Message board topic:

  I have to admit, I don't miss film cameras.  Vinyl records I have mixed feelings about, as I mostly miss the album cover art.  I do not like downloading music but I have to admit, no matter what weird stuff the band wants me to learn, I can find it online just by typing the name, and don't have to go out and find it in a record store, not to mention, it's free.  I'm still "old school" about digital cameras though.  I use a camera rather than a cell-phone, mainly because it's easier to transfer pictures to computer from the camera.  The old instant cameras never had the quality of a film camera and you can tell from Poof's pictures, they were all taken with an instant camera.

Before I discovered the wonder of flash drives, I used to back up my pictures on disks.  It took a lot of time and I ended up with a lot of disks, but it was better than hoping my computer wouldn't fail and I'd lose everything.  Now I can carry every picture I have in my pocket.  I still don't trust the "cloud".  It can be hacked, or snooped through, and if for some reason it should ever fail...

For a little while, I had a digital picture frame.  You could plug in a card, and it would cycle through all your pictures a few seconds for each picture.  It had trouble reading more than one folder though and I eventually gave up on it.  John

I miss film cameras. I always liked them and feel that often they are better than digital. Kind of like vinya records vs CDs.

All of Poof's pictures were taken with an old Kodak instant camera, then scanned into the computer.  I didn't get a digital camera until after she was gone.  The results weren't always very good.  In some of them you could hardly tell she was a cat!  The details would be fuzzy or non-existent.  But, film for that camera was expensive so, you worked with what you got.  John

Awww. I always love those old images of Poof. SHe was a lovely kitty!

20 years ago today, I tearfully said goodbye to the one who started it all.  I was positively devastated.  I promised myself I'd never go through that again.  Then just 2 weeks later I met Monster, who desperately needed someone, and it quickly snowballed.  At one point, I was taking care of 22 cats, mostly outdoors with I think a high of 7 in the house.  My garage, once dedicated to the car, was soon dedicated to the ones who lived outside, who could come in or out as they pleased, with litter boxes, boxes to hide or play in, blankets, endless food and water, and that wonderul heating pad you sent me.  I'd often see 3 or 4 crowded together on that heating pad.  Many died of old age.  Some died for reasons I'll never know.  Some outside were victims of dog attacks.  When I had to move, the remaining few were taken in by a lady who loved them as much as I did, and most of those are still around today.

Poof was diabetic, which isn't easy to deal with in a person, let alone a cat.  I did my best to take care of her but it could never be enough.  I had to let her go at 15 years and 6 months.  My love for the furkids has grown directly from her.  Since then, I've very literally lost count of those I lost, there were just so many.  But it will all be the result of what I learned from the Poof.

It's impossible to find a favorite picture.  I treasure every one of them.