Weekend Cat Blogging and more: Luna and CatSynth HQ

Now that it is clear we will be moving, we thought it would be appropriate to share some images of Luna at the soon-to-be-former CatSynth HQ:

For the time being, Luna will continue to reside here, while I find us a permanent new home. So the weekdays will be a little lonely for both of us, but we'll make it through. Luna will be getting lots of love and attention from her favorite cat sitter during the week, and we'll still be together on the weekends.

Our friends Kashim and Othello are pulling double duty this weekend. They are hosting both Weekend Cat Blogging #128 and the Bad Kitty Cat Festival of Chaos (watch out for that snow).

The Carnival of the Cats will be at Pet's Garden Blog this Sunday. And of course the Friday Ark #165 is at the modulator.

Sometimes life takes an unexpected turn

Well, this past week I began an exciting new job. Once again, I'm a software engineering manager for a well-regarded music-technology company. (Some readers may even recognize the ProTools logo to the right.)

So things look good professionally speaking. But now the real challenge begins, and not just the work itself. My new job, and new life, is near San Francisco, so we're going to have to move. The idea of moving to the city is quite attractive, but challenging. We will probably be talking more about that in the days to come.

Weekend Cat Blogging and more: Comfy and Clean

It's been a bit colder and darker this week, so Luna is returning to her spot on the glass table above the heater:

The Bad Kitty Cat Festival of Chaos has an optional theme of “Clean or Dirty”. Luna is quite fastidious, and enjoys clean elegant spaces, like her glass table. Similarly, how about this minimalist pose on our clean floor?

Weekend Cat Blogging #127 is being hosted by the vermin squirrels at What Did You Eat – and of course Upsie and sher are there as well. The Bad Kitty Cat Festival of Chaos is being held at This, That and The Other Thing.

The Carnival of the Cats (which we hosted last week) will be at Justin's Random Thoughts. And of course, the Friday Ark #164 is at the modulator.

Santa Cruz spraying begins

After several days of delay, the spraying of our home town has begun. We could hear the plans overhead last night. From the Santa Cruz Sentinel:

After four straight nights of no-show due to fog, planes took to the skies over Santa Cruz County and sprayed a pesticide in residential areas in an attempt to wipe out the light brown apple moth, a crop-eating bug that's capable of causing millions of dollars in damage to California's agricultural industry.

And of course, that's what this was all about: the California agriculture industry. From other reports I have read or heard, the issue was California produce being embargoed by other states/countries rather than actual reported damage.

“I just wish people would come out and say it, that this moth isn't really causing any problems but it's all a matter of protecting California and international trade,” said the owner of Central Coast Wilds Nursery in Santa Cruz. “Because so far this moth hasn't caused the slightest bit of damage anywhere.”

Another question in my mind is about one of our local prides, the monarch butterflies (featured in this week's Wordless Wednesday). Pheromones are generally specific to a species, so should not disrupt the butterflies, but the fact that the product being sprayed is a mystery makes it difficult to say for sure – the same reason it makes us uneasy about its affect on humans and other animals.

I still have yet to hear any reports on the safety for pets and other animals. We at CatSynth are of course still worried for outdoor animals, like stray cats and wildlife, and children and adults with health issues. At least we have been keeping the windows closed at night…