Monday Night Update on Jonesy

Thank you to everyone for all of the love and support for the sick fur boy. We both appreciate it.

Jonesy on Monday evening at the overnight Vet's office.

Jonesy spent Monday at Livingston Animal Hospital, our regular vet. They did an ultrasound on his kidneys, and heart, and did a needle aspiration of an unknown mass on one kidney. They aren't sure if it is cancer or not. The lab results on that won't be back for 2-3 days.

Monday Afternoon Update on Jonesy

Today Jonesy is obviously feeling better than he was on Sunday, but the jury is still out on his overall health.

This is how he looked at the regular vet this morning, after I had picked him up from the Emergency Vet where he spent the night. The Emergency Vet gave him the awesomely cute bandana. He didn't seem to mind having that on his neck. What bothered him was the IV line thing wrapped around his leg.

He's at the regular vet all day for more tests, including ultrasounds of his kidney and heart. Then he has to spend the night in the ER again so they can keep giving him fluids and monitoring him.

Tomorrow we should know more about what's causing his issues, and if its fixable.

Book Review: I, Michael Bennett by James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge

I don't like cops who are thugs. Whenever Michael Bennett has the opportunity to abuse a criminal, he takes it. Whenever Michael Bennett has the opportunity to abuse a perceived "bad guy", he takes it. 

Sure, he treats his kids well, but that's not all there is to being a good person. He's not home enough to qualify as a decent parent. This time he even forgets one of his kid's birthdays! He won't win any Father of the Year Awards in this decade. 

He treats Mary Catherine as if she were a pet dog, expecting that she will always be there at his home waiting for him, with a smile on her face, regardless of how he treats her. I was so happy when she finally leaves, and very sad when, at the end, she is basically forced to stay with him against her will.

The story was at least interesting, until you realize that there is no real resolution as in the previous Michael Bennett books, but that it is, instead, a convoluted setup for the next book, and an excuse to get the whole Bennett clan into Witness Protection. Personally, I find the idea that you can "hide" a family consisting of a single dad with 10 adopted kids of various races preposterous. They'll stick out no matter where they go.

Book Review: The City & The City by China Mieville

I decided to read The City & The City because it won a Hugo Award. So far it has made me question the sanity of everyone who voted for it. It's made me question my own sanity for continuing to read it past the first 5-10 pages.

First, I really hate when writers feel the need to invent new words for everything. It takes the reader out of the story when they have to consult the cheat-sheet they are required to create and maintain in order to keep up with the story and the over-use of invented terminology. Sometimes this amounts to needing to create an English translation of the story while you are reading.

Another thing I find annoying is bad grammar and punctuation. This book has an over-abundance of both. Proper punctuation is sparse, and there are too many extremely short, non-sensical sentences. I had to read some sentences three or four times to figure out what the writer meant. Good punctuation would have resolved the problem.

Stupid Writers of SPAM

I found this in my SPAM folder, and thought it was too hilarious not to share. You'd think they'd bother to at least learn grammar and spelling if they're going to attempt to intimidate you with an email, and convince you to send them money.

Day 14: London and Tampa, 14 May 2013 (Tuesday)

(this is a placeholder until I have finished writing it)

Day 13: London, 13 May 2013 (Monday)

(this is a placeholder until I have finished writing it)