Happy New Year

Now, isn't that an original title?

Things were pretty quiet around here. In the past (going back 10 years or so) this neighborhood sounded like a war zone, often starting as early as 11:30 and lasting the better part of an hour. We've had some real firepower shot off (automatic and semi-automatic, along with the occasional shotgun and assault weapon), but this year there were only a few gunshots (we had some for Christmas, too).

There were plenty of public service announcements warning folks about shooting in the air -- and the local police have installed "gunshot sensors" around the city that can triangulate within 30 seconds.

There were plenty of 'illegal' fireworks, though. Bottle rockets, firecrackers and the like.

I was in bed by 12:30 -- such is the life of us pedos veijos.

Fido, on the other hand, is very much a young whipper-snapper. He insists on climbing up on the printer. This morning he somehow managed to hit the 'copy' button and then tried to grab the paper as it fed through, causing a major paper-jam. I've tried double-sided tape (he likes it) and now have an old, upside-down egg carton stuck to the top. He just side-steps it.

Of course, once he gets into trouble, he runs over to his current favorite toy -- one of those yellow Livestrong bracelets with an old sweatpants drawstring tied on. He'll bring it over and drop it into your lap -- ready to play a game of fetch. That's right -- I've got a cat with a dog's name who likes to play a dog's game. Oh well, I guess things could be worse (like maybe starting to bark?)

Well, be good. Or at least be careful.