I’ve heard of cats climbing Christmas trees, but never seen it before. Enjoy!

Cats trimming the tree

I’ve just spent some time massaging the blog installation. Comments work again. And the spammers should be a bit frustrated for a while too, hopefully. If they figure it out, I’ll just have to do a repeat of the last measure… Either way, less spam, and almost no visible spam.

I just tested my blog in Internet Explorer, to check if the hotlinked photo appeared.

And I found this:

That’s NOT how it’s supposed to look!

Version 5.50 is not compatible with Movable Type 3.11, standard layout, in other words.

This is what it looks like in Mozilla Firefox latest version:

If you’re using Internet Explorer, any version, you should install Mozilla Firefox because it’s so much safer (you’ll cut down on spyware to only those extra applications you install yourself). And if you’re using IE version 5.50, you should both install Mozilla for your everyday surfing needs, AND upgrade to the newest IE for those occasions where Mozilla is blocked (happens on a very few pages, but then as we’ve seen, IE mangles a few pages too, so this is pretty normal).

I tested the latest version of IE (I downloaded it just a few weeks ago on another computer), and it displays the blog quite OK.

There’s a new phenomenon in the blogging world. Cats who blog. They’re witty, eloquent, and pretty much the only blogs I read…

My favorite is Muddy, but then I’ve just gotten started looking at the blogs. I have to say Psychokitty looks interesting too. Of course, their owners are doing the actual writing, inspired by the cats. But there’s one cat who does his own typing: Ripley is very popular on LiveJournal.

Of course, my cat blog stands out, because I’m doing both the typing and the thinking. I doubt Pusur would be much interested, actually. These days he’s a lazy kitty. Alternating favorite sleeping spots. The new perch by the window and my bed, mostly. And then in the evenings, he gets acutely bored. The favorite toy right now is a sisal rope, wielded by one of his favorite humans. It’s got enough bounce, so it’s extra funny.

You know, I attended a cat show a few weeks ago. One of the vendors had this toy he said was the most popular among the cats and the judges:

The netshop (Norwegian), is at http://www.stargate.nu/.

Well, anyway, the toy is a wire of some sort that’s bouncey, with a fishing lure at the end. A fly type fishing lure. Apparently the cats can’t quite make out what the colorful thing at the end is, and it’s driving them wild.

I attended my first cat show ever yesterday. And no, I didn’t bring Pusur. I was just a spectator.

And I came home with renewed respect for Pusur.

True, he could never be a show cat (domestic class), because he’s way too high strung after he got lost as a kitten. Separation anxiety and fear of loud/weird noises.

But he still has the most fantastic tail I’ve ever seen. And as I suspected, his fur is very different from NFO (Norwegian Forest Cat) standard. I still don’t know exactly what kind of fur he has, but it’s a LOT fuller than NFO fur. Not necessarily as long, and less silky, but it’s like velvet, and feel wonderful to the touch. Much more so than either Maine Coon or NFO.

I just deleted 74 spammy comments from the blog. The same spammer I had a problem with before has found me again. Guess now is the time I implement those anti-spam measures I found for Movable Type - the reason I switched blog software.

B2 was nice, but it’s not being developed anymore, and that means you’re pretty helpless when being spammed.

Update: And the spammer is still at it. Adding new comments even as I’m deleting them. Well, not for long! For now I’ll enable a moderating queue for unregistered commenters (Typekey).

Second update: You know, this is almost interesting. I banned the IP number my main spammer used. And now when he came back, he was using a collection of IP numbers. Let’s see if the moderation queue keeps him at bay while I search for more solutions.

Third update: Comments don’t work right now. I installed a spam retardant, and it isn’t working yet, so posting comments isn’t possible right now. Will try to get it to work soon.

Doug was “complaining” that I hadn’t told him I play the guitar.

Guilty…

I just didn’t think about it. I’ve played the guitar for a very long time, but never had a guitar I really liked. Haven’t played for years now, except for maybe twice a year or so. It’s really amazing how much I remember. My fingers just naturally find the more advanced chords without even thinking about it. I guess it’s all in there, just waiting to be used again.

The thing about the guitar is that you need a guitar that suits you. Especially the width of the neck. It doesn’t hurt (in my opinion) that it’s easy to play either (as in the strings not being overly hard to press down). One guitar can cause buzzing of the frets, or buzzing from being too hard to press down. While another is just right for you.

So that’s what I went for, now that I was picking a guitar from a large selection. A dreadnought steel stringed guitar. The sound is so overpowering I generally tone it down when singing at home, if I don’t want to belt it out…

I’ve been in the market for a new guitar for a while.

During that time I’ve been trying out guitars a few places. For the most part I was disenchanted with guitars in the whole. Except super expensive ones and those with Buzz Feiten systems (heartily recommended!). My ears are sort of sensitive. I can generally hear that a perfectly tuned synthesizer is out of tune. Which irritates a lot of people. But that fact is - they are. Our tuning system is a compromise. Perfectly tuned instruments are not in use anymore, and would be deemed out of tune by most people. I just have the kind of ears that let me hear every little nuance. Which of course makes shopping for a guitar a frustrating experience. You see, guitars are generally out of tune, the further down the neck you get. To my ears, the Buzz Feiten guitars are way better, though I’ve heard people who’ve played guitars for years don’t always like them. But the ones I’ve tried are light years better than conventional guitars.

In the end I found a guitar a liked, actually, I found two. I did go home with one after a while, but during the process I had the chance to try out two guitars who were supposed to be virtually identical. Just a difference in finish. But they were very different. I had expected that. They’re made from different pieces of wood, so there will be individual differences.

But what I found out, was that the particular store I shopped at (one of the best in Norway), also had a guitar workshop. The main guy at the store told me that each guitar they took out of the packing materials were given a once over before it was hung on a hook in the store. If it didn’t pass the initial inspection, it would be adjusted. That could entail adjusting the neck, to bring the strings and the neck in the optimal position, and they sometimes also remove the strings and sand down the bridge a little. Not every guitar is adjusted in this fashion, but I suspect the one I bought had been tinkered with. It’s a very well adjusted guitar. Plays beautifully.

OK, so you’re wondering what my point is with this blog?

The point is that if you (as a newbie) are shopping for a guitar, it matters where you buy it. Get it from a place where they adjust the guitars. The same make and model can be very different, depending on where you buy it!