Ultimate Survivors: Cats and their Reputed 9 lives

Good Day World!

“There are reasons why people say cats have nine lives.

I suspect the phrase originated because cats have a surprising ability to survive adversity. Just about every cat owner has a story about how their feline got into trouble and survived.

Why nine lives, you ask? I wondered too so I did a little research and found University of Winnipeg English professor Mark Morton who offers possibilities for picking the number nine:

“First, it’s pretty clear it would have to be one of the many numbers that has traditional significance in Western culture, of which nine is among the most resonant.

“While seven, for example, is almost always positive and 13 is almost always negative, nine can have both positive and negative connotations: for example, cloud nine versus the nine rivers of hell. I think this may reflect our ambivalent cultural attitude toward the cat. Assonance often plays a role in such idioms. In this case, the long ‘i’ in both nine and lives functions as a near rhyme, as is even more clear in ‘a stitch in time saves nine.’”

I as raised with cats. At a very early age my mother made me go under the house to “rescue” our cat Tiger, an enormous orange tabby with an attitude, when he was fighting with another feline.This happened more times than I care to think about.

I remember their glowing eyes and high pitched screeches practically paralyzed me as I crawled around trying to “rescue” that red devil!

Did I mention that Tiger and I weren’t on the best of terms? He once ate my pet bird; a rescued sparrow I named Sammy. Memories of tossing rocks at fighting felines and hoping they’d cease combat, in the moist darkness below my parent’s house, still send shivers down my spine.

Don’t get me wrong. I love cats and have had a few, during 36 years of marriage, that were really special. Asia, a Siamese, was our family favorite. He lived 19 years before we had to put him down because he couldn’t walk or see. Talk about a survivor.

When we lived in 29 Palms, Asia was attacked by a pack of coyotes. Somehow, he got outside when we went to bed (we were always careful to make sure he was inside as we knew coyotes were plentiful) and ran into a vicious pack of nocturnal desert predators.

My wife woke up when she heard “yipping” sounds outside our bedroom. She glanced out the window, opened the closet and grabbed my shotgun - sans ammo - because she couldn’t reach high enough to get it, and charged outside screaming at the top of her lungs. I followed.

The coyotes were playing a game of hot potato with Asia. They were so startled they dropped him and ran away. We gently picked him up (he was in shock), and ran the to the local veterinarian’s house and woke him up. He put in more than one hundred stitches and told us it didn’t look good for Asia.

We took Asia home, and after a couple of days he started eating and drinking again. One life less, he recovered and moved on. There was another situation, while we lived in La Quinta (another happy hunting ground for coyotes), when Asia got out and disappeared for several days.

I, my wife and our three sons, were heartbroken and gave him up as a goner. Then one night at 3:00 a.m. my wife heard a scratching and familiar meow. She got up and let Asia in, none the worse for wear. Her happy voice greeting Asia woke the rest of us and we all danced around the house like idiots!

Asia was our last cat. As much as we loved him and his feline predecessors, my wife and I decided we were tired of cleaning up a cat box (the one big negative about having a cat). The kids were gone and it was just the two of us.

About a year later we got a Pug puppy. That’s all she wrote. We’re on our third Pug and wouldn’t think of having any other pet. She brings the benefit of doing her “business” outside, and of being a great companion.

As we all know, cats are pretty independent. Dogs tend to be better companions because they simply adore us and don’t want to be separated from us.

As It Stands, I still have a lot of respect for cats and can relate to their built-in ability to survive in tough situations.”

– by Dave Stancliff

(This column originally appeared on April 24, 2013, in the Times-Standard (Eureka) newspaper)

Ex-Heavyweight Boxing Champ Takes A Swing at Leading Country

Good Day World!

Will an ex-heavyweight boxing champion be an iron-fisted ruler if elected?

Vitali Volodymyrovych Klitschko is a Ukrainian politician and former professional boxer. He is the leader of the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform and a Member of the Ukrainian Parliament.

The political struggle for the fate of Ukraine has already proved far bloodier than any of his 47 bouts in the ring, but that didn't stop him from announcing his candidacy for the country's presidency Tuesday:

Ex-Boxing Champ Vitali Klitschko to Run For Ukraine Presidency

With a relatively short political career most of the world doesn’t know much – if anything – about this ex-heavyweight who may become the Ukraine’s next leader.

The following link will provide you with a good summary of who he is, and why he’s gone into politics: 

Who Is Vitaly Klitschko? The Boxer-Turned-Politician And Face Of The Ukrainian Opposition

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

 

Remember to be wise in your whining ways

  By Dave Stancliff

I’m a whiner when it comes to pain these days.

Seems like I get a new pain everyday when I wake up. I can strain a pinkie doing something stupid the day before, and the pain will greet me in the morning like an unwanted in-law seeking to move into my den.

I try to take solace in the fact experts say my habit of cracking my knuckles when I was young didn’t cause the arthritis that I currently suffer. They say cracking my knuckles was simply forming - then popping - an air bubble in my synovial fluid. That’s the gooey stuff in the cavities of your joints.

I have a lousy left knee. It crunches when I walk. When I had it examined and the word surgery came up, I decided it still had mileage left despite the near constant pain. So I wear a brace - sporadically - and whine for all to hear as I lumber along.

I just read an article about a sugar solution injected into the knee for pain relief.
The technique - known as dextrose prolotherapy - has been around for 75 years but is still considered an "alternative" therapy. If I used this method for pain relief I’d probably get sugar diabetes! Alternate pain solutions have produced problems for me in the past and I‘m gun shy of shooting myself in the foot again!

Seriously, I do look for ways to alleviate my pain without taking meds. I use relaxation techniques and dieting. I’m careful not to twist my back when I bend over and pet my pug. Basic stuff. I use the cane when my right leg goes totally numb, as it will after I stand upright for long periods of time. Comes from nerve damage in my back.

If I don’t resort to the cane after a certain point, I look like Big Bird on a binge!

I’ve discovered that whining can feel good. People pay attention and you might even get babied for your efforts! If you’re really lucky, they offer to get whatever you want, and are happy to run to the store for your favorite chocolate peanut butter ice cream!

I just have to remember to be wise in my whining ways. Too much produces the opposite effect of what I want. Everyone disappears suddenly, and I’m left to lament in solitude. There is a fine line.

I whine about bruises. The darn things pop up out of nowhere on parts of my body that barely got bumped the day before. If it’s a really dark bruise I display it as proof that I have a reason to whine. “Look at this dear,” I tell my wife, displaying a dark spot on my forearm. She patiently nods in sympathy.

I don’t know what good it does to whine when I hurt. When I was younger it was the last thing I would let anyone know. Heavens no! I was way too tough to let on I was human. Especially in the Army.

Age does something to a person however. As I settle into my sixties, all the abuse I subjected my body to is coming back to haunt me like old competitors on steroids! Decades of basketball are partially to blame for my pain, but excesses like jumping off roofs of houses when I was in elementary school, contributed to the overall breakdown of my body.

Pain comes home to roost in older birds like me who didn’t take good care of themselves. I lived hard, played hard, and still play hard even when it hurts! In that I don’t have any regrets.

I’m in my so-called Golden Years, I’m gimping around like Popeye on pot, but I’m lucky to have a wife who’s understanding and will listen to my whining without wanting to see me lose my voice!

I was talking with another fellow my age the other day and we did a dueling banjos thing where I would whine…then he would…then I would whine even louder.. and he would.. Well, you get the idea.

As It Stands, they say humor is the best medicine, so I try to remember to laugh after a good whining session!

(This column originally ran in The Times-Standard in June 2013)

The Art of Headline Writing: Painting Pictures with Words

Good Day World!

As a print and digital journalist, I enjoy the art of writing headlines.

There’s a lot of thought that goes into writing a good headline. The ability to summarize a story in the least amount of words can be taught.

But, the great headlines, the ones that grab you and leave an impression, are written by wordsmith’s that take the art to a new level.

To be fair, there’s sensational headlines that generally get a lot of views that aren’t really that well written, but their salacious content gets an overwhelming response. For example:

Topless Woman Masturbating In Van Arrested On Gun Charge

The hot headline above is in a separate category. Straight news headlines are more commonly used in news publications, blogs, and websites. For example:

After the Gold: Olympic Medalists Struggle with Real Life

But really clever mainstream headlines are harder to come by. Here’s a couple of good examples:

1) A Surprisingly Simple Way to Get Out of the ‘Rat Race’ (and into the chips!) 

2) Don’t Envy the Plumber - Be One

Don’t worry, I didn’t forget funny headlines! Here three good examples:

1) Alton Attorney Accidently Sues Himself (from a Madison, Wisconsin, Legal Journal)

2) Tiger Woods Plays With His own Balls (from an AP news story)

3) County to Pay $250,000 to Advertise Lack of Funds (from the Register-Guard) 

Time for me to walk on down the road…

A Boomers Story: Once I Believed, but now I don’t

   By Dave Stancliff
 I didn’t start out distrusting our government.

I was proud to say the Pledge of Alliance when I went to school in the 1950s and early 1960s. I never questioned what our government was doing because my teachers told me our government was an institution that maintained people’s rights.

I believed them. My parents believed them. Almost everyone believed our government protected our civil rights. Except for African-Americans and some progressive whites. That segment of society had to fight for equal rights, but I didn’t see much of the battle for a couple of reasons.

For starters, I seldom watched television. When I did, it was only for special programs like watching the Mickey Mouse show, or Howdy Doody. News about civil rights demonstrations seldom slipped into my social studies classes. When it did, in the early 1960s, the coverage was spotty at best.

It wasn’t until I graduated from high school in 1968 and went into the Army that I began to have misgivings about our government. After my tour of duty in Vietnam (1970) I was a different person. For numerous reasons. When I got out of the Army in 1971, I bought a car and traveled around the country.

Like other Vietnam veterans at the time, I was not given the red-carpet treatment for serving my country. My country had changed. Or, I was the one who changed. I now knew that I had grown up clueless, and I began to see the world around me for what it was.

For the first time I followed the news. I was in Ohio on June 17th, 1972 when the Watergate burglars broke into the Democratic Party’s National Committee headquarters. The rest is history. I tore up my honorable discharge because it was signed by Richard M. Nixon.

My disillusionment was so great I felt compelled to do something about it. That was a turning point in my life, when I knew I had to expose all the lies I grew up with and the machinations of the current administration.

Throughout my career in newspapers I sought the truth behind political intrigues and exposed everything I believed the public should know. My ability to get information during the late 1970s through the early 1990s, was limited compared to what’s available these days to anyone who has a PC and the internet.

When I began my blog and this column in 2008, I returned to politics and news with renewed interest. A lot has happened in the last five years. Two historic elections, a great recession, and now the revelation that the government has been spied on all Americans for an unknown period of time.

They still do. Yes, I know you can argue that PRISM and other secret government programs are for our own good. You can also argue that our government has gone too far in monitoring our every activity.

I admit I’m more concerned about our freedoms now than ever before in my life. I’ve watched the Patriot Act morph into other secret programs in the name of national security, and it appears we’ve got to live with Big Brother watching our every move, even after exposing him.

I’m not surprised George Orwell’s 1984 is selling like hotcakes lately. The sales rankings for Orwell’s dystopian view of the future spiked like crazy two weeks ago, according to Amazon.com. A new generation is discovering this classic book. I think that’s a good thing. People need to question what’s happening when the government starts stripping away liberties in the name of safety and ideology.

Knowing that what I’m write here could put me on a secret government list, deeply disappoints me. I’m proud to be an American. I fought for freedom, not an overbearing government. But as revelations continue to unfold about the NSA’s, CIA’s and FBI’s illegal activities, I can’t trust our government.

After five years immersed in political history and current events, I’ve come to the conclusion that the Obama administration continues to follow in the footsteps of every president since Richard Nixon.
Those footsteps have led to a disconnect between the government and the people and have resulted in the biggest case of spying in our history. The image of Watergate fades beside the enormity of what’s happening in America today.

As It Stands, my disillusionment is somewhat abated by the fact that social media have become so powerful, government corruption is harder to conceal.

*Editor’s Note: This column originally ran in the Times-Standard newspaper in July of 2013.

‘Blade Runner’ trial could go either way with existing evidence

 Good Day World!

 I’ve never had more conflicted feelings about a famous murder trial than the one involving Oscar Pistorius, and his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Pistorius, sometimes called “Blade Runner” says he accidently shot Steenkamp last Valentine's Day thinking she was an intruder.

Prosecutors said he intentionally shot and killed Steenkamp , 29, through the locked door of his bathroom following a domestic dispute.

There’s evidence supporting both Pistorius, and the prosecution’s claims.

Pistorius told security guards that nothing was wrong after he shot and killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, according to leaked prosecution evidence ahead of his murder trial, South African media reported Friday... news channel eNCA reported – citing prosecution documents in its possession.

Prosecutors will also argue that ballistic evidence suggests the amount, trajectory and grouping of the shots fired through a locked door can only indicate a direct intention to kill, according to a similar report by Eyewitness News.

Pistorius trial: State to rely on '13 facts'

This article supports Pistorius’s story:

Oscar Pistorius trial: Prosecution setback as new documents reveal athlete was 'most likely on his stumps'

The trial begins on Monday, March 3rd. There’s going to be a dedicated 24-hour television channel in South Africa, the country's top cable provider has said, promising "round-the-clock" coverage of one of the blockbuster stories of the year.

MultiChoice said the temporary "pop-up" channel will launch on Sunday, March 2nd, the day before  Pistorius goes on trial in a high court in Pretoria.

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

Ragnarok: The Viking Apocalypse Is Almost Upon Us

Good Day World!

Here’s a TGIF for you:

Now's the time to cash out your life insurance policy and have a little fun, because, according to Norse mythology, the world is ending this Saturday.

Sorry to be a bummer, but you should know we're about 100 days into an epic battle that will culminate with the earth falling into the sea, NPR explains.

For those whose understanding of Norse mythology begins and ends with the Marvel Comics' version of "Thor," the story behind Ragnarok, aka the "Viking apocalypse," or "doom of the gods," is arguably more spectacular and imaginative than anything Hollywood could dream up.

Here's what's coming, according to Time magazine. On Saturday a huge battle commences among the various Norse gods. All the heavy hitters will be in attendance — Thor, Odin and Loki to name but a few.

They'll fight (and when gods fight, it gets messy). Eventually, the Earth will split open, Viking-Mythlogy.com explains. Residents of the underworld will surface.

Fortunately, you'll be long gone — meaning all your worries about mortgages and breakups and thinning hair will be but a sweet memory lost to the mists of time. (info via NPR)

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

 

Derek Jeter & Kobe Bryant: Future Hall-of-Famers Face Retirement

Good Day World!

 Time catches up to all of us, but sometimes it’s hard to watch. Especially when you’re talking about professional athletes who you’ve followed throughout their careers.

Future Hall-of Famer Derek Jeter recently announced that he’s calling it quits after 20 sensational years. The New York Yankees captain really didn’t give a reason for why he’s retiring now. He told the Yankee management, team mates, and fans, that “20 years was enough,” but shied away from saying why.

Jeter is a 13-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove shortstop who led the Yankees to World Series titles in 1996, '98, '99, '00 and '09. He enters his 20th big league season with a .312 average, 256 homers and 1,261 RBIs.

The bottom line for Jeter is that he’s ready to do something else in his life. And he’s doing it on his own terms.

Another great athlete, Kobe Bryant, of the Los Angeles Lakers, is facing retirement. But he’s NOT ready to call it quits…yet.

Where there was once inevitability and sureness, there is now an uncertain and contemplative Black Mamba, working toward a 2013-14 return that is no longer guaranteed.

Age has caught up with him, though, diminishing the impact of his usual defiance and truculence, making it so Bryant is at the mercy of his body, and not his will, for the first time of his career.

That's something he must become accustomed to, a reality he must live with. Having already missed 47 games this season, Bryant is roughly six months away from turning 36, rapidly approaching the end of an incredible run.

The question is two-fold: ONE, will he be able to come back for one more season? And TWO, will it be hard to watch him with diminished skills if he does? Unlike Derek Jeter, Kobe’s retirement depends upon when his worn-out body can no longer compete.

Derek Jeter has chosen to go out at the top of his game, under his own terms. Kobe is not going to have that opportunity as his best days are gone. He’s assured a place in the Basketball Hall-of-Fame, however.

In the end, both men are legends in their sport, and it’s going to be sad to see them go.

Time for me to walk on down the road…  

Moo Money! Cost of a gallon of milk going up 50 to 60 cents in March

Good Day World!

When I heard that the price of milk was going up this year I assumed it mostly had to do with California’s drought.

It wasn’t a crazy assumption, however. California leads the nation in milk production. But the following article gives another reason why we can expect a gallon of milk to cost more by March:

“Dairy analysts estimate store milk prices could go up 60 cents in March, reaching their highest ever.

"The cupboards are dry," said dairy economist Mary Ledman.

Blame cheese. Short supply pushed cheese to a new peak in January, going from $1.80 to $2.36 a block. That jump is driving the March increases for "fluid milk."

Moreover, in early 2013, farmers responded to higher feed costs by cutting back on herd growth. Coupled with growing international appetite, especially from China, that's led to tighter supplies and higher prices.

But not every fridge will feel the pinch. Some stores may choose to eat the 30-cent increase in farm level milk prices occurring from January to March. In other areas, families could see their milk bills going up 50 to 60 cents a gallon.

The average price for milk was $3.50 in December, according to the most recently available data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Brian West, a spokesman for the Publix supermarket chain based in the Southeast, said the store expects milk prices to rise in the next few months.

Supplies will shoot up soon after the new batch of calves are born and cows reach peak milk production 60 days later. After that, milk prices should begin to taper, falling 20 percent through December, said dairy analyst Jerry Dryer.

The current California drought, however, is the bad news. Without relief, production of alalfa, a key feed for cows, could be curbed, pushing up milk prices even higher in late 2014 and early 2015, said Ledman.

Dry fields now, dry cereal bowls later. (via NBC News)

Time for me to walk on down the road…

Restaurant features rocking robots with hot humans!

                                        Good Day World!

All the world’s a stage, and robots are playing a bigger part in it, working alongside employees in factories and labs.

So it may make sense that drones and droids are joining their human creators in some of mankind’s oldest art forms, performing in front of audiences from the United States to the nightclubs of Japan.

But there’s scientific value to the acts, too, and stage-ready robots — including fire-breathing carnival acts, and chatty humanoids who’ve entertained audiences from Abu Dhabi to Vietnam — are aiding researchers who want to build robots people find less, well, robotic.

(Read the whole story here)

Time for me to walk on down the road…