Category: Diary (Page 4 of 38)

Karma the Cat ran out the clock on his 9th life on Friday 17 February 2006.

Although we used to joke about how grumpy and irascible he was, in truth he was the gentlest of creatures and he left this world the way lived in it: quietly and without protest.

In the end, it wasn’t a coyote that got him: there was no grand stand-off; and he did not need to engage his tiger aspect.

We got the results of his nasal biopsy on Wednesday. The news was not good: They identified a high-grade tumour in his nose, a malignant lymphoma. The treatment options for this kind of ailment are pretty horrible and there was no way we were going to subject Karma to them. Besides, Karma hadn’t eaten anything for the last two weeks. Even though his breathing seemed easier and a little less congested since his hospital visit last week, he was still suffering the occasional spluttering and gulping spasms and he was showing no interest in any food.

We knew what we were going to have to do. We could not watch him starve to death. Yesterday was bright and sunny and Karma spent several hours out in the backyard before coming inside and curling up on our bed. This morning was cold and grey and I rang and made the appointment for 11:20.

Karma had lost another pound since we last weighed him: 6.7. They put us in a room with a couch and while L settled up I let Karma explore and he ran up to the window and looked out at the garden and snuffled and sneezed on the glass.

We had arranged to stay with him, so they took him away and a few minutes later brought him back wrapped in a blanket, with a catheter fitted to his forearm. It was still shaved from his IV last week.

They explained the process: two injections, first a sedative to relax him, then the other one. We sat on the couch together and watched the light go out of his beautiful golden eyes.

To my ex-flatmate, Sonia Dawson, wherever you are: if by some chance you read this, thank you for introducing me to Karma, and thank you for entrusting us with your cat. We tried to take good care of him over the last 14 years.

This afternoon the world is missing a creature of elegant grace, and I have a cat-shaped hole in my heart.

Alas, we cannot please all of the people all of the time:

From:  John Hines
       signus1@netzero.net
 
  To:  Colin

  RE:  Rush?

--- BEGIN MAIL MESSAGE ---
For you to say that any of the new Rush songs 'suck' is absolutely crazy.  
I just can't believe it.  
I don't know how I ran into you site but definitely won't come back.  
Unless I need a good laugh.
---  END MAIL MESSAGE  ---

I guess he read my review of the Vapor Trails tour.

So Robert Fripp is recording sounds for Windows Vista?

http://channel9.msdn.com/showpost.aspx?postid=151853

Is it just me, or is that ambient loop behind him totally based on the opening melody of Promenade from Mussorgsky‘s Pictures at an Exhibition?

Tim Bray describes a PBS HD Jazz concert. It sounds pretty cool:

Saving the best for the last: The Patricia Barber Quartet played Norwegian Wood. No, that’s not what they did… actually they fucking blew the stage to smithereens, caressing the song, then easing into the instrumental space, then offering apocalyptic piano and bass breaks, then dropping into a fast ensemble groove, pure rhythm for the sake of rhythm, why couldn’t it have gone on for an hour; a penultimate dip into that tart Lennon/McCartney sweetness and then it ended with a big loud bang. I’ve been listening to a lot of jazz for a lot of years; for my money, the Barber quartet is by a wide margin the world’s premier currently-active jazz ensemble. Maybe the premier currently-active ensemble in any genre of music.

Tim Bray describes a PBS HD Jazz Concert

It’s a grey cold-ish day here in Vegas and I kinda stopped posting political items because it was all so darned depressing. But here’s a great post by Digby summing up the character of the man who currently occupies the White House. This country is so screwed.

Let’s see, over the last couple of months, L went to the Frankfurt conference without me; at the same time M came and passed through Vegas for a few days; I got sick with some kind of viral nasty; and we saw the Narnia film intentionally and King Kong by mistake. Oh, and I bought a new keyboard, and used it to polish up one of my songs. I also finished the 2005 version of Abstracts. A productive time, generally.

I didn’t expect to hear anything from the Lab processing my blood panel, but today I received a letter from them with the results. Everything is normal, except apparently my levels of “good” cholesterol are down a bit. Recommendation: I should exercise more.

Dang.  I thought I was doing really well with 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer 4 times a week. I have to do more? Dang.

Like all sensible adults, I made a pact with my wife that I would go to the Doctors and get a physical exam when I turned 40. Well it’s a month later and my appointment is now over.

The prostate exam is no big deal. Get over it already, guys, and get it checked out.

This evening we saw Toxic Audio at the Luxor Hotel. They are an acapella group who augment their voices with electronic effects to fill an auditorium with a rocking good concert. They also prove they can sing without the augmentation, but although they are each wonderful singers that’s not really their point. The show that Toxic Audio present is also very funny although there is a tiny bit of audience participation, you really shouldn’t let that put you off. We had a blast, right down to the Toxic’s rendition of Dolby’s “She Blinded Me With Science” from one of their CD compilations over the sound system as we filed out of the theater.