Tag Archives: Sam

One in a Million Boolie

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Our cat Sam sleeping in a heated bed

I always knew I was one in a million! Or at least one of a million!

Yes, I was one of the over one million people that downloaded OS X Lion on the first day it was available. I’ve been on the trailing edge of Mac OS updates lately, I never upgraded to 10.5 and I only went to 10.6 when I had to because a software upgrade required it. But I’m as excited by recent advances in technology as I have been in a long time — including the iPad even though I don’t own one — and I love the direction Apple is taking its traditional lineup with Lion and recent computer updates.

I’ve only had my 15″ MacBook Pro for four months, but even at a month in it had become my favorite computer of all time (unless you count the iPhone, which would win by a landslide). The new laptop has all the charm of my previous favorite, the 15″ Powerbook, a computer greater than the sum of its parts. The new laptop is all that with greater parts, especially its quad-core processor and high-res screen.

I haven’t had much time to play around with Lion, or to read John Siracusa’s typically fantastic review of the new OS (it was his review of OS X 10.0 that first got my eyes wandering lustily to the Mac platform after decades in the PC camp, and his review of 10.2 that pushed me over the edge into buying my first Mac).

But so far so good with the new OS … well, there is one major disappointment: the name. Despite how closely the Ear of Cupertino bends to the Mouth of Irvington, Apple went in a different direction. Look I know Sam conjures up all thoughts adorable and snuggly, which might not be appropriate for a powerful new OS, but he’s more dangerous than any lion if you get between him and his food.

Just ask Scout and Emma.

Temptations

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Our cats Sam and Scout relaxing in the window seat

Another change I made to the Giving of Treats is to swap out the treat I give to Scout. While she still likes the WildSide Salmon dried salmon treats, she wasn’t eating them with the same fervor so I decided to mix things up a bit. I started off with Whiskas Wild Alaskan Salmon Flavor Temptations, a little treat with a crunchy whole grain shell and a meaty treat inside. Despite the name, the first ingredient is chicken meal and the wild Alaskan salmon flavor (whatever that is) is one of the last, but Scout loves them. She’s normally a bit picky about food so it’s nice to find another treat she gets excited about.

Sam likes them too, but that’s not too surprising, Sam likes just about everything. He has gotten more tolerant of Flea Medicine Night, a monthly ritual necessitated by Scout’s flea allergy, partly with experience I suppose and partly because I started giving the cats a few treats afterward to soothe their injured souls. Now instead of hiding from me for a few hours afterward, Sam has learned it is treat time and he doesn’t even resist his treatments with the same vigor that he used to — in other words, I don’t end up bleeding anymore.

Emma is another picky eater and while she likes the wet food she gets in the mornings, and sometimes eats the dried salmon treats, I have not yet found a dried treat she will consistently eat. I picked up a couple of new Temptations flavors, Free Range Chicken and Yellow Fin Tuna, to see how they would be received. I had little doubt Sam would love them but really hoped Emma would take to them too.

On the latest flea night I assembled the three cats after their treatment, each a little irritable but each eyeing the treat bags I held in my hands. Emma didn’t like any of the treats, a disappointment but not a surprise, while Scout loved them all. The biggest surprise was Sam, who not only didn’t like the new flavors but actually spit them out!

Scout, who was learned well from her Snuggle Twin, body blocked Sam out of the way and devoured his spurned treats and Emma’s too, not a normal behavior for our gentle Queen. I guess it’s safe to say she likes these treats!

I have given her the Tuna flavor the last few days in the mornings, the first time after I handed her the last treat she swatted my empty hand with her paw. I thought it an aberration until she did it again the following morning. This morning though she just buried her head in my empty hand and rubbed her head through my fingers to capture any fleeing evanescences from the departed treats.

The Snuggliest Creature Ever to Walk the Earth

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Our cat Sam resting on the futon

Sam and Emma came to live with us just over three years ago, Ellie just under two. Last Christmas and this, we managed to avoid adding more pets to the household, which is good because the bed is full up. Emma rarely joins us at night but when I wake up Sam, Scout, and Ellie are usually sharing the bed. And oftentimes a hedgehog.

Once they detect I’m awake, they come snuggling up for attention. Sometimes one of them will “accidentally” wake me, making me wonder if they cast lots in the darkness to see who should wake me this time. To be fair there’s no “accidentally” about it when Scout wakes me, she has always considered this to be her divine right and makes no apologies.

Sam usually snuggles up tight throughout the night. If synchronized spooning were an Olympic event we’d be gold medalists every time, we’ve perfected the art of me slowly turning over while he keeps tucked up tight against me.

This picture is of Sam in a rare non-snuggling moment.

A Camera in the Hand is Worth Two in the House

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Our cat Sam snuggling under the covers

I woke up to little Sam peeking out from under the covers. I use my iPhone as my alarm clock so I grabbed it off the nightstand and took a quick picture before he snuggled onto my chest and the moment was gone.

While my iPhone can’t hold a candle to my Canon 7D, especially in low light, it takes a nicer picture than the 7D during those times when the iPhone is in hand and the big camera is sitting in my office.


Portland Trailblazer guard Andre Miller shoots a free throw to help seal the victory over the Los Angeles Clippers

I handed my iPhone to a stranger so they could take a picture of me shooting free throws to help seal the victory of my Portland Trail Blazers over the Los Angeles Clippers. I had never noticed it before, but I look an awful lot like Andre Miller when photographed.