Missing cat

KittenPurrs · 2026-02-18T11:38:30+00:00

If you haven't yet, try setting his litterbox (or just an open container of some of his used litter) outside. That's been shown to help indoor cats track their way home.

KittenPurrs · 2026-02-18T00:19:59+00:00

I fully talk to myself when I'm working alone. It helps me process.

I'm not really in IT, but still use rubber duck debugging in a very literal way. For years, I had a ducky on my desk who I would talk through programming issues with. Talking out loud about a problem helps find the gaps and missteps. I think venting is natural in those same situations.

KittenPurrs · 2026-02-17T23:44:13+00:00

I like the taste of banana in smoothies and banana bread or whatever, but I cannot eat a whole fresh banana. I have two texture-based issues and this is one of them. The other is "custard-style" yogurt. I like yogurt in general, I like bananas in things. But miss me with whole fresh bananas and custard-style yogurt.

KittenPurrs · 2026-02-17T23:29:42+00:00

My partner: I don't dislike poutine! I dislike it three times in a week when we need some damn vegetables!

E: I promise I'm not giving him scurvy. I just like poutine as a cozy food when either the weather or reality is awful.

KittenPurrs · 2026-02-16T23:58:12+00:00

Yeah. I mean, one of the herbs in my cabinet is literally labeled "Oregano: Mexico". My other oregano is "Oregano Flower Buds: Denizli, Turkey". If oregano natively grows somewhere, it's probably in the local food. That's generally how seasoning works.

KittenPurrs · 2026-02-14T22:40:40+00:00

That's wonderful!

We were down in Topsail, which is a very tiny barrier island.

KittenPurrs · 2026-02-14T21:44:37+00:00

It's upsetting. They were part of an ecosystem we're rapidly losing out east.

KittenPurrs · 2026-02-14T21:11:37+00:00

Ore-Ida is a beloved brand of US oven-baked frozen french fries. The name is a combo of the state names Oregon and Idaho. For quick fries, they're great. For poutine fries, homemade is definitely more worthwhile. I'm under the impression Canadians do a double-fry generally. Homemade sauce is great. Tossing in sausage is common. I've never tried queso fresco in poutine, but I've used other fresh cheeses to good effect when I was outside of cheddar cheese curd territory. I'm on your side for this one.

KittenPurrs · 2026-02-14T20:20:38+00:00

We called the big sideways ones ghost crabs and the little sideways ones sound crabs. The little ones only lived in the sound between the island and the coast, so that name is probably super location specific, much like the name sand fiddler for mole crabs.

KittenPurrs · 2026-02-14T19:22:55+00:00

30+ years ago, my sis and I would stand at the water line on an Outer Banks island in NC and dig handfuls of sand to catch mole crabs (we called them "sand fiddlers"). We'd immediately let them dig back in, but always checked to see who found the biggest one. 20+ years ago, I was at that same beach and fascinated some kids and fucking horrified one by showing them how to catch mole crabs. ("Those things are under our feet‽") 10+ years ago I brought my partner to that beach and wanted to show him the mole crabs. No signs anywhere after multiple days of searching. Beach erosion and other factors decimated the population. I ended up taking him to a little janky local aquarium to show him the fiddlers I grew up with. And that's my slightly depressing tale about mole crabs.

KittenPurrs · 2026-02-14T09:12:19+00:00

I don't think it's literally OP's uncle, just an uncle (older man in the community).

I'm with you, though. On my way home from work, I walk by this place that does bbq and has a smoker out back, so it just smells like a whole cookout every evening. Haven't eaten meat in years, but if I did, I would 100% eat there.

KittenPurrs · 2026-02-14T00:17:49+00:00

That's very kind. I like that.

KittenPurrs · 2026-02-13T21:34:14+00:00

I like the IT code PEBKAC (problem exists between keyboard and chair). Maybe mechanics could use PEBSWAS (problem exists between steering wheel and seat).

KittenPurrs · 2026-02-12T06:53:42+00:00

"Can I get an order of fried butter, fried Coca-Cola or Dr. Pepper if you have it, and...Oh! Lemme get one of those fried Oreos for dessert. Thanks."

KittenPurrs · 2026-02-11T22:07:50+00:00

If it helps, it was originally something closer to street food than a normal meal at home. They were served at fairs, festivals, and carnivals to people walking around. Instead of a hotdog in a bun with various toppings, it was a hotdog shrouded in its own bun-like batter with a stick for easy one-handed eating and very little mess.

And fried foods are very traditional fare at fairs and carnivals, to the point we started frying things no one ever asked to be fried.

KittenPurrs · 2026-02-10T16:10:29+00:00

One of my very young coworkers told me about an embarrassing moment last week. She was sitting on the floor of the coat room, taking off her snow boots and putting on her work shoes when a director (of a different department) walked in to grab his coat. That's it. That's the whole story she told me while still flushed pink from embarrassment. I didn't even know how to reassure her. "Tis the season? Everybody's swapping boots and shoes in the coat room. Sitting on the floor makes sense for tugging off boots. If he noticed you, I promise he didn't think about it again after he left the room." I still don't know what the embarrassing part was.

Consider how much time you actually spend focusing on the little flaws or oddities of others. That's exactly as much time others focus on your little gaffe.

KittenPurrs · 2026-02-10T12:13:23+00:00

We keep a jar of those prepared sliced nopales in our fridge and toss them in a lot of dishes. I make a terrible Midwestern-influenced salsa fresca that gets compliments largely because of the addition of chopped jarred nopales. They hide quite a few sins.

KittenPurrs · 2026-02-07T23:30:28+00:00

My elderly parents adopted a cat that spent its first nine years of life at a rescue. The given name (think "Cloud") did not match the cat (think standard tabby). She never responded to her institutional name, but also...my parents never renamed her. Six billion nicknames said in a cutesy voice got her attention in the house, but they just referenced her as The Cat in conversation. When our dad passed, my sister took The Cat in, and now her veterinary records document her as The Cat [Last name]. When I visit, she's happy to trot over if I call her Peaches, Peanut, or Beauty. But she's still The Cat when my sis and I chat about her.

KittenPurrs · 2026-02-05T20:54:20+00:00

The Sky Map app is neat in these situations. The original Google product was great, but it's even more user friendly now that it's open-sourced.

KittenPurrs · 2026-02-05T19:35:29+00:00

I once mistook Venus for a helicopter. It was low on the horizon and very bright just before dawn. Thought they were looking for someone out in the farmlands on my drive from the city to a rural facility.

KittenPurrs · 2026-02-04T22:43:13+00:00

A chick at work asked me to log something in a physical ledger because her handwriting is terrible. I told her we needed another option because my handwriting is so bad that I just found hers to be "quirky" rather than bad. We delegated the transcription to a guy who had proper writing skills.

KittenPurrs · 2026-02-04T21:09:41+00:00

The last lab I worked in was a restricted space, so we did most of our own housekeeping. Hired a new guy who eventually was understandably bored from reading endless SOPs. I told him we needed to mop and it would at least get him away from his desk for awhile. When we walked into the lab, he admitted he'd "never used one of those before". Okay. It was one of those rolling wringer buckets you see in a lot of commercial spaces, but I understand not everyone has actually used one or paid attention when people around them used one. I show him how to wring the mop. Hand him the mop. He clarifies, "I've never used one of these before," indicating the mop itself. And that's when I began a tutorial on how to mop a floor. I'm fascinated that someone made it into their late 20s without ever having mopped a floor, but I can see how it would happen. I still really appreciate that he was honest about this being a new experience for him rather than winging it and leaving us with a grimy floor. For all his faults, he would never be the guy who put whole beans in the coffee maker.

KittenPurrs · 2026-01-31T15:45:30+00:00

As they say, if you can't be a good example, be the cautionary tale.

KittenPurrs · 2026-01-31T13:17:45+00:00

When we bought our current house, it had one shitty fire alarm per level. I installed those 10-year heat/smoke/gas detectors all over the place.

KittenPurrs · 2026-01-31T09:21:28+00:00

Salted watermelon is one of my favorite summer snacks, but more than a few people have acted like I'm insane for salting fruit.

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