Thursday, June 30, 2016

Thursday's Purrs: Brody

"Hi there, my name is Brody!
Do I look familiar to you?

Allie says I'm her 'brotha from anotha motha' -- or wait, was that CK that said that?  All those grey tuxie girlcats confuse me just a bit. And okay maybe intimidate me a teensy bit too - just don't tell anyone I said that, okay?"



"I love wand toys, I do!  I'm energetic - and might have just a little bit of kitten left in me, even though I'm a big boy of three years! I hope that's okay with you?

I'm a very enthusiastic player. And purr-er. And cuddle-er. And, uhm, eater, too ....

Won't you come out and say hello? I'd love to find my very own family - VERY soon!

Purrs,
Brody"


Brody is available at Allie's Alma Mater, Wayside Waifs.

www.waysidewaifs.org


 ***

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Bratty Brothers

Faraday: You're in my spot, Allie.


Allie: I didn't see a "Reserved" sign, Brat. This is a public scratching post.
Faraday: I've got your "Reserved" sign, right here!


Allie: You want a piece of this? Well, do you, Brat?


(Uh-oh, we don't think this is the response Allie was expecting ....)


(Nope. Not at all.)



Allie: FINE. Have it your way. Just don't leave any stink on it when you're done.
Faraday: You saying I SMELL, Allie? Huh?!?


Poor Allie. Somekitty's having a Very Bad Day.




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Tuesday, June 28, 2016

'Toon Tuesdays: Eggs-ceptional



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Toon Tuesdays feature animal (and sometimes human) humor created by the peeps over at Shoebox Greetings (a tiny little division of Hallmark) - where our mom works, too!




Monday, June 27, 2016

While You Were Out: PeeMail #379

What happens while Mom's in Phoenix ....





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Friday, June 24, 2016

While You Were Out: PeeMail #309

What happens while Mom's in Phoenix ....



Maxwell: Uh, Allie. "Believe" only has one "l".

Allie: STUFF IT, MAXIE!


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Thursday, June 23, 2016

While You Were Out: PeeMail #224

When Dad's in charge while Mom's in Phoenix ....






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Wednesday, June 22, 2016

While You Were Out: PeeMail #176

When Dad's in charge of the food while Mom's in Phoenix ....




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Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Maxwell Holmes & the Great Fruit Juice Felony #spon

When last we left our Siamese Sherlock, he had just "hung his shingle".
His new enterprise: Maxwell Holmes Investigations.
We join our sleuth mid- , uh, sleuthing.


Maxwell: *humming to himself* doop-dee-doo-dee-do ....


Maxwell:  Hrm ....


Faraday: Maxie, what are you doing in the refrigerator?
(And if you score some salmon, save me some!)

Maxwell: Don't bother me now, boy. Can't you see I'm working?


Faraday: Working on WHAT? Stealing noms from the fridge? Lemme see.
Seriously, Maxie. I didn't think you had it in you.

Maxwell: NO, I'm on a case right now.  Don't you think of anything else?
Faraday:  Yes. Wand toys ....


Maxwell: Off the chair, bro. I need to figure out how to install my new Vimtag Mini Cube security camera in here so I can gather evidence for my big case.

Faraday: WHAT big case?!?

Maxwell: Momma suspects someone is committing Fruit Juice Felony.


Faraday: Fruit Juice WHAT-ery?
Maxwell: Felony. Swigging RIGHT outta the container. Evidently that's a big no-no for humans.
Faraday: I hate to be the one to point it out to the techno-kitty and all, but how do you propose to power the camera, inside this thing?


Maxwell: Hrm, you have a point. Maybe I can hide one among the onions on top ....


Maxwell: Yeah ...that's the ticket. The suspect will never, uh, suspect.


Cut to close-up shot of Vimtag Mini Cube:


Allie: Oh Maxie. Honestly, don't you think you're taking this sleuthing a bit too far?


Maxwell: And why do you care, Allie, hmmm? Are you perhaps in CAHOOTS with the Perp?


Maxwell: Well, ARE you?


Allie: I don't have to dignify that with an answer!
*flounces off*

Will Maxwell ever find out whodunit?
Will the Vimtag Mini Cube record incriminating evidence?
What fee will Maxie charge for his services?

These answers, and more, below:



Faraday: oooooh, somekitty's in trouble now. How'd you get that footage, Maxie?

Maxwell: Elementary, my dear Faraday.

I suspected Allie was an accomplice, and as she'd seen me place the Vimtag Mini Cube on top of the refrigerator, I deduced she would signal the "All Clear" to the Perp if I removed it.

It's so small, she never noticed I had moved it to the countertop. And its black coloring allowed it to blend right in.

As they say in my line of work ... Case Closed!

Now, Momma ... About my fee ....

Faraday: WAIT, Maxie. Waaaaaitaminit! This is some pawesome blackmail material.

Let me just write up a list with our demands ....


***



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FCC Disclaimer: While this is a review and we were compensated for the time it took to photograph and tell you about the Vimtag Fujikam, we giggled all the way through the creation of this. We hope you had fun, too. All opinions are our own. 
And YES. Marty really WAS caught swigging from the carton. 
Shameful. Truly shameful.
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Monday, June 20, 2016

Maxwell Hangs His Shingle #spon


The nice people at Vimtag contacted us recently, and asked if wanted to test drive their new mini camera. Since Maxwell commandeered our first Vimtag for his BirdTV channel, Faraday and Allie were all for it.


When it arrived, we saw immediately why it was called the M1 "mini cube" - that thing is nice and compact!


We were also impressed by the packaging. The camera was nestled in a well-padded foam cushion. The accessories were also neatly organized and compartmentalized in their own cushioned spots.

And - surprising no one - somekitty quickly took ownership of the new tech.

Me: Maxie, don't you think you should offer this up to Allie or Faraday first, since you're already using the other one?
Maxwell: But I have PLANS for this, Momma. And it's not like either of them would know what to do with it anyways ...
Faraday: I HEARD THAT, MAXIE!!!!


Faraday: Seriouslies, Maxie. You monopolize our other Vimtag, and now this??

AND ... does Daddy know you're messing around in his tool box?


Maxwell: Well, I told Momma about my plans for the Mini Cube, and she asked if I was planning to hang out my shingle.

Faraday: What plans, Maxie? And whazza shingle got to do wif it?


Maxwell: Me and this Vimtag Mini Cube are going to solve mysteries.
Though why I'd need a shingle for that is a mystery to me!

Faraday: Waitaminit, Maxie. Mysteries?!? I'm the Investigative Reporter in the fambly.


Maxwell: Dood, my client doesn't need breaking news. She needs brilliant deduction and subtle sleuthing. And we all know that you don't do subtle. That's why she hired ...

Maxwell Holmes!

***

Before we reveal anything else about Maxie's new career, including his very first Paying Client ...
we want to give you our honest opinion on his newly acquired investigative tool.

The Vimtag 4-1-1

This M1 mini cube camera has a much lower profile than our other one. Because of that - and the fact that it's a static image (and not a camera that can pan and tilt like the other one) it has very broad image coverage. The image is so wide it keystones a little around the edges. Take a look:

Our original Vimtag VT-361
Same view from the Vimtag M1 Mini Cube, sitting right next to the VT-361
Since this camera can be used for security and monitoring purposes, that makes sense.

It runs on the same app as the VT-361 model we reviewed earlier this year, so it has motion detection, two-way microphones and night vision. And you can set it to record when motion detection senses movement.

This Vimtag came with a Quick Start Guide that included instructions where you could set it up without ever attaching it to an ethernet cable, which surprised me, since our first camera didn't have that feature. It involved the camera reading a QR code off my mobile phone's screen.

No matter how hard I tried, though - I couldn't get it to work. Maybe it had to do with my screen's brightness, or resolution, or the distance I held the camera. And being more than a little stubborn, I had a hard time admitting defeat.

I should have called it quits much sooner.

Turns out that Vimtag doesn't just have really great cameras. They also have a pretty impressive customer service department.

Here's how you hook it up to your router. The white adapter handles power & ethernet connectivity.
You can store the adapter and the cute little ethernet cable after you've connected via wifi.

I called the 800 number and to my surprise, an answering service was on the other end (with a real human, too). They took my information and told me someone from tech support would get back to me within the hour. I headed downstairs to grab something to drink and was only halfway down before the phone rang again.

Okay, that was fast! I ran back upstairs while explaining my problem. He had it up and running in under 2 minutes. We never did figure out why I couldn't set it up wirelessly using their new QR code sign on feature. However once I turned on wifi while connected via ethernet and waited 2 minutes for the connection to stabilize, I could untether myself. I haven't needed an ethernet cable since.

And before I hung up, the guy urged me to call back at any time - even during the upcoming holiday - if I encountered additional problems. "We'll be here," he assured me. "We want to make sure you have a good experience." (BTW, I did not tell him I was reviewing the camera)

But I haven't needed to - it works great. And every time I unplug to move the camera around the house to different locations, it automatically reconnects to the wifi signal.

Which makes Maxie very happy, because he finally hung his shingle, and has his first client.
Me.


Faraday: ooooooooh Maxie, wait'll Mommy finds out you nailed your shingle to her kitchen wall ....

***
Tomorrow: Maxwell's First "Cold Case"
aka
"The Fruit-Juice Felony"


____________
FCC Disclaimer: While this is a review and we were compensated for the time it took to photograph and tell you about the Vimtag Fujikam, we told you the honest truth about our experience. We only share content we feel may be relevant to our readers. All opinions are our own. 
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Friday, June 17, 2016

Fangs + Friday Funny




I keel you DEAD, Meester Snakey.

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And on the Funny Front ...

Mommy had the most recent graduation class from As The World Purrs in to the studio for a shoot a few weeks ago, and the episode aired yesterday!

Check out all the fuzzy cuteness.




And yes, Chris is a Cat Guy, for realz!!

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Thursday, June 16, 2016

Thursday's Purrs: Tiger

"Um. Hi ..."
 *waves paw timidly*

"My name is Tiger. I was found as a stray by a nice person who lived in an apartment and couldn't keep me because her landlord wouldn't let her have any more cats.

She was very nice, though. And I ended up in this amazing place where I'm warm and fed. (okay, it's 104 out there today, so truthfully, where I'm cool and comfy!)"

Handsome Tiger. Photo by Wayside volunteer Mary M.
 "One of the adoption counselors took a look inside my crib and mentioned, 'hey, that's a lot of pink for one ginger boy!' I don't mind. I'm comfortable enough in my mancatness not to let things like that bother me.

I hear stories the other cats here tell, tales about a Real Home, and a Human to love you. I'd sure like to experience that, I would.

I'm rather shy, with a bit of an introverted personality, but I do love to cuddle. And contrary to photographic evidence, I am not a jingle-ball hoarder. Really. I only have about ... twenty ... or so. (Oh look, Fluffy in the kennel across has a green stripey one. I wonder if I could snag that one from her....)

I'm also FIV positive, but really, they tell me that's no big thing. I just need to have regular checkups and stay indoors so I don't catch the neighbor cat's summer cold. My immune system's just a bit compromised, so I need to look out for such things!

Do you think you might be my Human? I'd love to see a Real Home someday. Want to test drive my purrs and headbutts?

I'll be waiting - I'm the handsome ginger boy in the pink kennel.

Purrs,
Tiger"


Tiger's available at Allie's Alma Mater, Wayside Waifs.

http://www.waysidewaifs.org/



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Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Wordless Wednesday: Nosy Brother Edition






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