Tag: Information

Bowltending

Bowltending (floofinition) – 1. Tendency among animals to stay by the food bowl.

In Use: “The new puppy named Romeo tended toward bowltending, often sleeping in it after eating his share, keeping other animals from eating.”

In Use: “Small but fierce, Barry bowltended, snapping and growling at the others who tried to eat some food.”

2. Habit among animals to closely monitor what people are eating.

In Use: “Eating at his computer, Matt had to defend his food against Max as the big floof jumped up into bowltending mode.”

Recent Use: “With assiduous bowltending and heavy doses of cute, housefloofs are often able to eat whatever their taste buds desire.”

0

Obsolescence

8/31/2014

That’s the date on my laptop’s shipping box. I discarded it yesterday. The box, I mean. Cut it up and tossed it in recycle. The box, I mean.

Looking at that shipping date, my personal laptop is almost ten years old. Although state of art when purchased, it’s now considered a weary old piece. I should replace it but I don’t wanna. One, I’m used to its foibles. Two, it does everything which I need done. Three, waste. This machine works and I’d be forced to get rid of it and its materials, adding to the piles of consumer trash.

I don’t wanna do that. That’s why I have five old computers waiting for disposal. One is a tower bought in 1998 that I haven’t used in years. One is an old personal laptop. Two are my wife’s old Macs of different vintages. One is an old business laptop which they told me to keep when I left the company.

Getting rid of them is on my list of things to do. Pull the hard drives. Find somewhere which will scavenge whatever they can for repurposing, and responsibly dispose of the rest.

I absolutely hate this cycle. My laptop’s software has been updated as far as I can take it with its current hardware. Microsoft provides the OS. Yes, I’ve used others but I succumb to convenience. Yeah, shame on me. I’ll research what MS needs for its next OS and see if I can update my hardware to keep it working.

Ten years is just too early to get rid of something. Just look at my cars. Both are ICE. One is nine years old with 48K; the other is twenty years and 108K. Both run fine although the newer one needs rear brake maintenance. But both look good, run well, and live in a garage, so I’ll keep on keeping on with them.

Just like my ‘puter.

2

Tailguistics

Tailguistics (floofinition) The study of how animals use their tails to communicate. Origins: Oregon, United States, 2017

In Use: “Through tailguistics, scientists have verified what a dog’s wagging tail or a cat’s slashing tail means; the bigger question confronting them is, how is all of this passed on between animals?”

Recent Use: “Mapping animals’ brins and recording the signals between brain and the tail, scientists in California studying tailguistics were able to create TailTalks, an app for animals which lets them speak aloud in different languages.”

4

Sunday’s Wandering Thoughts

I have trouble with names. For example, Calvin, a coffee barista who I’ve known for over two years. I call him Tyler. He’s a Tyler to me, not a Calvin. Tyler fits him better.

At least in my head.

5

Ackfloofedge

Ackfloofedge (floofinition) – 1. To recognize an animals’ rights, authority, or status.

In Use: “Basically joining the housepack as a kitten, the petite callico was soon ackfloofedged as the pack’s leader, even though she was the smallest, youngest, and quietest.”

In Use: “It was Nan’s home but she had to ackfloofedge her imperious cat’s decision-making influence. For example, no other animals were permitted in his home, and human visitors better be on guard, too.”

2. To take notice of an animal.

In Use: “The old brown dog rarely stirred in the shelter, but seeing his eyes watching her forced Nancy to ackfloofedge him. After a meet and greet was arranged, she discovered a happy and energetic fellow who was just waiting for the right person to take him home.”

In Use: “Squeaking outside the kitchen window caused Kevin and Valerie to ackfloofedge a clowder of kittens in need in their backyard. So began the tale of the beans, the five kittens given legume names who took over their the house.”

1

Friday’s Wandering Thoughts

A woman pushing a stroller with two infants down the sidewalk stopped to make adjustments. The sweet children looked less than a year old. A large pickup truck idled beside her, waiting for the light to change. He couldn’t help but think of the potential damages those poor children might be enduring.

2

Neitherfloof

Neitherfloof (floofinition) – An animal who can’t be found where expected, or doesn’t eat or act as expected or desired. Origins: unknown, in use since the first animals began living with humans.

In Use: “Many people with housefloofs have experienced the frustration of neitherfloof when they buy their pets treats, new food, or a new toy, only for their fur buddy to disdainfully walk away from the offering.”

In Use: “The little neitherfloof was a master at hiding in the house, and his human friends could often be overheard as they searched the house, ‘He’s not in here, either.'”

Recent Use: “Neitherfloofs often worry their human slaves when they disappear outdoors and don’t return for days, found neither here nor there.”

3

The Writing Moment

I was chatting with a writing friend this morning. Well, he’s a friend who is also a writer and was a pro editor working for one of the major publishers. He’d called to ask for help with a non-writing problem but we always talk of writing, editing, publishing, and books when we encounter one another in any venue.

I told him that the new novel is going fast. It seems and feels like an easy write. We chatted about the merits of fast or easy writing and and slow, meticulous writing. After hanging up and writing today, I realized how I’d misinterpreted my own writing process on the new book.

Yes, it is fast writing, but before I type out the words, there’s huge chunks of long, deep thoughts about where it’s at and where it’s going. As I began today, I wrestled with direction, because about a dozen volunteer plotpoints and character arcs have bloomed in my mind. I write fast because they have strong roots and I’m eager to cover them all. The session writing quickly turns immersive and intense. Regret washes through me when it’s over. So much remains to be written, it feels unfair that I must stop.

But, that’s the writing life.

0

Floofshine

Floofshine – Feelings of joy, happiness, or relief felt when encountering an animal. Origins: Boston, MA, United States, 1964

In Use: “Kai loved encountering Marvel when he got home after being at work. The dog’s grinning face and heavy tail wag was more satisfying than any work project, more relaxing than a glass of wine, and more inspiring than any music he’d ever heard.”

In Use: “Science is still working to verify floofshine’s impact on people’s health, but people with animals as housemates and friends already have a strong idea of the positive impact that floofs deliver.”

Recent Use: “Even after death, floofshine from a departed housefloof can linger for months, thanks to videos, social media, and photographs.”

0

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑