Tag: Neko

Apple by Joe Wilcox
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My Cat Wants to Know: Why 15.4-inch MacBook Pro?

Water smacked the windshield—a torrent of heavy droplets—as my wife struggled to feed money into the tollbooth machine. Pelting rain is uncommon during November in San Diego, but we had purpose for driving 36 km through the downpour to Chula Vista and the Otay Ranch Apple Store, where I had never been before. The shop was the only one around that had the 15.4-inch MacBook Pro with Touch Bar in stock.

Eleven days earlier, Nov. 15, 2016, I received the 13.3-inch model that was ordered on October 27th. While first impressions were wow, the laptop felt slow compared to my previous MBP, and the battery drained in about half the time as specs stated. I worried that Apple produced a defective unit. No store in the area had the smaller laptop in stock, should I want to take advantage of the 14-day return policy. Deadline approached, so I considered as alternative my first 15-incher in more than a decade, tempted in part by quad-core processor and discreet graphics. 

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Photo by Joe Wilcox
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Cat Cuddles

Rarely do Cali and Neko sleep together like this, but the Tortoiseshell is having an off 7 days or so. She seems unsettled. Yesterday, the petite feline watched the Apple TV Aerial screensaver for the longest time. I do mean attentively watched.

Perhaps she longs for the outdoors, which was a major part of her habitat before joining our household in October 2014. On June 5 of the same year, Cali adopted our daughter. I met Molly’s new companion the previous evening on the street. 

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Critters by Joe Wilcox
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What Kuma Leaves Behind

Four years ago today we lost Kuma, our Maine Coon. He lived a short, full life over 18 months—from near-death abandonment; to adoption; to surgery removing nearly two-dozen hair ties; to being hit by a car; to roaming the neighborhood as the friendly but dominant male cat.

We don’t know what happened to our boy, although coyote kill is likeliest explanation. I hadn’t considered the risk, but there is a canyon close by and the females breed this time of year and come out looking to feed. So accustomed to dogs, an indoor/outdoor California cat wouldn’t necessarily perceive danger. On Jan. 31, 2012, city workers clearing brush in a canyon found Kuma’s collar, which IKEA cat has worn since.

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Critters by Joe Wilcox
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Cali Decorates Every Room

A year ago today, my daughter’s stray cat Cali moved into the Wilcox household. I want to know where 12 months went. Whoosh! As I shared last Day of the Dead, the tortoiseshell kitty adopted my daughter soon after she moved into a group house near San Diego State University, where she goes to school. We inherited the furball, after a roommate demanded she go (the girl supposedly had animal allergies).

Cali is a stoutly independent cat. She’s a hunter and would do well on a farm. Our hefty ginger, Neko, and her are a bonded pair now. We hoped they would tolerate one another, because you never know with felines, and they’re friendly enough companions. Any time two territorial cats share space, that’s bonded enough. 

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