Breaking orbit: the Lander’s maiden run

Research paid off. It paid off by making the quest for a new vehicle much simpler and affordable. Once we decided on the attributes we needed, the features and niceties would just be icing on the cake so to speak. I’ve never been a fan of SUVs but there is one thing they helped improve, at least in my opinion, and that is useable inside space.

Our Mercury had a lot of room out front and in the trunk. But leg room in the back seat was airline tight. Vehicles such as the Honda Element and the Scion Xb, which came after the SUV craze of the 90’s, are limos by comparison to the Merc: you can easily cross your legs without touching the back of either front seat. As compact as these cars are on the outside, they are rangy where it matters.

Other than usable space, other parameters we used were:
– Reliability
– Economy
– Functionality (with an eye towards the comfort and safety of the Catonauts)
But I won’t bore you with what brands and models we put on our short list… A few days ago, Rudha-an put together a list of local dealers to visit based on the size and variety of used inventory.

At the end of a long day, we almost passed on the last dealer. As it happens, that is where we found our “Lander One”, a Mazda CX-7. Appropriately, I thought, the brand’s name is derived from a deity’s: Ahura Mazda, god of wisdom, intelligence and harmony in ancient Western Asian civilizations.
Just as Mercury, god of communication, business and travelers, inspired the other car brand.

Mazda 004

From there, differences are notable and interesting: while both vehicles weigh nearly the same, close to 4000 pounds, the Mazda’s engine is half that of the Mercury. a 2.3 liter four cylinder motor, versus a 4.6 liter V8. The Mazda moves its mass with help from a turbocharger and a six speed automatic transmission. With the rear seats folded down, its cargo capacity exceeds the Mercury’s. In terms of economy, the Mercury had better gas mileage on the freeway as long as it was flat. But the Mazda’s more frugal in town and combined driving. It also fit well within our budget limit of $10.000 or less.

Mazda 001

As for insurance, full coverage cost us hundreds less than what we were quoted for a Hyundai Sonata sedan of the same year.
We expect several years of service out of it.

Mazda 002

It also has a moon-roof, which comes in handy when my head gets too big…

We took the Lander on its maiden trip up Mount Diablo, a very scenic drive requiring some concentration due to tight turns on narrow roads, shared with the occasional pick up truck and bicyclist. It performed flawlessly, being easier to handle on its shorter wheelbase and tighter turning radius, as well as its excellent brakes and suspension. Mission Control approves, and we expect the Catonauts to do the same.

Mazda 005

What a view
What a view

And we found it in one day..!


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Caturday: black is the new orange

A very cool thing happened last weekend while Titanescu cuddled up to me. He likes to sleep with us and “drape” his upper body on an arm to soak up warmth. But last Sunday night, while he was close enough to lick my  forehead, I heard him purr for the first time.
It was low, uneven and lasted for less than half a minute, but we now know he can actually purr..!

Gratifying and wonderful as it is, there are other ways in which he shows us how comfortable he is here. The way he soaks up sunlight and enjoys a light breeze in his fur at the screen door, the way he spends several minutes rubbing against my ankles when I return from work, or the way he demands to be fed, especially in the morning.

We’re more and more familiar with the Marshal’s voice. There’s always been  trampling, pawing, some biting and hitting, but lately there are also  commands delivered not in a plaintive tone like Miss Jenny’s, or Tito’s happy “Mee!” sounds.  It sounds like this:

Вы…
Вы. Вставай.
Прогулка в кладовую настоящее . Сделай это.
Перейти к кладовой , получить две банки . Не один, два .
Слейте первый банку в моей чаше , я получудругой рядом .
Получить. До .

You…
You. Get up.
Walk to the pantry now. Do it.
Go to the pantry, get two cans. Not one, two.
Empty the first can in my bowl, I’ll get to the other next.
Get. Up.

If you disappear in the bathroom, he’ll try to pull it off its hinges like he did yesterday morning when Rudha-an decided on a pit stop BEFORE filling his bowl.

Is it because living in a smaller space brings up prison – I mean shelter behavior?

Another thing. Perhaps someone will have suggestions for treats to give Titanescu, something tasty maybe, but I don’t think he’s ever getting catnip again, unless by accident. We relented after giving some to Jenny, and as soon as he snorted some, the old P&P reared its ugly head: Paranoia and Psychosis turned him into a hissing and striking cobra, foul spit and all.

Now, sure, most of the time he is content to cuddle and get scritches, especially when we have company (funny, that). We know he can be a sweet cat, and that he is capable of purring.
But we have also seen the other side of the Black Rainbow.

Now it’s time for the pointy eared people to shine.

Tito in the window. He likes to watch the birds
Tito in the window. He likes to watch the birds
 Miss Jenny wasn't interested in the photo session.
Miss Jenny wasn’t interested in the photo session.
Titan and his stinkeye soaking up a sunbeam
Titan and his stinkeye soaking up a sunbeam

Ah, yes. Love nips from a cheetah


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One drive through the cuckoo’s nest

Part of the planning that went into moving into a travel trailer involved a choice of vehicles. Being a borderline gear-head, that excited me. Not a lot mind, because that’d mean dealing with car salesmen but still… Our current set of wheels is not much longer for this world, thanks to San Francisco traffic and drivers who can’t park without hitting other cars, and hard. I’d been going back and forth between a car or a truck, maybe even an SUV.

At one point I had a kind of epiphany and figured a small station wagon would do us fine, and it would be a good vehicle for Rudha-an to practice driving again. I looked at second generation Saturn wagons because of price, availability, reliability, size and cargo capacity as well as fuel economy. I figured I needed something that could get up to 35 miles per gallon on the highway to keep expenses down. Quickly enough, I found one on Craigslist, on a dealer’s lot in Fremont and so, hi-ho on the way we went.

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Old coot blues: fat lip and foul hiss

A taciturn cypher like Lee Marvin or Jean Gabin, ‘Scu romps through the apartment like an early 70’s Pontiac with a big inch motor and skinny tires, with lots of noise and little traction. Skid-skid-skid-BAM!
And no brakes to speak of. Even the other two are just spectators, turning to us just to make sure we saw it too. Entertaining? You bet.
Yeah, but he’s dangerous all right. Tito’s found out more than once that trying to wrap a paw around Titanescu’s shoulders and trying to lick him forcefully results in a quick smack down, jiu-jitsu-like, with the old cat towering over him. There’s no viciousness though, just a quick throw down and they move on.
But even when he tries to snuggle up to the humans, the magnificent bastard is full of peril.
Partly because he likes to stretch and his claws come out as a result, Wolverine-like.

So I was getting texts at work last Sunday from Rhuda-an, lurid descriptions about severe pain on one side of her face. Talking about a possible trip to the Emergency Room, even. Something about a fat lip following a puncture.
One thing about Titanescu enjoying naps on his humans is that he sometimes will accidentally stick a claw in tender flesh. Another thing is that… Well, he’s a bit nasty. I guess that’s why Tito tries to bathe him occasionally, and he deserves mucho praise for his hygienic efforts.
Because frankly, there is no way I would ever try and bathe the Ancient One: I need my fingers and I only have one face. He could alter the course of my existence in one swipe. People just have no idea, none, about how strong he is.
But. he also is not the daintiest cat, very far from it. So when that claw went into her lip on what we guess must have been Saturday or possibly Friday, she made the oh-so-sorry mistake of waiting for it to hurt before deploying Peroxide and Neosporin.

What do I tell people at work when they ask how was my weekend? Oh, I watched a movie, pretty sure it was “Apocalypse Now”, but I think it had Edward Scissorhands in it.

Uh-huh… Yeah.

Rudha-an here. After seeing a doc and getting a scrip for an antiobiotic, my face and lip are slowly returning to normal.

I have been trying to sort some pics from our last walk in the rain and I finally got it done. Here they are. We played around with different settings on our phone (Samsung S3), which will explain why there are two pics of the bridge, etc.

Bay Bridge by Rudha-an
Bay Bridge by Rudha-an
Heavy Drizzle by Lastech
Heavy Drizzle by Lastech
San Francisco Belle by Lastech
San Francisco Belle by Lastech
The Dock by Lastech
The Dock by Lastech

From the pier, we went over to Fort Point to see the Bridge. The sun was beginning to break through the clouds.

Skyline from Fort Point by Rudha-an
Skyline from Fort Point by Rudha-an
Another view of the skyline from Fort Point by Rudha-an
Another view of the skyline from Fort Point by Rudha-an
Golden Gate Bridge by Rudha-an
Golden Gate Bridge by Rudha-an
The Bridge in B & W with only the reds and yellows coming through by Rudha-an
The Bridge in B & W with only the reds and yellows coming through by Rudha-an
Another view of the skyline in blues this time by Lastech
Another view of the skyline in blues this time by Lastech
The skyline in black & white by Lastech
The skyline in black & white by Lastech

From Fort Point we wandered over to Crissy Field.

Crissy Field by Lastech
Crissy Field by Lastech
Alcatraz (right) and Angel Island (left) by Lastech
Alcatraz (right) and Angel Island (left) by Lastech
Crissy Field by Lastech
Crissy Field by Lastech
Crissy Field and the Golden Gate Bridge by Rudha-an
Crissy Field and the Golden Gate Bridge by Rudha-an
Happy bird by Lastech
Happy bird by Lastech


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Cock up at the park

Given the construction, we avoid leaving the kitties alone when the workers are doing their thing. Instead, we left very early and went to the park at sunrise. The last time we were there, we got to watch ducks, geese and robins. This time, it was very quiet.

Not a cloud in the sky as Karl The Fog was on a short vacaion. Photo by Lastech
Not a cloud in the sky as Karl The Fog was on a short vacaion. Photo by Lastech
Stow Lake
Stow Lake
Only a couple of quiet ducks were out
Only a couple of quiet ducks were out
Duck and ripples
Duck and ripples
Even with no clouds, the colors were pretty
Even with no clouds, the colors were pretty
The spires of St. Ignatius
The spires of St. Ignatius

Since a couple of ducks were the only wildlife we found at Stow Lake, we wandered off to another lake for a walk.

Eucalyptus in bloom
Eucalyptus in bloom
Closeup of the Eucalyptus blooms
Closeup of the Eucalyptus blooms

It had been a very quiet morning, all things considered. While slighty disappointed that we didn’t see more wildlife, we were very happy with the sunrise and eucalyptus and lack of other humans. In other words, it was peaceful. It didn’t last. Our peace and quiet was abruptly shattered.

Nameplate a 1

We headed off around the next curve in the trail and came face to face with the rare and elusive Golden Gate Bawk-Bawk.

Here you see them investigating the noms that some human left for them
Here you can see them investigating the noms that some human left for them
This Bawk-Bawk has paused long enough to pose for me
This Bawk-Bawk stopped long enough to pose for me
Abandoning the noms left by humans, they can be seen scratching in the grass
Abandoning the noms left by humans, they can be seen scratching in the grass

Our very quiet morning turned into a rare event and will be much remembered. As we left, the Bawk-Bawks were safely roosting in the nearby shrubbery.

Bawk d


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Jay bird?

One day I came across a Steller’s Jay in the park. I wasn’t happy with the quality of the photos, but I DID find them a bit humorous. 🙂

Hmmmmmm
Hmmmmmm
Whaaaa?
Whaaaa?
OMG! I'm not decent!
OMG! I’m not decent!


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Caturday: Summer has arrived

Summers in San Francisco tend to be cold and foggy, but all that changes in September. Karl The Fog goes on vacation and the days are sunny and warm. While fall is beginning to arrive for many, summer is just getting started here.

This week, it’s downright hot. Now I know our temps are nothing like we would get in the desert. However, we don’t have air conditioning and we have huge picture windows that get the western sun and heat the apartment up like an oven.

The fur people are NOT amused. We shall survive and they will too. I give them rubdowns with a wet washcloth to keep them cool. Tito and Miss Jenny like it. Today, I’ll try it on Titanescu. If I survive without being smacked around, I’ll let you know. 🙂

Tito
Tito
Miss Nightshade Jenny
Miss Nightshade Jenny
Titan
Titanescu

And for a bonus pic.

Tito and Titan
Tito and Titanescu managed to sit touching one another for quite a while. Grumpy Butt forgot to get grumpy again.

harbles

Here’s a cool YouTube video from elson000.


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Caturday: OMG WTF Izzat? Kill it!

Most of our friends living with nervous pointy eared people will be familiar with the sentiment above. Change (ANY change) is met with fear and loathing. In our case it was a new lamp. Yep, we brought home a simple torchier style floor lamp and the world almost ended…for Tito and Jenny (mostly Tito) at any rate.

I decided to assemble the lamp in the kitchen. Tito and Jenny took one look at what appeared to be a headless tentacled monster and scrambled into their bolt-hole (kitchen cupboard). I could see their eyes glow, but that was all.

I had it put together in no time and tucked into place on Lastech’s side of the bed. We turned it on and then ignored it. It took a while. Miss Jenny emerged first. She glared at it for a while. Once she figured out that it wasn’t going to attack or fall on her, she hopped in the basket for a nap.

What izzat thing?
What izzat thing?

Tito was a different story. He crept in on his belly. He glared. He paced a bit like the cavemen around the monolith in “2001: a space odissey“, then bolted back to the cupboard. After about three rounds of this, he finally decided that it wouldn’t kill him. He went off to nap. It will take a while before he gets brave enough to approach the bed. If not for the fact that the monster loomed over him, he would have slapped the crap out of it a few times and gotten over it faster.

I don't like it! I would slap it, but it might eat me!
I don’t like it! I would slap it, but it might eat me!

Where was Titanescu through all this? Did he care? Was he upset?

Titan
ZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

On the serious side… Yes, we can laugh at Tito and Jenny and their nervousness. However, we do try to make changes as easy on them as possible. Once they went into hiding, we left them alone to come out when they were ready. After all, it may only be a lamp to us, but to them it’s like their entire world was rearranged. We wouldn’t react well to that either.

Back to the funny side and more scaredy cats for you to enjoy.


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Happy Bastille Day!

For those who may not know, or have forgotten… Lastech came from the land of the baguette, pâté and good wine.

Happy Bastille Day from Rudha-an, Lastech and the pointy eared people.

Bastille Day 1

I can’t help myself. Lastech and I love Catherine Tate. Here’s a clip from her show, thanks to the BBC.


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