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[OCR]

How long did you have that cat and why did you have to do that?

We got him in early September of 1994, and he died on July 3, 2012... He was 18 years old... His name was Abe, named after a logger friend of mine who gave him to us as a kitten, but we always, affectionately, just called him... "Thing".
He developed some form of muscle wasting syndrome, and could hardly move, or even hold his head up while laying down.

Was it old too and it could not recover from a disease?

Yes Psinter, we went with our vets recommendation... a very sad day....

"Thing" was the fourth cat that my wife and I had to say a final goodbye to...

"Little Dummy 2" was our companion for 19 years, she died on the couch, laying right next to my wife, at 10:30 AM on Christmas day, December, 2009.
She died from kidney failure, and was the third one that we lost...

"Little Dummy 1" was attacked and killed by a predator, probably a hawk or an eagle, maybe a bobcat... I walked and searched for hours and hours, and finally found her on a hill side, less than a half mile from the house... the memory of that horrible day is still hard to think, or even write about. She was less than a year old, and one of the most beautiful cats I'd ever seen.
She was the second one to leave us...

We've been married for 29 years now, and our first cat just disappeared, about 28 years ago, I never found even a trace of her..

Such is life and death, on a ranch in Montana, I guess...?

I firmly believe that indoor pets should be treated almost equal to family...

Although we let our cats out during the the day, they never, never stay out after dark... never!
Yes, the were, and are family to us... we love them all...

Except for the one I never found, the other three are all buried in my wife's flower garden, with little stone cats as markers.....

Yes, and we still have three of 'em, with about the same ridiculous names as the ones that died....
Lol, how about... "Chubo", "Chino", and "Little" ? ...

There, that's my cat story... you know mostly all you need to know about our cats, no? .. ?

Oh, wife's flower garden area, with bear... not a good pic of garden, though...

 

[Sophia]

@OCR it was so nice to read about your love for your little furry friends. One can see you must have a very kind heart, remembering all the details, even exact hour of Little Dummy's death. And what a nice idea, to burry them into the flower bed.

We have a cat, too. He's 5 years old and he's such a sweetie. He's totally phlegmatic and easy going. I really don't understand how some people think cats are mean and selfish. They just refuse to listen to your orders because they have their own will and that's what I like about them. That's why it's so precious when a cat shows you affection! You know they don't fake it and you feel privileged that they allow you to pet țhem.
I like dogs, too, and love my cocker spaniel Biba. There's just something about cats that's magnetic and mysterious, which makes me prefer them over dogs.

 

[WWGD]

I am puzzled about the economics of refills: $2.50 for first drink and $0.54 for each refill at St Arbucks. What is the actual price? EDIT: are these refills loss leaders or something?

 

[zoobyshoe]

I am puzzled about the economics of refills: $2.50 for first drink and $0.54 for each refill at St Arbucks. What is the actual price? EDIT: are these refills loss leaders or something?

I have always assumed the largest cup of plain drip coffee cost them about $0.50 total. That includes everything: beans, roasting, grinding, brewing cost, general overhead, and labor. So, with a 10 cent cup and heat shield, they make about $1.90 on the $2.50 first coffee and break even on the refills. They might lose a tad on each large refill, but gain a tad on each small refill.

If you get one of their cards, they keep telling me, refills are free all day after one regular purchase of a coffee. That system is where they might be losing money to create good will, depending on how many refills a person gets in a day.

However, that's all speculation on my part.

 

[Sophia]

Do they only have refills in Starbucks or everywhere? I'm not sure but I think I've heard somewhere that it's standard in the US to have free or cheap refills in most coffee shops.
I was only once at Starbucks and the iced coffee I had was so large I almost couldn't finish it. So I really didn't think about a refill.

 

[Psinter]

Yes Psinter, we went with our vets recommendation... a very sad day....

"Thing" was the fourth cat that my wife and I had to say a final goodbye to...

"Little Dummy 2" was our companion for 19 years, she died on the couch, laying right next to my wife, at 10:30 AM on Christmas day, December, 2009.
She died from kidney failure, and was the third one that we lost...

"Little Dummy 1" was attacked and killed by a predator, probably a hawk or an eagle, maybe a bobcat... I walked and searched for hours and hours, and finally found her on a hill side, less than a half mile from the house... the memory of that horrible day is still hard to think, or even write about. She was less than a year old, and one of the most beautiful cats I'd ever seen.
She was the second one to leave us...

We've been married for 29 years now, and our first cat just disappeared, about 28 years ago, I never found even a trace of her..

Such is life and death, on a ranch in Montana, I guess...?

Oh.

Those stories sound sad.

Edit: That's a bear! How cool!
___________________________________________________________________________________________
Since we are talking about cats, I have something on the subject:

My grandmother has a cat that let's you touch her when she's hungry. When she's hungry, she says: "meow, meow" and you can touch her, but once you give her food and she feels satisfied, she doesn't let you touch her. She scratches you if you try. Then she disappears from the map and only comes back when she's hungry again.

I heard she is very jealous with her territory and attacks dogs and other cats that get on the perimeter. That everyday she patrols a very large area of the place looking for trespassers (other cats and dogs) and attacks them or chases them away. But the area that she patrols is so large that you lose sight of her.

I was only once at Starbucks and the iced coffee I had was so large I almost couldn't finish it. So I really didn't think about a refill.

Me neither. With the soda that I always change for juice, the cup sizes are enough for me. I have never thought about refilling.

 

[zoobyshoe]

Do they only have refills in Starbucks or everywhere? I'm not sure but I think I've heard somewhere that it's standard in the US to have free or cheap refills in most coffee shops.
I was only once at Starbucks and the iced coffee I had was so large I almost couldn't finish it. So I really didn't think about a refill.

The refill policy of coffee shops is all over the map. Some donut shops give one free refill, some give no discount at all on the second cup. Usually, though, a refill is cheaper than the first cup. Coffee refills pretty much only apply to regular drip coffee, and not to any fancier drinks. I think you'd have to pay full price for a second iced coffee, for example.

When I first got out of college in the late 1970's I started hanging out at McDonalds because they had unlimited free refills. The first cup was something like 29 cents, then you could sit there all day till they closed and drink 20 more free coffees if you wanted. Back then, unlimited free coffee refills was common to many restaurants. Then President Reagan cut the mental health budget and all the state run mental institutions closed and all the people who were cared for there were out on the streets. There was a surge in the homeless population. They took to spending their days in places like McDonalds. That's when McDonalds et al started charging for refills and trying out "no loitering" policies: to discourage the homeless.

 

[Sophia]

The refill policy of coffee shops is all over the map. Some donut shops give one free refill, some give no discount at all on the second cup. Usually, though, a refill is cheaper than the first cup. Coffee refills pretty much only apply to regular drip coffee, and not to any fancier drinks. I think you'd have to pay full price for a second iced coffee, for example.

When I first got out of college in the late 1970's I started hanging out at McDonalds because they had unlimited free refills. The first cup was something like 29 cents, then you could sit there all day till they closed and drink 20 more free coffees if you wanted. Back then, unlimited free coffee refills was common to many restaurants. Then President Reagan cut the mental health budget and all the state run mental institutions closed and all the people who were cared for there were out on the streets. There was a surge in the homeless population. They took to spending their days in places like McDonalds. That's when McDonalds et al started charging for refills and trying out "no loitering" policies: to discourage the homeless.

I had no idea that something like that happened. What a shame! :((( This is one reason I'm happy to live in Europe where most medical care is covered by compulsory insurance.

 

[Psinter]

Since we are talking about cats, I have something on the subject:

My grandmother has a cat that let's you touch her when she's hungry. When she's hungry, she says: "meow, meow" and you can touch her, but once you give her food and she feels satisfied, she doesn't let you touch her. She scratches you if you try. Then she disappears from the map and only comes back when she's hungry again.

I heard she is very jealous with her territory and attacks dogs and other cats that get on the perimeter. That everyday she patrols a very large area of the place looking for trespassers (other cats and dogs) and attacks them or chases them away. But the area that she patrols is so large that you lose sight of her.

Regarding this I've always frowned down upon the fact that owners of pets let them roam free on properties which are not theirs.

Multiple times the "whatever they are called" have been asked by some of the population to make laws to force owners to keep their pets within their lands, but they never make the laws.

The problem with that is that people (usually poor and uneducated) allow their dogs and cats to roam free and they go and make number 1 and number 2 on other people's gardens or lands. (Although the cat mentioned above has a big land of the owner and spends most of the time within the perimeter of the land)

Also, when I'm running, I always have to keep an eye because for some stupid reason most of the adults of my place are inherently evil and a bunch of illiterate individuals who train their dogs to bite other pedestrians. (Although that is slowly changing, you can observe in specific geographic locations that the new generations are getting more conscience about it and behaving better and more intelligent than their parents)

I always take a broom stick with me to defend myself from the dogs which attack me when I exercise. If a dog attacks me because I entered a land without permission, then I have no right to complain. But if a dog attacks me in public places, I take that as a serious offense because they have owners.

In a country where there are regulations about pet keeping, this which I'm telling you might sound weird, but in my country there are none and I have personally have had to defend myself from dogs that stupid owners train to bite other people and have attacked me while I'm exercising. A distant family member got attacked and half of his face destroyed by a dog when he was 2 years old. Now he is an adult and you only see a small scar. But yeah.

That's why I have always frowned down upon owners who let their pets roam free to other lands which are not property of them.

 

[zoobyshoe]

I had no idea that something like that happened. What a shame! :((( This is one reason I'm happy to live in Europe where most medical care is covered by compulsory insurance.

It's disingenuous of me to put the whole blame on Reagan. He did this mostly because there was a public perception state hospitals were a waste of money:

The Administrations goals of fiscal restraint also received support from the general public due to the perception of a federal government too prone to waste revenues and not address other basic concerns, such as crime prevention. Certain forms of social welfare spending, such as programs for the mentally ill, were perceived as wasteful and thus easy targets for budget cuts (Gans, 1995; Katz, 1989). In contrast, other social programs, such as Social Security, were perceived as being "earned" by the recipients, and thus equitable. Despite the fact that the average Social Security recipient receives more in return than they pay into the system, programs such as this are perceived as being a pension for which the recipient has already paid. As such, they are less susceptible to cuts than categorical spending programs, such as community mental health treatment centers. Indeed, Social Security funding per beneficiary increased under the Reagan Administration (Levitan, 1990, 30). Mental health policy lacks the widespread public support that benefits Social Security (Armour, 1989, 186). In light of this, it is not surprising that the Reagan Administration was able to cut these programs relatively easily (186-7).

http://sociology.org/content/vol003.004/thomas_d.html
That was a long time ago, now, and when younger people look at the homeless problem they don't realize there was a time when it was not nearly as severe or why it became so severe. We used to have a system for handling large numbers of essentially dysfunctional people. Unfortunately, when it was dismantled, no one sat the public down and specifically pointed out to them, "You see, this current homeless problem, this is what happens when you cut the allegedly wasteful state hospital programs."

 

[WWGD]

It's disingenuous of me to put the whole blame on Reagan. He did this mostly because there was a public perception state hospitals were a waste of money:

http://sociology.org/content/vol003.004/thomas_d.html
That was a long time ago, now, and when younger people look at the homeless problem they don't realize there was a time when it was not nearly as severe or why it became so severe. We used to have a system for handling large numbers of essentially dysfunctional people. Unfortunately, when it was dismantled, no one sat the public down and specifically pointed out to them, "You see, this current homeless problem, this is what happens when you cut the allegedly wasteful state hospital programs."

But then again Reagan was the poster boy/ main proponent of how the state can do no right. A quote of his which seems absurdly extreme. How about the civil rights movement, WWII, The Space Program, Inventing the basis for the Internet (Darpa), look at the UC school system one of the best in the planet, etc. Don't want it everywhere in life, but there are areas where it works better than private industry.

 

[fresh_42]

I find it far less surprising that a B-747 or an A-380 flies, than it surprises me, that something like the Queen Mary II swims.

 

[Sophia]

It's disingenuous of me to put the whole blame on Reagan. He did this mostly because there was a public perception state hospitals were a waste of money:

http://sociology.org/content/vol003.004/thomas_d.html
That was a long time ago, now, and when younger people look at the homeless problem they don't realize there was a time when it was not nearly as severe or why it became so severe. We used to have a system for handling large numbers of essentially dysfunctional people. Unfortunately, when it was dismantled, no one sat the public down and specifically pointed out to them, "You see, this current homeless problem, this is what happens when you cut the allegedly wasteful state hospital programs."

I won't write a longer reply because I'm really not in a mood for political /economical debate. So I'll just say what happened seems strange and brutal to me :-/

 

[Pepper Mint]

It is very true, at least to many people outside the US.
The US invaded other countries not solely for the help as they claimed, as they had other plans to grow their military power and control in those countries. When they got disclosed, the media worldwide particularly those from socialist countries called them lies and fallacies. Still, their original claim and actual help were to be recognized even though their dark side of the helpfulness was stinky enough not to be easily eradicated.

 

[Sophia]

It is very true, at least to many people outside the US.
The US invaded other countries not solely for the help as they claimed, as they had other plans to grow their military power and control in those countries. When they got disclosed, the media worldwide particularly those from socialist countries called them lies and fallacies. Still, their original claim and actual help were to be recognized even though their dark side of the helpfulness was stinky enough not to be easily eradicated.

As I come originally from Serbia and my family* lived there during American bombing ( they bombed a place where I used to play as a kid, too. My grandfather's vineyard had black leaves for couple of years after that ) I have an opinion about American international help.
But I don't get why you say that socialist media claimed that American evil motives are lies? Perhaps I misunderstood something.

Edit: *I mean my grandfather, aunt, uncle, 2 cousins and many acquintances. By the time of NATO bombing I was already in Slovakia. I "only" experienced civil war as a little child.

 

[fresh_42]

But I don't get why you say that socialist media claimed that American evil motives are lies?

The usual American definition of socialism differs from ours by several magnitudes. Basically it starts at the edge of this guy's philosophy.

 

[Pepper Mint]

...
But I don't get why you say that socialist media claimed that American evil motives are lies? Perhaps I misunderstood something.

Haters always hate. And many haters are liars also.

 

[Sophia]

Haters always hate. And many haters are liars also.

After Fresh's post I get that you didn't mean socialist in the sense of Eastern Europe

 

[WWGD]

It is very true, at least to many people outside the US.
The US invaded other countries not solely for the help as they claimed, as they had other plans to grow their military power and control in those countries. When they got disclosed, the media worldwide particularly those from socialist countries called them lies and fallacies. Still, their original claim and actual help were to be recognized even though their dark side of the helpfulness was stinky enough not to be easily eradicated.

I think you may be misinterpreting my point. Reagan was proclaiming his radically anti-state position in this video.

 

[Psinter]

I found a chicken!

It had baby chickens following her! The baby chickens were very tiny and cute.

I tried to capture one because they looked so cute and I wanted to touch them. But... I won't tell you whether I succeed or not in capturing one. I... I don't want to talk about it.

 

[Borek]

 

[beamie564]

I don't want to talk about it.

But..you've posted it on a forum. Do you want people to reply or not??
.
Ps. Did the mother chicken chase you away??

 

[jim hardy]

I tried to capture one because they looked so cute and I wanted to touch them. But... I won't tell you whether I succeed or not in capturing one. I... I don't want to talk about it.

When i was a kid we raised baby chickens every summer at Grandma's.
They don't have sense to stay out from underfoot.

When one gets taller than about 3 feet he must be very careful to not step on them. Makes one feel awful.
If that's what happened, well, you're not the first.

old jim

 

[Psinter]

Ps. Did the mother chicken chase you away??

How did you guess? Man, she got all hysterical about it. I was definitely not expecting that reaction. It was just so sudden that I got scared for a while there and made a run for it. I was like: "Ahhh, what the?... What's this reaction?! What do... What the..." *while running*

Afterwards, I tried to sneak, but she went nuts about it again and I couldn't get closer. I think she was overreacting . I wasn't going to hurt them, I just wanted to touch them.

hysterical - deriving from or affected by uncontrolled extreme emotion.

When i was a kid we raised baby chickens every summer at Grandma's.
They don't have sense to stay out from underfoot.

When one gets taller than about 3 feet he must be very careful to not step on them. Makes one feel awful.
If that's what happened, well, you're not the first.

old jim

You raised baby chickens? That sounds pretty nice . You have touched them? Are they soft?

Oh no, I didn't step on them. Once discovered by Mommy Chicken I couldn't even get close.

 

[Pepper Mint]

http://dschool.stanford.edu/bio/tina-seelig/

I am learning many things from her lectures.

 

[beamie564]

How did you guess?

Past experiences; I've been chased by a chicken ( and a flock of geese) . It sounds hilarious ( sorry but the thought of a human being chased by a bird is very funny).
.
.
You know you can get these chicks at a pet store, they cost very little.

 

[jim hardy]

You raised baby chickens? That sounds pretty nice . You have touched them? Are they soft?

fuzzy, downy soft , and fun to hold. They get tame pretty quickly.

I also raised a petty newly hatched blue jay whose nest had got blown down in a windstorm. What a great pet for a kid. Jays are smart .

old jim

 

[Psinter]

Small note: I said "overreacting", but I'm just kidding. I know she wasn't overreacting. But all in all she took me by surprise since I wasn't expecting that reaction from her.

Past experiences; I've been chased by a chicken ( and a flock of geese) . It sounds hilarious ( sorry but the thought of a human being chased by a bird is very funny).

You too have been chased?! It wasn't only me then. Geese too?!

I must admit it was comical. If I see someone else chased by a bird I would probably laugh too.

You know you can get these chicks at a pet store, they cost very little.

The places I always live never allow pets . That's why I was happy when I found a chicken with baby chickens in the wild. Though I didn't expected it to turn out the way it turned out .

I also raised a petty newly hatched blue jay whose nest had got blown down in a windstorm. What a great pet for a kid. Jays are smart .

old jim

I searched for blue jay and found some pictures . It looks awesome! That bird is very pretty .

fuzzy, downy soft , and fun to hold. They get tame pretty quickly.

It is decided. I must touch one yes or yes.

Psinter's Mission Number 34: Capture a baby chicken to touch it.

Let's start the training. My coach is this cat:

Spoiler

Cat coach: Faster Psinter, faster! Give me more power! You run like a baby and your breathing is irregular! Control your breathing!
Me: I'm tired!
Cat coach: What did you just say?! Tiredness is in your mind! It's all mental! Now give me more speed on your sprinting!

 

[Borek]

If I see someone else chased by a bird I would probably laugh too.

Unless the bird is a cassowary.

http://pickle.nine.com.au/2016/04/11/09/44/fatal-cassowary-attack

(Yes, 90 years ago, but attacks do happen even today now and then, they are just not fatal.)

 

[Sophia]

An interesting article discussing the need to review health and safety standards in cosmetics, especially women's products https://www.theguardian.com/lifeand...cs-health-nih-epa-environmental-working-group