Lucky had her sutures taken out late this afternoon. The vet said that the biopsies of her lumps did not indicate any problems. The problem seems to be either neurological or behavioural. I guess we will just have to keep an eye on her and see what happens in the future.

Lucky spent quite a few minutes cleaning herself after the cone was taken off and we were back from the vet. A cat can become pretty disheveled after a week in a cone. hehehe I had taken the cone off earlier this morning but she started to pick at one of the sutures so I slapped it back on her toute de suite.

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I’ve been able to go out for a ride or two since purchasing the Brooks’ saddle on Monday evening and, to be honest, I don’t feel any difference from my old saddle. The Brooks is supposed to require a long break-in period but I don’t feel it. Is my butt being fooled by thinking that, since it is on a better saddle, that there is as much as or less pain than with the Specialized?

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Just got off the phone with Bonnie over in customer service. They are going to take another look at the machine along with the cord. If the cord has anything to do with the machine’s problem(s) then they will fix it. They won’t fix any of the other damage such as the burn mark to the back of the screen and the loose keys. I think that that’s sort of reasonable although after so much running around it’s a bit lacking.

My friend is understandably skeptical of the response and I am now looking to see if I can find a computer tech in Ottawa who would be willing to give a “second opinion” on what is going on with the machine. At least, we will have an honest opinion on what’s wrong and they will serve as “insurance” if anything goes wrong and we want to pursue this further.

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I’ve done it! I’ve managed to set up wireless printing on this Thinkpad T20 running Ubuntu Linux 5.10. My life is complete! Well, not really but it’s awfully good. Some of you may scoff at this but it is a major techie achievement for me. I mean, three months ago, if you were to tell me that I would be running Linux on this old machine and being able to print wirelessly (which it never did under WinXP) I would have looked at you as if you’d been standing in the sun too long.

Following closely (ok, truth to tell, ’speed read’ would be a more accurate term..no no, ‘cursory glance’) the instructions in this Beginning Ubuntu Linux book and MW’s IP setting for my Laserjet 4M Plus, I have managed to print out a test page. This laptop is now completely wireless! It can surf the Internet and print without dragging around a cord. Cue the silly grin here!

Now, if I can get it to work with an old USRobotics’ Mac serial modem that would be even more astonishing.

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One of the greatest unsung generals of all time, Subotai helped to mastermind the Mongols’ conquests of China, Korea, Russia and all the way through Eastern Europe in the fourteenth century. It’s a bit amazing to note that they were knocking on the gates of Vienna yet Western history barely makes a note of that achievement.

Gabriel’s book attempts to illustrate the bare bones of Subotai’s military career and one can easily run through this book as quickly as the Mongols ran through their enemies’ armies. Some of the material is necessarily based upon the translations of The Secret History of the Mongols and will be familiar to readers such as myself who have read them in years past.

A good primer for those interested in Mongol military history.

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Well, I’ve just purchased my first really serious piece of biking equipment in a long time. It’s a new Brooks B17 standard saddle! My old Specialized Body Geometry saddle had started showing its age through a welter of cracks and so it was time to get something better. The fact that my butt has also been complaining since yesterday’s short ride also had something to do with it. *wimp*

So, the handsome chappie is now bathing in a thin layer of Proofide (of which I have bought enough to last for the rest of my natural life) and awaiting installation. I’ve heard that it takes about 600 km before one of these are broken in so this one should be ready by June, hopefully. Just in time to do some major distances.

Edit: I noticed a couple of people searching for this saddle on my blog. I purchased this saddle from CycleTherapy on Queen St. East but Urbane Cyclist near Queen St. West also has it in stock. Make sure that you call both of them up to ask first what the pricing is.

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I called InterTan’s (they own TS) head office this morning and left a message with their customer service dept. I got a call back from Bonnie who took down the relevant info and said that she will get back to me after talking to the repair center. I’m not putting much hope with these people at the moment.

Gut feeling is that it’s going to come down to a matter of he-said she-said so we will see what sort of flexibility each side has.

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Just got back from my first ride in 2 months. I can’t say that it’s the first ride of the season because I have done other rides earlier in January but it still feels like the first ride of the season.

SO bailed on this ride but I decided to go ahead anyways. Cleaned off the bike a bit and dusted off the biking outfit and ready to go! Windy ride with an overcast sky, temp around 8 celsius or so; not a lot of people out but I can tell that this year will be a busy one. I may change my riding schedule to include more daylight hours this year but if there are so many people out then it may not be a good thing.

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The setting is right after the destruction of the Death Star and we see our Rebel friends still on the run as they try to avoid Imperial forces and build up alliances and support. We also see other parties at play that include a young Mara Jade as the Emperor’s Hand, stormtroopers with soft hearts, pirates, and traitorous Imperial governors. This all makes for a very fast-paced and interesting plot that involves loads of misconceptions. Emphasis on the latter.

I think that this is probably one of the better books in the Star Wars’ universe and shows Zahn in fine form.

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Just a quick note to say that the South Keys store never told her about the $40 charge I mentioned earlier for getting a report as to the damage. She does bring up a good point, why should she have to pay a fee for a repair estimate?

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