Pets and their care

Continuing on the thread of last Friday's post, I want to talk for a minute about feeding your pets. People try all the time to force their pets into a diet similar to their own. What we need to remember is that animals have their own dietary needs and we shouldn't force them into something they're not made for.

The worst one I've seen is people feeding their cats a vegan diet. There are some who say they are successful at it. There are others who aren't. Personally, I'd never feed a cat a vegan diet. They are carnivores. They hunt for their own meat in the wild. Dry pet food we feed to cats is made from meat. The wet food we give them is also meat. There are things they eat that don't have to be made of meat, but the bulk of their diet needs to be that.

There was a story I heard about a couple wanting to make a sizable donation to a zoo. Their only requirement was that the tigers had to be fed a vegetarian diet. When the zoo asked them how they expected that to happen when tigers are carnivores and prefer to hunt for live animals, the couple said that they were vegans and didn't believe that anyone had to eat meat. They believed everyone could be shifted to the same diet they were on and be perfectly healthy. The zoo didn't get their donation.

Dogs are different. Dogs are omnivores and can survive on anything. They're opportunistic as well in some circumstances, eating whatever they can find. They love chewing on stuff and if they can eat it, great. If they can't, well, if you've had a dog with chew toys you know what can happen.

I've heard stories from my nieces, who both work at a pet store, that people would come in and ask what kind of pet food that a snake or lizard could eat and then were horrified when they were told that many reptiles needed live food (or at least frozen mice/rats/things like that) to survive. There are some reptiles that can get by with a vegetarian diet, but for the most part they need meat.

I get the fact that people want their pets to live a healthy life. I don't blame them. I want Reidar to be a healthy, happy cat. But the humans who adopt/purchase a pet need to do the research. They need to understand that their diet decisions may not be suitable for their pets.
A “pet parent” needs to understand the physical requirements of their pets as well as the emotional ones. Pets need love and affection, just as people do. They need to eat balanced diets, just as people do. They need to stay hydrated in all seasons, just as people do. There is so much to think about when taking on the responsibility of living with and caring for a pet.
Okay, the soapbox is getting put away now. (I'm really big on taking care of your fur kids.)

Feeding the trolls

Earlier this week, I got into a conversation with someone online. If you follow me on Facebook and/or Twitter, you've probably seen my ranting about this conversation. Please excuse the repeat of the information you already have.

I posted a completely innocent comment online about how Reidar doesn't like people food and how I found that odd since my last three cats have all had a fondness for various types of human foods. I had someone jump down my throat, tell me I was a cruel and irresponsible pet parent, how I must have killed my three previous pets (one vanished, one was hit by a car, and one is still alive living in Washington with a friend of Himself's mom), and how I was trying to kill Reidar. I should be arrested for animal cruelty and have Reidar taken away.

When I countered his arguments with the fact that I didn't let them gorge themselves on it, that I only gave it to them in small portions as a treat, he said that I should stick to what is in the pet stores as treats. Another thing he brought up was if I wanted to give Reidar a real treat, I'd give him wet food and I again was being a cruel pet parent if I was depriving Reidar of this. There was more but you get the general idea.

I'll admit it. I fed the troll when I got into the debate with him. But it brought a problem to light that I've seen all over the net. People are so much nastier than they would be in person to people they might not even know. They are judgmental, they don't want to engage in a reasonable discourse, and they're more determined to tear people down than actually talk.

I seem to be among a select group of people who doesn't like tearing people down online. I couch my responses to things in a civil manner, I don't (for the most part) swear, and I respect other people's opinions even when I think they're wrong. If I don't think I can stay civil, I don't leave a comment or respond to one left for me. If it's something I'm genuinely curious about the reasoning behind, I'll ask questions. If it becomes a bash fest I'll walk away.

There are times where I will post things that can be seen as controversial in some crowds. I fully believe that if you want to talk to me about it, go ahead. I'll talk to you as long as you don't attack me personally for my beliefs. After that, the conversation is over and if it's possible you're blocked. If it's on Facebook and we're friends, we're not friends anymore.

Why isn't this a common thing on the internet? Why does it seem that there are so many more people online willing to be assholes towards others? I really don't understand this. I've heard it called human nature, but what do you think?

Science (forensic style)

I don't like summer. Around here, once we get into July and August, it can get up to (and above) 100 F. It's the downside to living in a desert. You may remember my saying I hate winter too. I don't like the cold. My favorite seasons are spring and fall. We didn't get much of a spring here. We got two weeks of consistent spring temperatures, then we spiked up into the 80s. Since then, we've gotten down to the 60s and back up to 90. Our weather is very weird this year.

I've heard from friends that their weather is weird as well. It makes me wonder if finally people will recognize global warming as a real problem. It certainly is showing itself in a rather spectacular way.

Don't worry, I'm not going on a nature tear like I did on Monday. My concern today is the science behind things. There's a lot of scientific evidence behind global warming, evolution, and many other things. There are people in this world who don't believe in it and they are the most vocal.

But the one thing I discovered that doesn't have as much “science” behind it is forensic science. I've always loved forensic science. Not what you see in the CSI programs, though the technology behind that is fascinating. But the real forensic science. I got introduced to real forensics watching TV. There were a handful of shows that showed how forensics worked to convict criminals.

Well, Netflix has a show that talks about how forensics is on trial itself. A lot of forensic “science” is perception and in some cases guess work. Crime scenes can be contaminated to the point where proper evidence can't be gathered. Theories can be created and the wrong people convicted based on badly interpreted evidence.

There are some new developments that will bring science back to forensic science though. In Sweden they're using CT scans and MRIs to take a complete view of a victim's body. They can look at fine slices of the body without ever cutting into it, getting a more detailed view of what happened and how the victim died.

In North Carolina, they're working on a device that allows them to take pictures of a crime scene using lasers to create a complete view of the area. Even if evidence gets disturbed, they still have the original crime scene to work with. They're using the video game creation classes at the university to render the information from the scenes into the 3D images.

Another lab here in the States (I no longer remember which one) is working on getting more accurate fingerprints. Fingerprints on a non-porous substance are hard to get. Right now the common method is evaporating super glue to get the print. But that has problems and can lead to the conviction of the wrong person. This lab is using a new technology and an alternate substance that allows them to take a 3D image of the fingerprint.

Science is an amazing thing and perhaps one day we will be able to use science to pinpoint exactly who committed a crime. I don't think we'll ever get to the point where we can figure out who will commit a crime before they commit it (yes, I saw Minority Report and no I don't think we'll ever get there even if we don't have psychics). But I'd be interested to see how much more we'll advance in the next few years.

Random recipes

I've shared recipes on here before. I thought, for a random post, I'd share a few more with you. These are some of my favorites. I may have posted them before, but I didn't see them in the tags. I didn't tag all my posts, so for all of you older blog followers if these are repeats I'm sorry.

Sauerkraut Bake

1 jar sauerkraut

1 kielbasa, cut into 1/4” slices

Two apples, sliced

1 can new potatoes/2 c. cooked Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1/2” chunks

Preheat oven to 350 F (177 C). Drain sauerkraut. Put all ingredients into a medium casserole dish and mix together. Place in oven for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.

Cheddar Biscuits

2 c all-purpose flour

1 T baking powder

2 tsp white sugar

½ tsp cream of tartar

¼ tsp salt

½ c melted butter

1 c milk

1 ½ c grated medium cheddar (I've also used sharp. You can use mild, but the sharper cheddar stands out more.)

Preheat oven to 450 F (230 C). In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, cream of tartar, and salt. Stir in butter and milk until moistened. Add cheddar cheese. Drop batter on a lightly greased cookie sheet by the tablespoon. Bake in preheated oven until golden on the edges, about 8 to 12 minuted. Serve warm.

Texas Brownie Sheet Cake

1 c butter

1 c water

¼ c cocoa

2 c sugar

2 c flour

1/8 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 tsp baking soda

½ c sour cream

Frosting

½ c butter

¼ c cocoa

¼ c plus 2 T milk

1 lb powdered sugar, sifted (also called confectioners' sugar)

½ tsp vanilla

¼ tsp mint extract, optional (I've used mint extract and almond extract for this)

Cake: Preheat oven to 350 F (177 C). Combine 1 c butter, water, and ¼ c cocoa in a saucepan over medium heat. Heat until butter melts. Add sugar, flour, salt, eggs, soda, sourcream, and 1 tsp vanilla. Mix well. Pour into a 15x10.1 inch jelly roll pan. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Frost while still hot.

Frosting: Combine ½ c of butter, ¼ c of cocoa, and milk in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add powdered sugar and ½ tsp of vanilla, and if desired additional flavoring. Pour over the cake. Spread to cover the hot cake.

Story Trumps Structure

You all know how Facebook will show you want a friend likes/comments on sometimes. I'm not sure what the algorithm for that is, but it does happen. One day a friend commented on someone's picture of her holding up a book that looked interesting. I decided to see if my library had it. They were processing it as a new book when I first looked. I slapped a hold on it and waited for it to get put on the shelves. The book is Story Trumps Structure, by Steven James.

I was the first person to check it out. I gleefully opened it up and started reading. I couldn't get into it. I put it aside and finished up the fantasy book I'd been reading. I tried again, but still couldn't get into it. Then I realized that maybe it was my background noise. Sometimes I concentrate better if I have music on over a movie, or my favorite podcast instead of music.

I experimented and found that with music I was able to concentrate on the words in front of me. I read a quarter of the book that night. I've progressively read a few chapters every day since then, and the more I read the more I feel that the process he's describing fits my writing style completely.

One of the things he talks about is writing organically. Figure out where you want the story to begin and how you want it to end and then let the story flow naturally to get from point A to point Z. Keep three simple questions in mind and see if you can answer them in every major scene in the book.

I still haven't finished it. I've got a few more chapters to read before Thursday. It's only a 2 week loan, and I can't renew it because there are more holds on it. I know I'll finish it before then though. I'd like to read it through again, and soon I'll be able to. Thanks to the kindness of someone I love, I've got my own copy on its way. It was half price at the Writer's Digest store (it's a WD book). As far as I know, it's still there and still half price. It's a book I highly recommend.

Us and nature

We have Netflix. Himself and I each have our own profiles because we have very different tastes in what we watch. Over the weekend, when Himself wasn't on his computer (Netflix doesn't run on linux), I watched the documentary “The Blue Planet”, narrated by David Attenborough. It was an incredible view of our oceans. It made me realize just how little we know about our own world.

Then there was this announcement that they'd found a huge body of water under Asia. The description of how it got there was fascinating. Some people were even asking if this was the water from the flood described in the Bible. It was explained that it wasn't, but it's still interesting to think about where it came from.

I don't know how many new species have been found this year. But it's more than were discovered last year. And we're only in June. There are things that surprise those who have been studying nature for years. It's amazing at how life progresses.

The natural world around us is intense. There is so much to love, to see. It is our responsibility to preserve that world in whatever manner we can. There's so much I've seen in the news lately about how the monarch migration is ending and that we're losing our honeybees. Those are sad circumstances of our world, which were caused by our endless need to control our environment.

Humans have a burning desire to change our environment to suit our needs, instead of learning to change ourselves to match our environment. This is a far cry from our ancestors, who adapted to their surroundings and learned to live within them. But that changed a long time ago and we developed the need to change things. But people still managed to keep nature in mind when they built, when they hunted, when they made their gardens. Things are definitely not the same anymore.

We're becoming a more technologically advanced society. We connect via the internet through our phones and computers. We can send a message instantly to someone whose number we have by sending a quick text, assuming the person can receive text messages. Has that instantaneous contact disconnected us from the world around us?

Don't get me wrong. I'm not going to give up my technology and go live crazy in the forest wearing animal skins and eating what I catch. I'm not that much of a nature lover, though I enjoy walking through the forest or going to see other natural things. I'm as connected through technology as the rest of the world. I'd lose contact with two good friends if I didn't have it.

What I'm saying is we need to be more responsible tenants of this wondrous world we live in. We need to take stock of our actions and see how we can do things with less impact on the natural world. We should be working in tandem with the wondrous world around us rather than destroying it.

I'm really not an eco freak or anything like that. I just get very tired of hearing how we're damaging our world and very few people seem to want to go about fixing things in a rational way. There are those who go about trying to protect our world in the wrong way, just as there are those who go around subverting the natural world to propel us forward in the wrong way. Both sides have their fanatics. I just believe we need to open our minds and hearts more to the big, wide world around us.

Reading history for fun

I love history. I've loved it since I was a kid. My favorite time periods are Ancient Greece and Rome, Ancient Egypt, and the Dark Ages, Medieval, and Renaissance Europe. Get up past the Industrial Revolution and that's where I start to lose interest. It's not that it isn't interesting. And U.S. History is something I should take some time to study. I just prefer the older time periods.

I'm researching something now that I've never looked at before: the Persian Empire. The one that spanned a good chunk of the Middle East, Egypt, and into Europe. It was one of the largest Empires that ever existed, holding sway over around 50 million people at its height. It began to weaken and then fell when Alexander the Great came in but it was the first of its kind.

I'm doing this research as part of my world building for my books, but even if I weren't reading it for that I'd still be reading it. Himself suggested it and it got me hooked from the start. I'm wanting to go to the library as well as reading online and see if I can find historical books that talk about the Persian Empire. I want to know more than I'm finding online.

This is what I do. I find something that catches my attention and I research it, whether I plan on using it in a story or not. I checked out a book recently about Elizabeth of York, Elizabeth I's grandmother. I wasn't researching anything. It was to satisfy my own curiosity about the woman. I've deviated from my chosen period of history in the past as well, digging into the days of the pioneers and learning what life was like for them. Living around parts of the Oregon Trail, and even being able to take a day trip into Oregon to see the big Oregon Trail museum helps.

I pursue these things because I love history. Himself loves coding and hunts down what he can as information on that. I've seen him spend hours on projects where he's hunched over his keyboard doing things that are complete mysteries to me. He's told me what he's doing and I still don't understand it. But it is one of his favorite things and what he wants to learn about.

What's one thing you like learning about? What do you spend your time reading about?