How I know that it's time to haul out the electric blanket and the heating pads for the cats?

They start using me as an electric blanket. I mean Jake usually sleeps with me...

but when it gets colder he's on top of me...

And if he can't squeeze between my feet, he'll sleep on top of them...

As for Jenny? She's been squeezing beside me on the couch when I'm sitting length-wise on it. But now? She will dig behind me even if there's no room to use me as a heating pad...

And so... I put out the warming pads for them...

And so... I guess they've got their favorite place to sit for the next five months.

Sleeping arrangements for my cats is ultimately wherever they feel like it. And they are happy to sleep just about anywhere. Although this time of year they're mostly sleeping with me as a human hot water bottle because the temperatures are falling and I haven't turned on my heat yet.

Jenny has been sleeping in kitty beds scattered around because they are insulated and keep her warm...

Another favorite spot while in the living room is the backs of the couches. I usually have a blanket folded up over one spot, which they started fighting over, so now I unfold it out across the entire length so they can both lay on it...

Something Jake likes to do is wait until Jenny has fallen asleep next to me... then wedge himself in-between us so he can use Jenny as a pillow. Sometimes she swats at him or runs away... but other times she seems okay with him being annoying...

Once the heat is turned on, they'll probably go back to sleeping near the vents. It's the most comfy place to be. Which reminds me... I need to reverse the direction of the ceiling fan in my bedroom.

I don’t trim my cats’ claws. And I would NEVER de-claw them.

They don’t scratch where they’re not supposed to, and take care of their own claws with teeth manicures like they would do in nature, so I don’t see the point in putting them through the trauma. BUT EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE... a week ago Jake was pushing Jenny out of the way so he could eat her dinner when he still had food. So I gently moved Jake back to his bowl.

Which startled Jenny.

Which startled Jake.

WHO THEN RAN ACROSS MY FEET WITH CLAWS OUT... tearing them up...

The left foot only bleed for about 15 minutes. But that puncture wound on my right big toe? That bleed like for an hour. Funny thing is that the puncture wound doesn’t hurt at all. But the scratches are incredibly painful. Oh well. Cats, amirite?

Jake's still a good boy though. As the weather gets colder and colder, he's been sleeping up next to me like I'm a hot water bottle...

His favorite spot is right behind my knees, every night...

This morning I woke up at 4am, then went back to sleep. When I woke up a couple hours later, I couldn't move. Jake was on top of me...

And of course I just lay there until he decided to climb off of me. I'm pussy-whipped like that.

Yesterday was Orange Cat Appreciation Day.

Which is hilarious, because EVERY DAY IS ORANGE CAT APPRECIATION DAY! JENNY INSISTS ON IT!

I swear, she's the most entitled princess of a cat I've ever known. She demands to get her way, and does not give two shits how you feel about it. When she wants to be petted, you stop whatever you're doing and pet her. Then you don't stop until she's done with you.

Just look at the little scrubber squeezing beside me and pushing me over on the couch!

Then she meows until she get butt-scratches...

Eventually I graduated to neck scratches...

But the second I stop? She wakes right up and gives me this...

But what can I do. This is how she looks at me most of the time...

So happy Orange Cat Appreciation Day yesterday.

We had really bad smoke last week. This week it was supposed to be gone. But then rainstorms crawled their way into the valley, trapping the smoke and making me miserable as I doped-up to try and manage my allergies.

But what's worse than waking up to this...

Or, even worse, this...

Is knowing that I'll have to close off the catio, because Jake and Jenny's little lungs can't handle the smoke and particles in the air. I'd rather they stay healthy as long as possible, and so... sorry, but the catio is closed for business.

Now imagine what my life is like. These cats are accustomed to doing whatever the heck they want whenever the heck they want. And since they are well-behaved cats, they don't get told "no" very often. But now they're being told "No, you can't go out into the catio because it's not safe for you."

Chaos ensues.

Jenny is the first to notice...

She decides to stare at me while meowing her displeasure...

Then it's Jake's turn to notice...

When he can't bite the door open, he decides to sit and wait for me to open it...

Then it's Jake's turn to notice...

After a while, Jenny decides to make the situation even more upsetting to everybody involved by meowing out the window towards a world she can see but not go out into...

And then it's Jake's turn to speak with the manager about the door situation...

He can't meow, but he can squawk at me.

This cycle is repeated throughout my morning.

And when I get home from work.

Fortunately today was looking much better, so I opened up the catio.

But of course now they're not interested in going outside.

My cats having radically different personalities is a never-ending source of amusement. When you're petting Jenny and she wants you to move to a different location, she'll twist and contort to move the location to where you're petting her. Then get frustrated if you get it wrong. Jake, on the other hand, just lays there while you pet him and when he wants you to change location, he just squawks at you. And if you end guessing the wrong spot, he'll either squawk at you again... or just accept it and fall asleep. He's a wonder, that wonder cat...

And speaking of falling asleep...

Any time I'm working in bed, Jenny will insist on being petted before she falls asleep. Then the minute I turn the light off so I can go to sleep, she wakes up and immediately goes downstairs to sleep somewhere else. Jake, on the other hand, stays with me all night.

But Jake is usually late to the party when Jenny is still with me, and lately I've been noticing that he's plopping down to sleep closer and closer to the little princess...

Where he ends up smacking her with his tail...

I'd say it was random and unintentional, but he does this all the time...

And Jenny isn't the only victim. Jake will often lay parallel to me. But sometimes he stretches out horizontally on the bed... THEN KICK ME ASIDE BECAUSE HE WANTS MORE ROOM...

Life with cats expecting you to always put them first never gets old. Jenny has decided she wants a footrest while she sleeps... and will kick me until I comply...

Cats. What can you do?

Don't worry about all my looming deadlines at work, I still have time for you, dear reader... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...

   
• The Bicycle Thief! All this pupper wanted was some pets... even if it was from a bicycle thief...

I hope that the dog didn't run away. That would be worse than losing a bike because your automated garage door opener (likely) screwed up (it's happened to me).

   
• Cat Coaster! I can't get enough of this (here's a link in case Instagram is being a dick)...

I wonder if, from the cat's viewpoint, they feel like this is the real deal? And that has me wondering if it's traumatizing. Though I suppose they could alway jump out.

   
• Virus! Yeah... I'll take all the vaccinations. All of them. SCIENCE, BITCHES!

Even that might be enough to save me, but at least I can say I tried.

   
• Strange New Gorn! Despite a bit of a continuity problem when it comes to the Gorn, the second season finale for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds was incredible...

My mind is still boggling at the thought that this is my favorite Star Trek now. I never, ever thought that anything would eclipse the original series for me.

   
• Florida? The repugnant shit going on in Florida to teach kids that slavery was a good thing because enslaved people learned “job skills” that could be used after emancipation can be easily refuted. But this gentleman vividly illustrates why it’s a bullshit concept that doesn’t deserve any consideration (here's a link in case TikTok is being a dick)...

Fuck FOX “News” and their white suprematist agenda forever.

   
• Rao No! Well, shit. Campbell's Soup bought Rao's Homemade sauces. Guess we can kiss that brand goodbye. Like every other great brand that gets bought by a mega-corp, Campbell's is most certainly going to fuck up the recipe with cheaper ingredients so they can squeeze more money out of it. The way Kraft fucked up Boca Burger is still very fresh in my mind. It was good while it lasted, I guess.

If there's one thing you can count on, it's that companies with billions of dollars to throw around will ruin the brands they absorb, despite them always saying "We won't change a thing!" Because do you know how many times this has been promised? Current CEO of Campbell's says "WE WON'T CHANGE THE RECIPE!!!" But then he gets replaced or fired and the new CEO is all "WE MUST USE CHEAPER INGREDIENTS TO GET MORE PROFITS!" and then it's "WE ARE CHANGING THE RECIPE TO REFLECT CURRENT TRENDS" or some such bullshit. I do not believe it for one second. Not one. This has happened an astronomical number of times with a crazy number of brands. Profits are always the focus of these huge companies. ALWAYS. Maintaining the integrity of Rao's isn't the priority. It's a short game to buy the brand and squeeze as much money out of it as they can before they ruin it. And then they're on to the next beloved brand.

   
• RUINED!!! I had to step away from my TikTok "For You Page" for a while, because people who "Had their Maui vacation ruined!" or "Had their Maui wedding ruined!" or what the fuck ever were enraging me to entirely new levels. There was a "social media coach" bitching because her 25th birthday to Honolulu was ruined when her flight was cancelled... SO SHE WENT TO MAUI... and took away much needed resources from people trying to survive the fires. I’m amazed... but not surprised at these assholes. This guy says what I’ve been thinking (here's a link in case TikTok is being a dick)...

Sorry about your vacation... but there are people still missing. Have some perspective for crying out loud.

   
And that's a wrap on bullets.

I replaced my glass door with a fiberglass door so I could add a catio door to it. And they've been using it to go in and out for over six years.

Now all of a sudden Jenny is having problems with it. She can go out okay, but she can't manage to come back in. She's always struggled a little bit forcing the flap open so she can get through, but now it's like most of the time she can't do it. There's been times I've had to get out of bed and go downstairs to let her in because she's meowing... at which time she decides she doesn't want to come back in.

Then Jake started acting like he couldn't get through. And I just don't get it. I've inspected it, and it swings open just like it always has.

I finally ended up taking out some of the magnets that keep it closed in the hopes that it would be easier for them. Which it is. Except Jenny still doesn't want to use it to get back in for some reason, and Jake still squawks at it before coming back in. No idea what's going on in that furry little head, but if it doesn't resolve itself I may have to start closing up the catio at night so she doesn't get trapped out there.

August 8th was International Cat Day... which is kinda funny, because EVERY DAY IS INTERNATIONAL CAT DAY in my house. How can it not be when these are my cats...

If only they could remember how to use the cat door.

And now, this...

Cats are still great.

Don't worry about there being only one month of Summer left because there's bullets 52 times a year and... because an all new Bullet Sunday starts... now...

   
• Opponent! The only way this could more accurately describe American politics would be if they asked "WHAT DO YOU HATE?" and the politician answered "MY OPPONENT!" or even "WHATEVER YOU WANT ME TO TELL YOU TO HATE!"...

Oh how I love Berkeley Mews. Though not all of the posts there are negative. Take this one, for example...

For more wackiness, see Ben's Berkeley Mews site.

   
• Stargirl! It took a total pass on Stargirl because the whole "Arrowverse" of DC Comics shows turned into a suckfest of boredom. Earlier this week I had the first episode pop up and watched it because there was nothing more interesting going on. Turns out it is fantastic. This isn't just "Stargirl"... it's the entire Justice Society of America being reborn from the ashes of the old one...

I am only half-way through the first season, but watching everything come together is one of the better super-hero comic book shows I've seen. A pity that the rest of the awful Arrowverse shows were tied to Stargirl like a boat anchor and sunk the show.

   
• Cat Walk! I've watched this entirely too many times and cannot fathom how this is not CGI (here's a link in case Instagram is being a dick)...

The fact that the first two fell off when the third one jumped on is some kind of talent.

   
• Just Ken! To think there was a time that I actively avoided Ryan Gosling projects. I remember him mainly being in sports movies and such before he appeared in his breakout role in The Notebook (a movie I still haven't seen). Then in 2016 I saw his incredible performance in The Nice Guys and was an immediate fan. I went back through his movies and found out just how talented he is. Then he was in Blade Runner 2049 and I was a fan for life. Now he's Ken in the Barbie movie, which seems an odd choice, but seeing videos like this makes me think that he probably killed it...

Gosling's next film is The Fall Guy with Emily Blunt. Cannot wait to see what that's about.

   
• Sharing is Caring! They've come a long time since Love is sharing a password...
Netflix: DON'T SHARE YOUR PASSWORD! EVERYBODY HAS TO PAY FOR A SEPARATE ACCOUNT! LOVE ISN'T SHARING A PASSWORD, IT'S YOU GIVING US MORE MONEY!
Also Netflix: We are going to force you to select a user profile every FUCKING time you use our service... even if you only have one profile!
God. Just fuck off and make up your damn minds. Or at least stop forcing me to choose my only profile every time I start up your shitty streaming service. I regret never sharing my password.

   
• SHAT! William Shatner is NINETY-TWO YEARS OLD! And don't mistake the satellite delay of him hearing the question as him not understanding the question in this video. The guy is sharp as a tack!

The only comment I have is that maybe the visiting aliens have a "Prime Directive" which, like in Star Trek, means that they can't interfere with the natural development of earthlings. And that's why they are hiding?

   
• Invasion Secret! I had such high hopes for Marvel Studio's Secret Invasion, but it ended up being a total dud. Whereas the original comic book story was an epic event where a ridiculous number of heroes had been replaced by Skrulls... the Disney+ adaptation had... one? And it was kinda a nerfed one, because they never had the hero even use their super-powers at all. Add to that some totally unnecessary and non-eventful deaths of beloved characters... and a resolution so sloppy that had me wondering why they even bothered with this waste of Samuel L. Jackson's talents... and I wondered what in hell Kevin Feige was smoking to greenlit it. Maybe it's for the best that Disney+ is reducing their output of Marvel stuff. Because with the exception of Hawkeye, which I loved, none of it has been worthy.

   
And now I'm off to comfort my cats, who are cowering under .

Jenny's behavior, which used to be changing from year to year is now evolving from week to week. As for Jake? He's just Jake.

Jenny's latest thing is meowing her head off when I do not respond instantly to her demands. She wanted to be petted while I was replying to a work email, I told her "Just a minute..." and then was treated to this long, extended howl that did not let up until I stopped typing and scratch her ass. Because HOW DARE I make her wait!

Truth is I can't even be mad, because it's just so funny.

She's graduating from a princess to a queen, and I guess it's my job to deal with it.

But how could I not? Just look at her...

The worst thing Jake did this past week was to get mad that I picked up one of his toys and took it back upstairs. He then brought it back downstairs and made sure I knew he was not happy.

Either that or he's trying to kill Carl the RoboVac again.