The past two weeks have been whirlwind that has precluded any time spent on blogging. It seems like every year at about this time a number of work projects simultaneously reach critical mass, and this year has been no exception. The legal activity that brought me to Munich in February has the next important date in July, and everything takes ten times longer to reach consensus and submit filings because of the language differences. I will be also in D.C. in two weeks on a patent matter that has required tons of preparation. I am amazed by the fact that one can easily get patents for the most inane things (cf. U.S. 5,446,036 – Method of Exercising a Cat – claims using a laser pointer to stimulate Fluffy), but have to fight the patent office for years to patent things that are actually original and useful. I do plan to take a day or two to actually see the Washington sights, with the Air and Space museum at the top of my list. I am hoping for an invite for dinner with GW and Laura. I hate to be so forward as to openly ask, but I am fairly certain that he checks The Daily Brief several times per day and he is so good at picking up subtle hints. It’s not so much that he is my hero or anything, but my letters over the past couple of years to certain blue state senators, while not bringing on the black helicopters, have most certainly eliminated me from their A list.

Speaking of stimulating Fluffy, we are presently battling a coon problem (again). It seems that Rocky and his clan have moved into our yard, and they have found nightly amusement in sitting just outside the bedroom screen windows watching our cats have apoplectic seizures. I have always aspired to a cabin-in-the-woods existence, so they don’t bother me as long as they stay on their side of the window. Real wife, however, takes a different view. So I called our local animal control officer who brought out a live trap and baited it with cat food (if there are a lot of neighborhood cats that can accidentally be captured, he confided to me that Fruit Loops will also work well). We had our first winner by 10:00 p.m. last night. Because the trap was by necessity located in the fenced portion where the dogs take their morning constitutional, I moved the prisoner to the area near the back door. Officer Rick (not his real name) came by this morning and removed the hapless creature. Unfortunately, this mean a death sentence because if you try to relocate them they (a) will return and (b) may transmit rabies or other diseases to new areas. I also suspect another dynamic at play because Officer Rick actually wears a uniform of sorts with patches and metal badge-looking insignia. He has indicated to me during previous coon purges that people in his position have certain authority with respect to firearm usage and game laws – not on the level of a Cliff Claven postal complex mind you, but still a little unsettling. Red Haired Girl suggested that a regime of vitamins and TLC might tame the bandit, and looking closely at it made the suggestion seem plausible as it seemed pretty calm. I have no doubt though that any attempt to give the critter a cuddle would have brought on an immediate change of temperament.

Well, the dogs are in for the evening so it is time to reset the trap. Tonight I am including a few grapes with the cat food, mostly out of guilt. After all, it’s just one more example of humans encroaching on native species’ habitat.

P.S., anyone from PETA, Greenpeace, ACLU, etc. that feels compelled to comment are welcome to try the approach offered by Red Haired Girl (cuddling, TLC); on the one condition that I get to watch that first special encounter.

Radar