So, the weekend is underway...

[elfs]

It's been a crappy week all around. The deadline at work came and went without satisfaction. I've been learning the Ext-JS library and using it a lot. It's an incredible Javascript library that makes everything you really want to do under Javascript possible, but to make it work you really need to know your javascript. Both closures and tree recursion become critical skills when doing advanced DHTML work. I really like it, but it's difficult to make work right, and it has its annoying tics. I'm looking into extending the Forms library to support direct translation of existing (HTML) forms without the need for additions (hard, because the Python-based back form widget we're using also doesn't make itself amenable to easy modification) and to making it use backend field-level validation, but the validators are all purely synchronous and that needs to be 'worked around' to deal with the fact that server-based validation is either asynchronous or really sucks and slows down the transaction. (It also doesn't help that asynchronous validation can also be "surprising," as in after you've moved on to the sixth or seventh field the second field suddenly turns an angry red and reads "That's not a valid address" or something.)

I've been in a writing slump this week, which is good in some ways: its let me polish the stories I do have, including figuring out what the contrasting moments are in Nymphs in November, so hopefully I'll get those four stories out the door. I know I have at least one person looking forward to them. I think they're much more straightforward than they should be, but parody and homage are hard. I think these qualify more as fanfic.

Picked up Yamaraashi-chan from camp yesterday. She had so many friends to say goodbye to! She looked great, too: tan, although a little exhausted after a two hour ride on an un-airconditioned schoolbus. After she got back, we went shopping: we needed some more towels and I got a nifty new pair of sandals, since the old pair had blown out.

Dinner was tuna noodle casserole. The kitchen was a bit of a wreck and took over an hour to clean. I was kind of annoyed that we didn't get to water the cat until after the kids went to bed, 'cause I wanted Yamaraashi-chan to see the hydration process.

Comments

Hydration Therapy

[(Anonymous)]

I've had two Burmese cats. The male's (Travi, short for Spanish Travieso, 'brat') kidneys failed acutely at 10 years. After 5 days in hospital I had him euthanized.

The female's (Softie, OK so it's corny) weakened after 18 years; I tried hydration therapy but with just me and the cat it was tough to restrain her (she hated being restraind; I could hug her for maybe 20- 30 seconds before she had enough ), much less squeeze ~150 ml of sodium/potassium fluid between her shoulder blades. She hated it, and as a result I found it extremely stressful as well. I didn't want her to go through what Travi had. I decided that it was a quality of life issue and rather than have her pissed off at me for a coupla hours twice a week I would discontinue the therapy and see what happened. The vet graciously offered to do it for me for a modest fee, but (obviously) that would have been even more stressful for the cat. She remained stable for about 9 months until her kidneys gave out over the course of several days. It was obvious it was time to go as she wasn't enjoying being a cat anymore. For the second time I had to make the decision to let a cat go. She had 19 full years as an indoor cat.

David
reply dekster at swbell dot net