How much to feed a cat?

Bisquick and I stayed home from work today. (Well, I did, and he slept in a chair while I slept in the bed. Bad cold.)
At the store, I got him some Meow Mix Ocean Explosion, which Michael and I fed him before we ate.
He also got a sliver of steak after all his whining. (So in essence, he had surf and turf, while Michael and I merely had turf.)
This article answers the question of food quantities for cats--depending on age, and amount of exercise.
I'm thinking "Bis" has food issues.

Health quiz

Found a health quiz from the Times.
Click here.

Low-fat? Low-carbs? Answering best diet question

This comes from CNN.com.
The gist? Overweight people from a two-year study lost roughly the same amount of weight from four different diets.
It's all about the calories, says Dr. Frank Sacks of Harvard and one of the study's co-authors.
You need to burn more than you add. Sounds simple, right?

Tiger Woods is back!

Or, he will be tomorrow. Teeing off at a tourney in Tucson.
I also read somewhere that Tiger wants to tee it up with this guy. Do you think it'll happen?

Don't drink and drive a lawnmower

Vescy column

Here's a recent column by George Vescey of the New York Times. It's about Alex Rodriguez, and the famous player's admission that he used steroids.
What's so sad is the connection between the big players and the kids coming along, who get the idea to bulk up and, in extreme examples, end up dying because they don't know what they're putting into their bodies.

Molly II

Two days ago, my parents' dog Molly was the subject of a blog post. Today, as they'd planned, the vet "put her down" (the polite phrase for euthanasia.)
Hank Hall is their veterinarian. I can't say enough nice things about him; he explained all of the procedure; and he cared for Molly for her nearly 15 years on earth.
Our priest came, too. Doug isn't my parents' pastor but they're friends with him and he was kind enough to take some time for Molly and us. He read a sweet poem about dogs, then prayed over her and for us. As it happens, Doug owns a Golden Retriever too (named Glory), so I know he has a soft spot for animals and for this breed.
I trust Molly is cavorting in a better place with all her old tennis balls and dog friends.

Strange call from a man

"I love your husband ... but not in a sexual way."
Hands down, the quote of the day.
The context: Michael got called downstairs at work last week to take a Letter to the Editor from a male reader (Michael used to be on the editorial board and knows this guy, but now he wears another hat at the paper). This man just called our home number and said, "Is this where Mike Owen from the paper lives?" After I said yes, I braced myself. It's rare that a reader would call us at home and if one does, it's usually not good. But this man went on to thank Michael (through me) profusely for getting in his letter. Said it was the best one he'd ever written. Said he wanted to send Michael $50 for his trouble. (Though tempted to say, "Send it on!", I said, No, no, he was just doing his job.)
Before he hung up, the man said he loved me too.
Boy, you don't get calls like this every day.

Chicken livers, popcorn and sausage

If you are on your last legs, and you're a dog, this is what your staff might cook for you. At least it's proving true at my parents' house. They are nursing poor Molly in her final days. We'll meet them Thursday at their vet, where they'll put her to sleep. A 14-year-old Golden Retriever, she was recently diagnosed with cancer. All she does, pretty much, is sleep. My parents are keeping her warm and talking to her and, obviously, cooking for her.
My dad and I picked out Molly from a litter of her siblings, breeded from the dog of one of my dad's co-workers. I've been looking around our house for the photo that shows all the siblings lined up as puppies (and sitting still!), after which Molly bounded out first from the pack and wobbled over to us. We picked her.
At my parents' old house, where I grew up, she seemed to get buried in the grass those first few days and weeks. She was so small! Then she grew to about 75 pounds. She enjoyed long walks and eating paper found on the ground and she walked like a queen. She was always very regal.
Molly is named for another former co-worker of my dad's, named Molly Farmer.
Daddy snapped countless photos of me and Molly, especially when I was about to drive off to the city where I lived the first four years of her life; he'd put her in the back of the truck and we posed sitting on the gate. Molly and I kind of favored, with our smile and the color of our hair.
Molly will leave behind her parents, Hugh and Charlotte Kennedy; a cat sibling named Charlie; human siblings Brad Kennedy and Allison Kennedy Owen; brother-in-law Michael Owen; her wagon; countless tennis balls; and many friends.

Any ideas?

For the women only: Any ideas on how to (gracefully) get a urine sample?
(As in your own?)
Most people have to do this for physicals, of course, but this morning I had to "give" because I went to a workman's comp doc. They automatically get a sample in case, you know, somebody's on drugs. Which I'm not.
This is one of the rare instances when I wish I were a man. Men have better aim.

A good way to tell if noodles are done

--from Dooce.com

Fun times

Happy Valentine's Day, all.
We just got back from Pine Mountain Valley, where our good friends Beth and Pat hosted a dinner. Beth, who preached at our wedding, is here from St. Paul, where she's the rector of this church.
The picture of the salt grinders references a recent post when I probed the merits of olive oil in water for pasta. Pat posted a comment that said, basically, Absolutely not. These are some of her salt grinders.
She also gave us a box of course kosher salt. (A belated wedding gift.)

Good thought

On this Valentine's Day eve:
Love withers under constraints: its very essence is liberty: it is compatible neither with obedience, jealousy, nor fear: it is there most pure, perfect, and unlimited where its votaries live in confidence, equality and unreserve.
~Percy Bysshe Shelley

Snack bars

Internet, what's your opinion on snack bars, aka power bars or cereal bars?
This article was a good find for me on breaking down the nutritional value on the labels. Clearly, you want something as nutritional as possible. In that realm, I like Fiber One bars by General Foods. (Then again if you're on a long bike ride, you might like something with more carb value.)
I remember a brand--back in the dark ages when I was in college--that was popular among me and my friends. Actually, the name of it escapes me but it was kind of crunchy and had a chocolate outer layer. Yum. (Was it Carnation? Does anyone recall?) These days it probably wouldn't pass any of the low-fat, low-carb tests but man, it was tasty-licious.

Tuning in to the show

Looking forward to watching this show in about 20 minutes: the Larry King interview with Capt. Chelsey Sullenberger, who famously "landed" his plane in the Hudson River on Jan. 15. In an interview I read with "Sully" today, he said he didn't consider himself a hero, yet acknowledged that many people, in these troubled times, might look upon him more so. That the country needs a little good news like this. Amen.

Traffic question

Here's my question, having spent about 10 collective hours in the car between Friday and Sunday. If there are three lanes of traffic and you're in the middle lane, but going slower than the person behind you, who's supposed to move? The other driver to the left, or me to the right (granted that both lanes are clear, of course)?

Mini-vacation

Because 164 just isn't enough

This guy, up the road from us in Atlanta, is trying to sell his $9 million home, which is a replica of the White House. Mr. Owen just did some Googling for me, and it turns out that this other guy (not Mr. Owen) owns 165 Rolls Royces. (If we owned 165 Rolls, I guarantee you we wouldn't be working at the newspaper.) Mr. Waddaulah owns 5,000 cars. Instead of a private jet, he has a Boeing 747.
Times is tough, and I know that doesn't mean we all have to be walking around with tin cups in our hand. But gimme a break. (Apologies for my little class-warfare fit here.)

Today, in summary

Interesting juxtaposition

This first story from the Times ran today, and this second one was in the Saturday edition.
You can connect the dots.
The first (in case you don't want to read it all) is about the Mall of America. In what I read as a two-part message, it's exploring the idea that a) malls may be on the way out and b) this particular shopping and entertainment center could be a barometer for the country's economy. Though various shopkeepers say business is bad, the mall manager says business is up 2 percent over last year.
Second story. The census at high-end psychiatric hospitals in and around New York is up. Many of the patients have enjoyed high-powered jobs in the city's financial sector (or are family members) but have either lost said jobs or can't sell their multi-million-dollar homes, etc. Some are having real flashbacks to 9/11. Though not exactly the same tragedy, I could see how the emotions could be similar.
Now. My point. On one hand, we have the Mall of America which pretty much encapsulates this country's love affair with consumption and celebrating the Almighty Dollar. (If shopping doesn't do it for you, there's a roller coaster inside. For real.)
A thousand or so miles away, we have God knows how many Wall Streeters out of work or working themselves to death, out of anxiety of losing their jobs, homes, etc. One person says it's not so much the loss of the STUFF that bothers him but the loss of prestige and all that goes with it.
At the same time you have to honor someone and have real compassion for where they are emotionally, you do have to wonder: Will shopping save us? Has it ever?