Lilliput's Empress Norton ML "Audit" passed away in her sleep on the floor of her beloved kitchen last night.  She had been in genteel declining health for several months, and her energy level had lowered noticeably in the past week. She was 16. Audit spent her last evening sharing an honored spot on the TV room bed surrounded by other members of the Ozdachs pack. Her last meal was a handful of delicious chicken, and she died protected, loved, and cared for. In her earlier days she was a refined show girl, winning championship points for Best of Opposite Sex [...]

There are few birthday wishes in my blog. but this is a special occasion for our family.  Today our oldest turned 17. Syntax is in good health. Active and whiny and demanding... a real bitch. And, great fun. Audit, Syntax's long-time companion, is comfortable, but failing badly.  She's only 16, but never went to the gym and it's catching up with her. We worry, but she remains comfortable. The puppies are 13. Our pack.

It's official.  365-173. We have a President-Elect!

We'll be at the TV Thursday at 10 am Pacific Standard Time when Vice President Dick Chaney presides over a Joint Session of Congress to count the only ballots that really matter in the Presidential election.  CSPAN will carry the drama live. There will be a nationwide audience of, oh, probably a dozen people. If you cannot wait for the official count, you can get a sneak preview at the Federal government website that has pictures of the Electoral College certificates from all 51 jurisdictions.  Did you know that Frank More was a write-in candidate in California and won 39 popular [...]

One of our family oddnesses is that we don't usually open the Christmas cards we receive when the arrive.  Instead of tearing them open and rushing through them in the mad holiday rush, we put them aside. On Twelfth Night, the last night we keep the tree lit, we sit down in the livingrom, pour an eggnog, and read though the holiday messages.  Yeah, sure, we've missed an invitation a Christmas party here and there (so we've started to sneak peaks at invitation-looking envelopes).  But, it's a treat to be able to relaxedly read and enjoy the cards.  It lets us [...]

Microsoft deservedly gets dinged for its buggy software and practices.  But, Intuit is really trying to dethrone Bill Gate's alma mater. After buying the newest version of Quicken Home and Office with its free add-ons and a reduced-price Home Inventory module, I can report: The main Quicken Home and Office seems okay.When I went to register Quicken Legal Pro 2008, the web page refused. Instead it told me that support for the product expired December 31, 2008. So, this free module was already out-of-date when I bought the package.The Home Inventory program is a mess.On start-up HI asks if you want to convert the data [...]

Tony said last night that Quicken sent him email yesterday offering 50% off products for five days.  It's getting time to upgrade the version I have , so I decided to to Quicken this morning to buy the latest. When I went to the Intuit Quicken page from within my current version of Quicken, the products were at full price. No discounts, no deals. So, I cleared the cookies and went to redozdachs's CPA firm's affiliate page and tried there.  The products were all 20% off. Still not 50%, and no other deals. I cleared the cookies again and called Tony. He [...]

The rental Kia is really part of a plot by Toyota to make us love our injured Camry more.  You win -- we give! We want the Camry to come back home! We drove the 2008 (9?) Kia Spectra through the city streets and on 880 to friends in the East Bay. We felt each San Francisco pothole, every Bot's dot, and all the  highway imperfections along the route. The acceleration was jerky, too.  The overall motion was worse than in our 15-year old Honda that we sold last spring. I understand that we have to take the keys out [...]

... or how I spent my morning. Ouch! I was stopped at the red light behind other cars. He said his foot slipped from the brake pedal on to the accelerator.

So when did pleasant, catchy, melodic Mary Chapin Carpenter add bite to her music? I'm the decider like some kind of messiah, While another day passes and 100 souls gone.From "One with the Song" on The Calling. I guess there's nothing like a bad war to inspire good protest music.