Tag: cat

Searching for Meaning

Our cat Boo looks out the picture window of the dining room of our house in Portland, Oregon

Boo looks out from the picture window in the dining room of our old house in Portland. This morning I noticed the door of one of the kitchen cabinets was moving on its own and suddenly out popped Boo. He quickly figured out how to open the cabinets after we moved here and one has become a favorite. Look inside and you’ll see he’s made a cozy space surrounded by reading materials like Catwoman comics and the writings of Heraclitus. I need to put an end to it because you’re not getting back to sleep when someone wakes you up at 3 a.m. to ask you why you cannot step twice in the same river.

26 Minutes

Our cat Sam sleeps atop the cat tree in direct light

Two pictures taken 26 minutes apart as I tested out a new camera in March of 2017, Sam sleeping in my office in the late afternoon, first in direct light and then in diffuse light. The great snuggler is curled up beside me now.

Our cat Sam sleeps atop the cat tree in diffuse light

Heat Seeker

Our tortoiseshell cat Trixie relaxes near the heating vent of our home in Portland as I play around with the shallow depth of field possible with Sony's 55mm f/1.8 lens

Trixie, like many of the cats before her, loved the wooden heating vent in the living room of our old house in Portland as she could lay on the hardwood with warm air blowing onto her belly. Our rental house doesn’t have any floor vents but it is not an issue as the heat finds you in the Sonoran Desert summer. After a hike at sunrise and a swim in the morning, I took a nap in my chair this afternoon with Sam in my lap and Trixie around my head, the heat not sought was brought.

Upgrade Central

Our cat Sam next to the box of my new Apple MacBook Pro

The new laptop arrived a week or so ago and is working out great, I loved my old laptop but after five years of loyal service it was ailing a bit and had some limitations for what I use it for. I appreciate how much Apple has reduced the packaging over the years even if it means the new box is no longer as interesting to my IT staff as the old ones. Editing video is one of the things I want to learn so I’m going to pick up Final Cut Pro this summer and find a good book to teach me how to use it. I suppose it’s high time I learn to use Lightroom as well, plus some other RAW converters I have.

My old TiVo started locking up the other day, perhaps it doesn’t like the Arizona heat, but TiVo sent us an email today with an upgrade offer that was pretty great so I’ll be upgrading that too, the new one should be here next week and will have a lot more recording space than the old one.

The Furry Philosopher

Our cat Boo watches me while stretched out on the dog bed with his arms sticking out in front of him

My wife and I were discussing how we’d love to know what Boo is thinking. Like Scout, the black-and-white cat that preceded him, Boo is clever, but more than that he seems to ponder, to wonder, to want to understand not just the what of the world but the why. We’ve had other curious cats but there is a depth to Boo’s curiosity that is unique, so much so that it sometimes takes me aback when he plays with all the joy and enthusiasm of the other cats, even though we’ve had him since he was a kitten and we’ve played together countless hours.

Would that all so desired to understand the unknown, rather than fear it.