Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

Tired. But what absolutely had to be accomplished today, I managed to do. Hoping to catch up on rest enough to not feel so close to the edge the rest of the week. Also hoping to get around to writing about Good Stuff that I've been meaning to chronicle.

My brother gave me a Series II TiVo missing its remote control -- he said he couldn't find an affordable replacement, it's useless without the remote, and he's watching stuff on the computer a lot more lately anyhow ... and he figures if I can't hack it to be useful without the remote (or to talk to a different remote) then I can probably strip it for parts to use in other projects. It has a modem but not an Ethernet port, and I have no landline, so unless I set up VOIP with an adaptor that provides dail tone, I won't be able to use the full power of it even with the remote. [edited an hour later] I found the explanation in the manual that you're supposed to use a USB Ethernet adaptor to hook it to a network, but it still needs a landline for initial setup. I wonder what'll happen if I find such an adaptor and plug it in without zapping my brother's old configuration. But even if I just program it like an old-fashioned VCR it'll be nice because of the ability to delete any show after watching it and get the space back, instead of only recovering the space if it's the last show on a tape.

Time to start reading up on TiVo mods and hacks. And/or scanning eBay for TiVo remotes.

Whoops. While typing this I was dangling a bit of leather lace from my toes and waving it around for Perrine to chase. My leg got tired so I lowered it ... and Perrine whirled around a moment later and slammed into my foot teeth-first. (No damage to either of us, but she looked really startled.)

Which reminds me: I don't remember whether I'd already mentioned that Perrine seems to have learned the word 'string'. She has not, alas, learned the meaning of "bring me the ____" yet. I'm still working on teaching her that.

Tired. But what absolutely had to be accomplished today, I managed to do. Hoping to catch up on rest enough to not feel so close to the edge the rest of the week. Also hoping to get around to writing about Good Stuff that I've been meaning to chronicle.

My brother gave me a Series II TiVo missing its remote control -- he said he couldn't find an affordable replacement, it's useless without the remote, and he's watching stuff on the computer a lot more lately anyhow ... and he figures if I can't hack it to be useful without the remote (or to talk to a different remote) then I can probably strip it for parts to use in other projects. It has a modem but not an Ethernet port, and I have no landline, so unless I set up VOIP with an adaptor that provides dail tone, I won't be able to use the full power of it even with the remote. [edited an hour later] I found the explanation in the manual that you're supposed to use a USB Ethernet adaptor to hook it to a network, but it still needs a landline for initial setup. I wonder what'll happen if I find such an adaptor and plug it in without zapping my brother's old configuration. But even if I just program it like an old-fashioned VCR it'll be nice because of the ability to delete any show after watching it and get the space back, instead of only recovering the space if it's the last show on a tape.

Time to start reading up on TiVo mods and hacks. And/or scanning eBay for TiVo remotes.

Whoops. While typing this I was dangling a bit of leather lace from my toes and waving it around for Perrine to chase. My leg got tired so I lowered it ... and Perrine whirled around a moment later and slammed into my foot teeth-first. (No damage to either of us, but she looked really startled.)

Which reminds me: I don't remember whether I'd already mentioned that Perrine seems to have learned the word 'string'. She has not, alas, learned the meaning of "bring me the ____" yet. I'm still working on teaching her that.

I should really get around to calibrating the cat.

The longest dimension of the space she's taking up on the bed since falling asleep is about 30% longer than the end of last week. This reflects the fact that my bedroom, having finally started to catch up to the warm front that moved into the area recently, is 8 °F warmer than last night and 14 °F warmer than a few nights ago. And like most cats, her length while sleeping is generally larger in summer than in winter.

I keep meaning to find out whether her sleeping position/size repeatably reflects specific temperatures, or is affected more by the delta from recent temperatures than the absolue current temperature. But usually when I look at her sleeping, I just go, "awww, my adorable little kitty cat," and forget to measure her and check the air temperature.

I'm a really lazy scientist anyhow; is there a good way to automate the data-collection? (Say, a temperature probe and a camera, and a program that recognizes Perrine in the image and calculates her length? Oh, but in the hottest months she sleeps in the hall or the bathroom because the bedroom is too hot -- typical summer behaviour is to curl up near me but not touching for a little while, then get up, glare at me, and go sleep in the hall, whereas in winter she often sleeps perched atop me or with her chin and forelegs draped across my leg -- so I'd want more than one camera.)

I should really just get in the habit of grabbing the measuring tape when I see her sleeping. Let's see whether I can form a new habit, or whether I'll forget about this project again until some hot day when she looks like she's grown several inches all stretched out.

Oh, right, I should take advantage of her drowsiness to trim her claws ...

I should really get around to calibrating the cat.

The longest dimension of the space she's taking up on the bed since falling asleep is about 30% longer than the end of last week. This reflects the fact that my bedroom, having finally started to catch up to the warm front that moved into the area recently, is 8 °F warmer than last night and 14 °F warmer than a few nights ago. And like most cats, her length while sleeping is generally larger in summer than in winter.

I keep meaning to find out whether her sleeping position/size repeatably reflects specific temperatures, or is affected more by the delta from recent temperatures than the absolue current temperature. But usually when I look at her sleeping, I just go, "awww, my adorable little kitty cat," and forget to measure her and check the air temperature.

I'm a really lazy scientist anyhow; is there a good way to automate the data-collection? (Say, a temperature probe and a camera, and a program that recognizes Perrine in the image and calculates her length? Oh, but in the hottest months she sleeps in the hall or the bathroom because the bedroom is too hot -- typical summer behaviour is to curl up near me but not touching for a little while, then get up, glare at me, and go sleep in the hall, whereas in winter she often sleeps perched atop me or with her chin and forelegs draped across my leg -- so I'd want more than one camera.)

I should really just get in the habit of grabbing the measuring tape when I see her sleeping. Let's see whether I can form a new habit, or whether I'll forget about this project again until some hot day when she looks like she's grown several inches all stretched out.

Oh, right, I should take advantage of her drowsiness to trim her claws ...