Cats

Nin, Mount Washington Observatory cat, Retires

Well, meeyauw is quite the place for interesting reads this week. In addition to the Mobius transformation video, we have this story of Mount Washington's official cat:

Nin, the black-and-white house cat who for a dozen years patrolled the Northeast's highest peak as the Mount Washington Observatory's mascot, was officially retiring Wednesday and moved off the mountain to a valley home…
…Nin, a former stray, has been popular among visitors to the summit. His photo and a short profile are included on the staff section of the observatory's Web site.

You can read the full story here.

Apparently there is quite a long tradition of cats at the observatory on Mount Washington, the tallest peak in the northeastern US. I did visit the peak as a kid over twenty years ago, but don't recall encountering any cats. Indeed, the main pre-occupation was the nasty weather and high winds, I remember being nearly blown over by one gust. Cats are generally more nimble than humans, but it must take a certain amount of skill and judgment to Mount Washington's official cat.

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Weekend Cat Blogging and more: December morning

This Saturday morning, we see Luna enjoying a different window:

It was a very cold morning, with frost.

Frost isn't very common for this part of California, though we have had a lot of frosty mornings this December. Yes, it has been quite cold. Perfect for spending even more time on a favorite perch above the heater:

But we all know the best source of heat is curling up together for some cuddling and pets:

This of course brings us to the theme of this weekend's Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos: family and friends. Being close to one's family, human or feline, is important, and for me what keeps me going during what is an otherwise “difficult” period. Friends, too. And we hope to hear from some of our friends this weekend…

Weekend Cat Blogging Holiday Edition is being hosted by Katie and our favorite Luna-look-alike Puddy. Puddy seems even more like Luna than usual (except for the hat).

The Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos is being hosted by our friends Astrid, Kashim and Othello at Catboys Realm. As stated earlier, the theme this weekend is “friends or family,” and it looks like Othello is getting things started with a sibling tribute of his own.

The holiday edition of Carnival of the Cats will be hosted by Missy and KC at The Cat Blogosphere. And of course the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Science, light and cats

A few scientific articles that made the popular press this weekend also piqued our interest here at CatSynth. They both involve electromagnetic phenomenon – which in our daily world is most commonly observed as light.

So here's a story about light and cats, or rather a cat engineered to glow in the dark:

South Korean scientists have cloned cats that glow red when exposed to ultraviolet rays, an achievement that could help develop cures for human genetic diseases, the Science and Technology Ministry said.

Three Turkish Angora cats were born in January and February through cloning with a gene that produces a red fluorescent protein that makes them glow in dark.

You can read the whole article here. It is quite interesting, though we at CatSynth are not so sure about genetically modified cat concept.

We now move from glow-in-the-dark cats to the field of quantum computing, in which quantum states of electrons are used to store computational values (much like semiconductors are used in conventional computers). From the folks at ZDNet Australia:

Researchers from the University of Queensland have taken a significant step in the quest to build a quantum computer, creating a light-based quantum circuit capable of basic calculations and moving quantum computing closer to a becoming a reality.

Theoretically, quantum computers leave even today's most powerful conventional supercomputers in the dust. It has also been long known that hypothetical large scale quantum computers could find the prime roots of large composite numbers, allowing them to “crack” modern data encryption.

This additional computing power is a result of the quantum bits, or “qubits”, upon which quantum computing is based. Qubits are special bits that use the quantum properties of subatomic particles to make calculations. Quantum computers take advantage of a special quantum property called “superposition”, allowing one quantum computer bit to act as many.

Pretty hard core, but those interested are encouraged to read the full article, and maybe a bit more about quantum computing.

Cats of course have a famous history in quantum physics as well…



Weekend cat blogging and more: photos old and new

Some readers may recall we ended up using an older camera a couple of weeks ago for Luna's birthday pics:

Well, older cameras sometimes have older photos stored in them. Here is photo of Luna from sometime probably in 2005:

With things such a mess right now, I don't really want to search through our photo archives to find the exact information on it. But it's always fun to see Luna “then and now.”

Weekend Cat Blogging #132 is at Life from a Cat's Perspective. Enjoy some “festive feline holiday music” while visiting.

Megan and Braum of the “Bad Kitty Cats” are hosting the Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos with optional theme “story time.” Perhaps we'll find time to share a story this weekend as well.

The Carnival of the Cats will be happening this Sunday at Mind of Mog. And of course the Friday Ark #169 is at the modulator

Weekend Cat Blogging, Festival of Chaos, and more: Toys and Boxes

The theme for this weekend's Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos is “toys or boxes.” And we at CatSynth have both toys and boxes. Luna received a package this week from a friend of ours, conveniently arriving for both her “burfday” last weekend, and Channukah this week. What's inside the box? Well, we have birthday cards:

and of course some fascinating new toys:

You want more boxes? We got more boxes!

Yes we have been packing up things here at “soon to be former CatSynth HQ”, even though we're not entirely sure where it is we are moving to.

Thanks to everyone who wished Luna a happy birthday last weekend. We will pay individual visits to everyone as soon as we can.

The Bad Kitty Cat Festival of Chaos is being hosted this weekend by Samantha and Tigger at Life from a Cat's Perspective. Weekend Cat Blogging is being hosted by our friends Upsie and sher at What Did You Eat. Upsie is still working through her diabetes, and we wish her well.

Carnival of the Cats is being hosted by our friends Megan and the Bad Kitty Cats. And of course Friday Ark #168 is at the modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging and more: Luna's "Burfday"

Well, we had a cold, dark, and camera-less night, but that didn't stop us from kicking off Luna's “Burfday” Weekend. Here's a slightly blurry cell-phone photo of Luna:

We had a bit more fun today, and even managed to scrounge up an old camera for some photos. It wouldn't be a birthday without new toys:

And Luna is expecting some more exciting things in the mail real soon.

Of course, there is still plenty of time for rest on a favorite spot, especially as it has been very cold this weekend (even dipped below freezing for a bit):

We're doing the best we can to have some enjoyment and celebration in this really hard, transitional time.

Oh, and Luna is now three years old 🙂

UPDATE: See Luna's “burfday” diary entry at Catster.

Weekend Cat Blogging will be at Life from a Cats Perspective with Samantha Black and Tigger. The “holiday meow singing” brought us a brief smile.

The Bad Kitty Cat Festival of Chaos will be hosted by Pet & The Bengal Brats at Pet?s Garden Blog (I think we need both mittens and socks for the cold). The Carnival of the Cats will take place this Sunday and Monday at This, That and The Other Thing. And of course the Friday Ark #167 is at the modulator.