Slightly Off KIlter

Normal is overrated

In The News

  • TV-B-Gone

    Several of the restaurants we patronize regularly have televisions going – our favorite diner, the burrito place, one of the Chinese places, the Japanese restaurant (that one’s at the far end of the sushi bar and more difficult to see)…. Improved conversation was the motivation behind TV-B-Gone, and it’s why Altman calls it the most… Continue reading

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  • Sing a Song for Kitty

    It didn't seem like such a weird question, especially considering that I was asking people at Point Isabel Regional Shoreline, a center of pet obsession. At Point Isabel, 21 acres of off- leash dog park, the value of pet accessories exceeds the gross national product of Lithuania, and half the cars in the parking lot… Continue reading

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  • Dump and Run

    I grew up in a College town. My Dad taught at the university. Our house was next door to a small apartment building. We found the most amazing castoffs over the years, including a blender, a typewriter, a perfectly functional desk, table lamps… and more. One of the saddest finds was an entire set of… Continue reading

  • Tiny Feet and Giant Steps

    In the news… Our cats are great spider spotters. We'll walk into a room and notice a cat, staring intently at the ceiling. We look up… and there's a spider, in the middle of the ceiling, equidistant from the four walls. How did he get up there? How does he stay up there? For the… Continue reading

  • Going to the Cats

    I was wondering what the latest census numbers were for cats & dogs in the US, so I looked it up. The latest study shows that over half of US homes have at least one cat or dog. February 13, 2002 — The 20th Anniversary Pet Food Institute Pet Incidence Trend Report finds that in… Continue reading

  • Spam in my mailbox?

    Spam in my mailbox? I cannot utter enough expletives to describe the depth of my revulsion for spam. Spam on my blog? Sailors, cover your ears. [ cf. Fighting Blog Spam, March 8, 2004 ] If I never again see an "enlargement comment" I will be a very happy camper. I am so sick and… Continue reading

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  • Commemorative Dr. Seuss US Stamp

    The US Post Office has released a commemorative 0.37 cent stamp in honor of Theodor Seuss Geisel. Stamps are available for purchase at your local Snail Mail outlet or online (I personally love buying stamps by mail. It's so… logical. Recursive, as it were 😉 Continue reading

  • Dr. Seuss on NPR

    National Public Radio's Morning Edition presented A 100th Birthday Card to Dr. Seuss this morning, featuring a verse written by Hart Seely, a reporter with the Syracuse Post-Standard. Continue reading

  • Fall Back Day

    Daylight Spending Time? As of 02:00 (am) Sunday, Oct. 27 (less than 2 hours away as I write this), the U.S. is officially back on "normal;" time. Except for Hawaii, parts of Indiana, and most of Arizona, we all "sprung forward" on the first Sunday of April. As opposed to that Sunday, this is one… Continue reading

  • iChat, iSight, iSign

    Video conference programs expand horizons for the deaf. Unlike any other technology he had seen, [Melvin] Patterson, 31, said the iChat AV software produced video that was clear enough to see another person’s fingers and hand movements, a crucial element in communicating in American Sign Language.” Continue reading

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