved into the Wilcox domicile, where she and our other feline Neko slowly, but surely, adapt to one another. The kitty is the second to adopt my now college-age child and chance for some redemption for the first.
I met Cali on a pleasant summer evening in early June. Molly—that’s my daughter—moved into a group house, and I had just dropped off a last load of belongings. As I crossed the street to the car, a slim Tortoiseshell cat approached down the sidewalk. She raised her head to receive pats, just as a San Diego State University senior approached. He and I chatted about education and careers for about 15 minutes. Then we parted from one another and our new feline friend.
That’s One Big Cat
Today I started updating my profile photo with the one taken by my wife this morning. She used the Nokia Lumia Icon, which is a fantastic shooter. I edited and square-cropped (because that’s the profile […]
Caught Between a Rock and a Cat Tree
Today, I bought Neko a cat tree—found on Craigslist—from a woman who makes them in her home. “I’m trying to get off welfare”, she told me. I paid $60, and I felt guilty for her giving such a good deal. I didn’t negotiate for better price.
I love enterprising people. Don’t you?
HTC One M8 is a Worthy Phone Camera
I snapped this cat around sunset under overcast skies using HTC One M8. Both renditions are cropped. The left is otherwise untouched. To the right, I applied the phone’s UFocus feature. The One uses a duo-lens system to capture photo and additional depth information. I applied depth-of-field centerpoint to the cat’s face, which blurs rest of the image. I cropped afterwards. UFocus can also change the focal point, even after shooting.
Quite a few reviewers ding The One for having only a 4-megapixel camera. I shake my head and laugh. Look back a few years when 4MP was state of the art, and the same reviewers raved. Here’s the problem I see: Relativity. Making relative assumptions about A to B. Not long ago people praised 4MP for printing large photos, close-cropping, etc.—cited criticisms today. Now that there is 8MP and greater, 4MP is looked down upon.
Neko says…
Everyday is Caturday.
So Long, Lou Lou
At one time, our little corner of San Diego had two neighborhood cats, Maine Coon Kuma and black beauty, with speck of white, Lou Lou. They lived in the same apartment complex, separated by one door, and sauntered about and inside each other’s alcove; we and Lou Lou’s owners always left a door open for our indoor-outdoor felines.
Lou Lou tolerated Kuma, at whom she hissed devilishly whenever he approached, swatting as her head pulled back. He never attacked, though, merely invaded her space. Kuma was a gentle giant.
Courtyard Office
Kuma sits with me in our courtyard, autumn 2011, back when I still used Windows and before we lost him. I’m not sure what’s up with his expression, which is unbecoming. But I like the […]
Abducted by UFO Cats
In the days after Kuma disappeared on Jan. 15, 2012, I often said to neighbors: “He disappeared like abducted by aliens”. One minute the cat was there, then he was gone. We’re now reasonably sure that coyotes abducted Kuma, whose collar city workers miraculously found deep in a canyon not far from our apartment (fifteen days later).
Out of nowhere, my wife made similar yet very different connection this morning. She likes to think that a UFO took our cat, and that two earlier one-day disappearances were abductions preparing him for the final trip. She doesn’t really believe aliens took Kuma, but it comforts her to think he might be alive somewhere else having grand adventures.
Coyote Warning
Every couple of days we go to the local animal shelter and Humane Society (they’re side by side) looking for our cat. We’re nearly certain a coyote got him, but there’s always the slimmest chance […]
Kuma isn't coming Home
Yesterday, I told my wife that I let emotions cloud my judgment about our lost cat Kuma. Occam’s Razor leads to one likely scenario: A coyote got him.
About an hour ago, a city workman called. He found Kuma’s collar deep in the canyon that starts about a block from our apartment building. I can only assume coyote.