Stubborn Idealism

Binky Update

Date: Fri 30 December 2005
Time: 9:47 AM EST

Binky is back from the vet, and he is very happy to be home. I'm at work now, so I can't go into too much detail, but I'll say that he's doing fine. I'm off for the next 6 days and I'm going to be using them to keep a close eye on him.

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Quake Server

Date: Tue 27 December 2005
Time: 7:28 PM EST

I set up a Quake 1 server at wbrameld4.name. I played with Michael on it for a while and got my ass handed to me :). I took a nap afterwards since I got up really early this morning to move Binky from the emergency vet to the regular vet, and when I got up just now I saw that Dad had been on the server for a few minutes around 4:00 P.M., about an hour after Michael and I played. Oh well, maybe I'll catch him later. I've got it set up to send me email alerts when players join and leave (and for that little project, I got to learn more than I ever wanted to know about UNIX pseudo-terminals).

I've added a Game Servers section to this site to list the online games hosted here. Maybe it will draw in some more players.

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Binky At The Vet

Date: Mon 26 December 2005
Time: 10:03 PM EST

I took Binky to the emergency vet yesterday because he couldn't urinate. They disloged the crystals that were blocking him up with a catheter. He spent the night there and will be there tonight as well, with the catheter stuck up into his bladder. I'm picking him up tomorrow morning and taking him to the Centerville Animal Hospital for a final check-up and food advice. The crystals form because the pH is too far from neutral - either too basic or too acidic, and I'll probably have to feed him prescription food from now on.

The same thing happened to Inky a couple of years ago. He kept getting blocked up so he had surgery to remove his penis which contains the narrowest part of the urethra in male cats. Usually that's the end of it, the floodgates are open, problem solved, except in Inky's case (as rarely happens) he developed excessive scarring from the operation which closed up the hole so tight the vets couldn't even get a catheter in to drain his bladder. Euthanization was the only option.

So now I'm debating with myself whether to go ahead and get this operation for Binky. If successful, it would solve the problem, but it has a small risk of death. Another risk from that operation is nerve damage in that area leading to incontinence. I think I'll just feed him the prescription food for now and keep an eye on him. If he blocks up again, I'll have no choice.

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