Ghost or Water Spot

One of the nifty things about living in St. Augustine is all the historical things there is to see.  Of course being the oldest city in the US, that means there are a ton of ghost tours you can take.

A friend of mine from high school, came to visit me last week.  We visited two forts, checked out the oldest wooden school house, Walked along the historical city, and of course went on one of the ghost tours.

We were told to take a lot of pictures because sometimes unusual things show up, so armed with my camera I snapped about 15 photos.  Here are three of them.

This picture was taken at one of the many cemetaries.  The tour guide just told us about a little ghost boy that likes to hang out in the tree, so of course I took a few pictures of the tree.

This white “orb” appeared in the photo.  This photo of the tree was the only one that showed something strange. 

This is a photo of one of the forts at night.  That white object over the fort looks like the moon, but I assure you, the moon was not over the fort when I took this picture.  Of course the tour guide told me it was an orb, that’s his job, but is it an orb or just a water spot on my lens?

This is an interesting picture, also taken at the fort.  There’s a small white streak towards the right of the photo.  I have no idea what that is, and there were no reflective surfaces near the fort. 

Even if you don’t believe in ghost, the ghost tour was very entertaining.  The guide gave provided a lot of historical information about the over 400 year history of St. Augustine.  If you’re ever in Northern Florida, you should stop by.  There’s a lot to see and do.

My Cat Toys On Animal Planet

Last month, I was contacted by a rep from Powderhouse Productions.  They are doing a show for Animal Planet called “Must Love Cats.”  The show is going to be centered around catnip, and they asked me to send them some of my toys.  It seems that the opening of the show will be a deli counter with cat toys in it.  They wanted toys that look like food items, and since my toy mostly look like food items, they thought the toys would work perfectly.

I managed to make the deadline by two days.  The filming is going on now.  After the inital shots of the deli counter, they are going to talk about how catnip is grown, and stuff like that.  Then the toys will go on the road, where they will be interviewing various cat owners, giving the cats a chance to pick which toy they want to play with.  I hope these cats pick my toys are picked, that would be to fun to see on TV.

Anyway, “Must Love Cats” will probably run at the end of the year or early next year.  I’ll keep you all informed. 

By the way, the toys they requested were the “Holy Moly Ravioli”, “Hot Dog”, and the “Prawns.”  To view these items click on the  cat product page of this website.

I’m finally on Twitter

Since the begining of Twitter, I have always wonder, why?  People reporting that they are eating a sandwich, or they’re going to bed now.  What do I care about such things.  I don’t even know these people, and even if I did, I would say to them “get a life.”  But recently, I discovered that there are groups of people who actually have something of interest to say.

I took a course on Lynda.com about how to use twitter, and what all the features are.  Then I signed up for it.  Using the search feature, I found some people who had some interesting things to say, and I found myself replying to them.  I had to admit my first day was fun, although I only spent 15 minutes on it. 

Do I want thousands of followers?  Hell, no.  Nor do I plan on following thousands of people.  But I do find it very entertaining to see what complete strangers have to say.  Get different view points on a topic, and be in complete control over what messages I get.

I never thought I would say this, but, if you’re into the social network thing, give it a try.

It’s Not Easy Being the Only Dog In a House Full Of Cats

Mugsy the Dog lives with three cats.  Frankie, Cassie and Sweetie.  He doesn’t have any toys to play with, where as the cats have tons of toys.  That doesn’t stop him from playing with cat toys.  In fact, he likes to crawl into the cat tent in the office to take his naps.  The only problem is he’s a little too big for it, and tends to stick out.  He also tends to get stuck when it’s time for him to move onto other things.  I took these photos today while he was going through his routine of exiting the cat tent.  It took about 5 minutes, and we let him work it out on his own.  It’s good exercise for his brain and body, and since he doesn’t panic or get distressed, we don’t interrupt him.

By the way, Mugsy is 16 years old and he stopped playing with toys a few years back, so that’s why he doesn’t have any toys.  As for the cat tent, although it was bought for the cats, Mugsy is the only one who uses it.  I think the cats think it’s a dog tent.

Lynda.com

I recently signed up with Lynda.com.  For those of you who have no idea what that is, you should check it out.  Lynda.com is a website that provides tutorials on all kinds of computer software, subjects, etc.  It’s a great and affordable way for people like me to learn how to use the computer and to take advantage of what your software has to offer.

The other thing I like about it, is that it is in video format.  Just like sitting in the class room.  Each subject is broken down into chapters, so if you’re only interested in a certain topic, let’s say how to save a spreadsheet on excel, you click on that chapter and there you go.  You don’t have to watch an entire course to find out what you want.

With your membership you get 24/7 access to hundreds of courses that you can watch.  With some courses you even get a certificate.  This comes in handy for us job seekers who need a little something extra to stand out.

I’m so impresses by Lynda.com, that I wanted to share it with everyone.  To get more information, go to www.lynda.com.  I hope this helps some of you out there.  I know it’s helped me out a great deal.

Crazy About Catnip Going Wholesale

I’ve had many requests over the last few months to sell my items wholesale.  I finally took the plunge.  Right now, the only items I have listed in my etsy shop are the “Filled to the Gills with Catnip” toys, however, if you are interested in other toys or a different quantity then what is listed in the shop, please send a comment, explain what you are looking for and the quantity, and I will get back to you with that information.  You can see some of the items in the Cat Products section of my blog or by clicking on this link for Crazy About Catnip.

Space Shuttle Atlantis Takes Off

One of the advantages of living in Florida, is being able to watch launches from Kennedy Space Center, right in your own back yard.  The Space Center is probably 100 miles south of where I live, yet, I can still clearly see the shuttle as it races towards space.  I was too mesmerized to think about grabbing my camera as I watched to glow of the flames from the rocket jet out, and then separate from the shuttle.   But about 2 minutes after the shuttle disappeared into space, I decided to get a shot of the trail it left behind.  That white streak in the sky is the flight path of the shuttle.  It took about 10 minutes to disappear. 

This will be the last flight for the Atlantis, which is sad, but it’s also exciting to know that we are now moving on to the next stage of space exploration.  Next time there is a launch, I’ll try to bring my camera with me at the time of the launch, so you can see the magnificents of it all.

Troubleshooting on WordPress

A few months ago, I discovered that I couldn’t update my pages.  I don’t do it that often, so I wasn’t sure if I was doing something wrong, or if something had changed.  I found myself going to the “help” tab to see if I could find out why I was having problems, but it didn’t help any.  Finally, I gave up.

Then, earlier this week, I discovered I was having the same problem with posts.  There was no option to attach categories, tags, or publish my posts.  Once again, I found myself browsing in the help section of WordPress, and once again, I couldn’t find out any information on what was going on.  This time, I decided to contact WordPress.

I filled out the required information, explained my problem, and sent the message off.  Usually, I don’t like to do this because of issues I’ve had in the past, mostly ebay, paypal, and a few other sites that ignore your problems, or just send you a reply that has nothing to do with your problem.  But I was pleasantly surprised by how quick I got a reply.  Not only did I get it in less than 24 hours, the answer they gave me did the trick.  They also took the time to explain to me what caused the problem.

Hats off to WordPress for realizing that customer service is still important.

Crazy About Catnip’s Latest Toy

Prawn Cat Toy

 

This latest addition to the Crazy About Catnip shop is great for the kitty who demands only the best.  The Prawn Cat Toy is filled with potent catnip.  Made of fabric, it has a felt tail, and is sure to keep your cat busy for hours.

For more details, click here to bring you to the Crazy About Catnip shop.

Cheep Oil Change

The other day it was time for me to get the oil changed in the car.  I don’t have to do it that often because I really don’t drive that much.  Right now I have a 2006 Toyota Camry.  Yes I said Toyota, and lucky for me there was no recall for the 2006 Camry.  This is only my 3rd oil change because I was informed that the oil doesn’t really need to be changed every 3,000 mile, like we are all told, but 5,000 miles is just fine.  In fact the idiot light to tell me it’s time for an oil change comes on every 5,000 miles.  Just to be on the safe side, I try to do it every 4,000 miles.

Anyway, My step father suggested I go to one of the drive in places.  You know the one I’m talking about.  Oil change $18.99.  You drive in and ten minutes later the job is done, and you go on your merry way.  Now I’ve never done this before.  I always had my mechanic do all the oil changes, but now that I’m a thousand miles away from my mechanic, I thought I would give it a try.

I pulled the car into the garage and went into the office as instructed.  The next thing I know, the guy comes in and asks me if the mileage is correct.  You see I only have 12,000 miles on the car, and even though it’s a 2006 model, I bought the car in 2005.  Yes, the car is nearly 5 years old, and yes, the mileage is correct.  He then tells me what the recommended oil to use is, and also informs me that I was half a quart low, I should have the oil changed more often, and he’s going to have to add something to clean out the engine.  The problem is he fails to tell the person who is working on the car while we discuss it, not to start yet.  It’s now too late to do the additive, but the oil he suggested will be an added cost to the $18.99.  Fine with me.

Just before the car is finished, the guy comes back with two different types of filter, non of which is the oil filter, (I’ve changed my own oil in the past and have knowledge of what those look like).  He tells me they are both filthy and should be changed.  If I change both, he’ll give me $10.00 off one of the filters, but it would still cost me $50 more.  I’m looking at filters that are still white with some dark spots along the bottom edge.  “Yeah, you’ve got dirt and dead bugs in here.  Look how filthy they are.”  I tell him they look pretty good to me, yet he has a come back.  “They should both be pure white.  You would be foolish not to change them both.”  Sorry folks, but I thought we had the “women are dumb” thing under control, (like thirty years ago).   I thought about saying something to him, but refrained from making any comment since my car was sitting there, no oil, and other parts exposed that could suddenly turn into “major engine problems.”, so instead I told him I was low on cash right now, and would take care of it next time “he” changed my oil.

I consider myself luck that I left with only a $34.00 bill.  If I had done everything he told me to do, (and yes, he also insisted on rotating my tires), the oil change would have come out to about $150.

All I have to say is beware of the quick and cheep oil changes.  If you’re not smart about it, it could cost you.