Cat whispering

I decided to make this about cats. Originally, I was going to write about the possible extinction of humankind and perhaps most mammals. Reputable scientists see the strong possibility of The End within three centuries due to Global Warming raising the temperature above survivable levels (95F wet bulb for weeks on end). That's really important news, and we need to take action on it, like overthrow capitalism if any of our great-grandchildren or perhaps children are going to survive. If that meets the expectations of deniers who call global warming a socialist conspiracy, so be it.

But frankly, for a day or two, I'm tired of all the depressing blogs. So, to cheer things up, first I'm calling on cute kittens for help: 

That should take your mind off human extinction for a few minutes. Damn, I said it again. More kittens:

Okay, I've taken your mind global warming so we can keep on pumping CO2 into our atmosphere to our heart's content (or in my case, fear.)  I'll tell you about cat whispering.

Living alone, I end up foolishly talking to my cat, saying things like, "meow," "ack," or gididididi. Or I rhyme my cat's name. 

Cat haters (like this DOUCHE guy) like to point out that science has determined the nefarious creatures make sounds that are similar to a human infant. Meaning their voices are attuned exactly to manipulate people into regarding cats as cute. Science has supported this, and I myself have long known this before it was reported.

That's true,  but what the haters don't realize is that it goes both ways. Humans can make sounds back to the cat that manipulate the cat's emotions, too. Meow back at a cat, and watch what happens. They'll look you in the eye, they'll raise their tails, their fur shifts, indicating that they're likely feeling tingles. They might actually meow back at you. They seem almost always pleased that you're speaking to them in their "language." Ferals might take cover when you do it, but they will watch you. Some cats will look you in the eye and meow back at you. With my cat, I'll always spend some time in the day "talking" to her, in her idiom.

It makes sense that cats will do this because they seem to emit sounds such as "meow" especially for people, and never for other cats. Cat's seldom voice to each other, and they very definitely don't look like they're conversing when they do.

Though there are exceptions (though I think the hard consonants are probably dubbed in. Even without the "Okays" it's remarkable) :

A mother cat will make certain sounds to kittens (like "meow"), but in other cases, if the cat uses its voice for other felines, its to express extreme aggression.

So, I'll assert that to cat haters: not even dogs have sounds that they only use for humans. That tells me they are evolving to communicate with people. I would never claim that felines understand words beyond--perhaps--their names. But the way they meow back and take mimicking them as something delightful tells me they grasp the concept of social conversation much better than dogs.

They did evolve as solitary creatures with no concept of a pack. However, we've changed them. Cats today are far different than the ones depicted in ancient frescoes. The modern kitty is a paradoxical animal, adapted to have stronger bonds with humans than they do members of their own species.

It's hard to read a feline's emotions, though, so people unfamiliar with cats find them cold. The reason why cats and dogs don't get along is that their body language is crossed. For a cat, wagging their tail and flattening their ears is a sign of anger and fear, and a warning to back away or get a face full of claws. For a dog doing the same thing is a sign of joy and camaraderie. That's why first encounters between the species can set a bad tone for what's to follow.

It's a similar thing with people. To people who've spent little time around felines cats seem cold and manipulative. The cat haters never see the cat and owner "conversing" and bonding with each other. It's every bit as touching as your dog welcoming you home. Yet, cats don't show emotions the same way. I once had a feline that had apparently been in great pain from cancer for some time. I'm attentive, too, and if hadn't stopped eating and I didn't then discover the lump in his neck, I would have never known how much he was suffering. Since they're not by background a social species, felines are adapted to keep going when they're in pain and not call for help.

They've also had little evolutionary reason to communicate their emotions.   

So, I've made an entry without dealing with the most important issue of our time, and in all of human history. I plead guilty to procrastination, but at least I'm not crippled by despair about global warming. I am going to become an activist about it. I just don't know how, yet.

More kittens?

I promise I won't do another blog like this. 

Ignorance Disguised as Skepticism (Brought to You by Greed)

California is receiving no rain, and the Sierra Nevada Mountains had only 30 percent snow cover. The results: exceptional drought and a coming water emergency.

 
First I'll declare these two as facts and will support them later: there's nothing scientific about Global Warming denial, and broadly speaking, there's also nothing scientific or even intellectual about skepticism.

I find myself stressed out about Global Warming, and it does keep me up at night. Environmental catastrophe is upon us and the consequences will continue to get worse as long as the people we've put in charge of our country and corporations are either paralyzed or are in bribed ignorance.

(Read more below the crack.) 

Dealing with Stress

I'd be the first to admit I don't handle stress well at all, and the oddest things can stress me out. Putting away my change at the grocery store? I feel like I'm holding up everybody and all eyes are on me. If I wait to get away from the checking line to do it, I still feel like all eyes are on me. The feeling I look nervous itself is a aggravates the stress. Sometimes I can't get my hands to work and I just have to stuff bills, metal and receipt into my pocket and find a private place to sort it out.

[More beneath the crack]

Inauspicious new start

Signed the lease at 5, got the key, and immediately the lock jammed. I locked myself out after I emptied my pockets. I left my cellphone and wallet inside. I had the key, but it wouldn't operate the lock.

In a panic, I drove back to the management office. She said she would open it with the master key but she had to wait for a prospective tenant who was viewing another apartment in the neighborhood. So, I went back and waited for her, and in the meantime took some pictures of houses on the street, but more and more time passed and I got bored. I went back to the office hoping that I wouldn't miss her driving out to me. Remember, my cellphone was trapped in the apartment, along with my drivers' license.

When I got there, she told me they had called a locksmith and that he should be there in fifteen more minutes. I went back to wait. Fifteen minutes came and went. I began to wonder if I missed the locksmith as I drove to the office. Maybe he arrived early. I listened to the car radio. Then, I had to take a piss. With me, sometimes it hits suddenly and extremely. I didn't want the neighbor's first impression of me to be the guy who was caught urinating in public. However, I have to admit, I was scouting around.

Meanwhile, it's 6:30 p.m. and 101 degrees outside. It's good to know humankind has accidentally brought us Hell on earth. How have we offended the earth to cause that shit? In heat like this, even putting the key in the lock causes a flood of sweating.

Well, of course the locksmith arrived and he unfroze the lock immediately and moved the hasp. Then it worked as smooth as butter, or perhaps Astroglide.

It pretty much blew my plan for the evening, though, which was to clean it. With record heat, though, the window AC unit has to work extra hard to cool the place. I think I'll drop by early in the morning to activate it so it's cool later in the day when I come by to start cleaning.

I'm taking pictures of some of the houses around the neighborhood. I love the architecture here. It's the only place in town that reminds me of French Quarter, New Orleans, but there are differences that make it even better. (I'm not talking about the sex industry, or lack thereof, either way.) I'll post the pictures I have in a few days.