Another Teddy update --

He had another vet appointment yesterday afternoon. He'd gained half a pound, so the appetite stimulant has been cut back to 1/4 pill once a day because we don't want him to get fat. Turns out it's also an anti-anxiety pill, which may explain why he's also seemed happier over the past few days. And even fighting back when Max and Marie try to bully him.

He took well to sub-cutaneous fluid, at least in the vet's office. He gets 200 ml every three days, so we'll have a better idea of his regualr reaction on Wednesday. He also seems to be taking well to the lower protein diet.

The regular vet also explained the situation better than the specialist did. So best guess at this time is, we're dealing with low-grade kidney disease, which is pretty normal for aging cats. He also may have a low-grade heart murmur, which is also pretty normal for aging cats.

Aw poor Teddy. It's sounds like he's getting lots of care and love.

Yay Teddy!

ION: Wacky headline of the morning (almost sounds like an Onion headline, but it's not):

Anti-piracy group pirates anti-piracy report

A reader writes, "The International Chamber of Commerce 'Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting And Piracy' initiative has been accused of pirating thousands of documents from anti-piracy tracking service Gieschen Consultancy. The documents apparently later reappeared in a slightly different format under the ICC's own brandname. Statement from the consultancy:"

"The ICC and BASCAP misrepresented themselves as a partner in 2006 and 2007, gained access to proprietary information and then took what they learned and incorporated it into their own product offerings.

Its functionality, user interface, presentation, method of classification, and delivery is clearly based on our designs and existing products. It is extraordinary that an organization committed to fighting counterfeiting and piracy would steal the intellectual property of another organization."

Sounds like a good Teddy report to me. Yay!

Gentle soothing vibes to the Buffistas in pain. I can't even imagine. I rarely have any pain and I'm a big baby sissy head when I do. I wish there were clearer solutions and that you didn't have to try so many varieties of therapy to find relief. I'd shoulder a bit of it for you if I could.

Insanity this week as I attempt to do too damn much in too little time. I fear I will have to limit my visits here drastically. Sad making. You may not hear from me until I get to Atlanta. Have better than normal Mondays all.

Gentle soothing vibes to the Buffistas in pain. I can't even imagine. I rarely have any pain and I'm a big baby sissy head when I do. I wish there were clearer solutions and that you didn't have to try so many varieties of therapy to find relief. I'd shoulder a bit of it for you if I could.

Totally this. Although I'm a little afraid of the shouldering part, since see above re big baby sissy head.

So, in the end, I did come into my office today. I realized that I was only putting off lugging the enormous computer back, and who cares how much the cab costs, since I'm not paying for it anyway. Of course my boss didn't come in, since she lives in New Jersey and is flying out of Newark.

Good on Teddy being more like normal.

What happened, ita? If you said, I missed it.

Nothing happened, really. My shoulder/neck have tended to get tense with the migraines, but in the past couple weeks that pain has taken on a life of its own. My masseuse says she thinks it has to do with my trap muscles protecting my rotator cuffs, but who knows? I haven't hit anything in two weeks easy, so I'm not sure what the traps are protecting from.

I finally managed to make it to sleep and then had some wicked nightmares. Grr.

I'm kind of a sartorial mess today. Kept changing my mind about what I was gonna wear so ended up with the purple eyeliner instead of khaki (not really that noticeable, but I KNOW,) brown boots, green and brown plaidish skirt and a black sweater. Which just looks wrong with the boots, I think.

This is why I should stick to routine and not try to think in the morning.

And the skirt needs ironing.

I will take heed of your experience, sarameg, and carefully plan my outfit for today.

Okay, I won't. But I always like to think I will.

I've had the vicious cycle with headaches and neck/shoulder tension that last for days (albeit on a lesser scale). I wish I could tell you a surefire way to break that cycle. Finding a balance between resting the muscles to try to get them to relax and avoiding stiffness is a bitch.