Taking the lead from Emma, our cat, Crash, has created an online space for himself. Lauren set it up a few days ago and, I must say, it’s pretty funny. I wouldn’t expect any less from Crash, though. My favorite quote from his first entry:

Once we made it to Seattle I started adjusting to my new surroundings. Just when I settled in, my parents decided to adopt another pet. I was no longer king. I now had an evil half-sister. A scrappy, hyper chihuahua. Her name is Maya but, for the purposes of this diary, she will be known as my arch nemesis.

See what cat owners do in their spare time? Yes, we’re losers.

Today was a great day in our household. Why? Because Crash managed a perfect four point stance without having to have his feet positioned by yours truly. I even had time to snap a picture for everyone’s enjoyment. Needless to say it is a very happy day. in our house.

I finally resorted to using a motion detector to listen for when Crash was heading into the bathroom. He’s caught on that the beeping noise triggers me running to the bathroom and I think he does it frequently just to see me run around. This has resulted in Lauren and I forming a tag team. When I hear the chime she double checks from her view point in the living room to see if the has ran back out already.

Though last night he did slip one past me when he went number two. I think after a few more days we will be ready to add water to the bowl. Once he is using the water in the bowl then we are all set to remove the bowl. Also, the picture should answer anyone’s questions about the logistics of how cats go potty in the toilet without getting it everywhere.

My cat has an inept ability to time his potty breaks with me entering the room. It seems like his way of saying hello is to take a nice big crap as soon as I sit at my computer (about 10 feet from the litter box). I recently ran accross this comic strip, which explains the cat mentality I think.

Many people who own cats know that cats do everything their way. My cat is not different. One of the things that will never cease to amaze me is the way he eats and drinks his food. He takes his paw and dips it in the water and THEN licks the water off of his paw. Food he digs out with his paw and eats off the floor. It boggles my mind, but I’m sure there’s a method to his madness.

Crash officially went to the bathroom in the metal bowl with a PERFECT 4 point stance (4 legs on on the seat of the toilet). It’s a great feeling to know that I will soon be litter free!

Operation Train Kitty To Use The Toilet is moving into day 3 and all seems to be going well. Crash seems to be catching on quick – we are already in the last stages of the training process. I can only hope that everything turns out ok. In other news you can view my auctions on eBay here. I’m selling components for a MAME Box, a Nokia phone, and soon to be a few random boxen I have laying around.

I’ve decided that I am going to train Crash to use the toilet. I was first inspired by Meet the Parents, which depicts a cat using the toilet. I’ve found a site devoted to training your cat to use the toilet. Crash doesn’t seem to care were her litter box is (I’ve moved it 3 times on her in 2 months) so maybe she’ll be fine with this as well. I’ll keep you updated.

Many people know I’m a geek. It’s ok, I have come to terms with it. Basically, it’s a compliment in my opinion. Here I outline what it takes to be a geek. Read on.

Make your list and check it twice ….

1. Adopt a funny little animal as your mascot – preferably a penguin or unimposing devil
2. Wear glasses
3. Know one of the following movie/book series by heart: Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, or the Jersey Trilogy
4. Own lots of gadgets
5. Create a cron job to recompile the latest CVS version of the kernel and reboot each night
6. Code using a low level language and complain about having a left over bit in your 8-bit bitmask
7. Check Slashdot or Kuro5hin at least 10 times a day
8. Become a optionaire
9. Frequent IRC or a mailing list – make fun of AOL h4x0rz while doing so
10. Start at least one flame per week, while trolling your favorite boards
11. Pipe flagged messages to festival and brag about how you have talking email
12. Laugh at the kids who become computer majors “to make money.”
13. Drink lots of beer, code even more
14. Attend at least one UG, whether its a LUG, MUG, or PUG.
15. Reminisce about your Altair, Amiga, or IIe
16. Release something under the GPL

That’s just a short list of what it takes to be a true geek. If you have done more than 90% of the things on this list then I’d consider you l33+ hax0r.

I finally got around to getting a cat to keep me company. Actually, right now I have two cats right now (one is for a friend). You can check out Crash (short for Crash Override) here. The other one doesn’t have a name and wasn’t brave enough to come out and play.