Home Renovation Blog

Q: When my kitty was rescued from a country road she was around 4 to 5 weeks old. She’s always used the litter box but never covers her business. She does scratch the litter before going, and afterward scratches around the top and sides of the box and on the floor around it. Do you have any suggestions?

A: Although your cat does not physically bury her waste, she goes through the motions. In fact, many cats fail to physically bury their waste. It may be that she doesn’t like the feel of her litter. Switching to a finer or softer litter may help.

In this scenario, I would add an additional box with the new litter, rather than replacing the old litter with the new litter type.

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Nintendo has added a Hulu Plus downloadable app to the roster of Wii apps, allowing subscribers to shop at Wii for Hulu Plus networking.  A version of the app will be available on Nintendo 3DS.  Netflix also offers a Wii app that was released in 2011.  BBCs lauded iPlayer has been available as an add-on to UK Wii owners for several years.

As Hulu and Netflix battle for market share,  platform based apps are seen as a bridgehead to reaching preciously disconnected audiences.

It is easier now than it was a few years ago to get TV streaming through a computer or other device and apps are another step towards mainstream adoption.  Nintendos Wii has not traditionally been considered a media device, in the same way as Sonys PlayStation, but the apps that have been added are beginning to place Wii in the media ready devices category.  This certainly helps offer a competitive edge in a market that has been dominated by the PlayStation in the past.

But its the huge success of Netflix streaming on Nintendos console that has likely inspired the company to look for more video options.

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In 1957, the launch of the artificial satellite Sputnik 1 triggered what would come to be known as the space race between the Soviet Union and the United States. As the Space Age raged on, it impacted far more than politics and technology; to this day, its influence is seen in design and architecture. The most obvious and cliched interpretation of this era might very well be the sputnik lamp, born from the sculptural silhouette of the sphere and its three wispy antennas.

While the sputnik lighting fixture has been reimagined again and again, its aesthetic has remained the same.

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The beta version of Windows 8 will be previewed at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on February 29th.  Microsoft did not provide any further details of its plans.

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There are a half dozen or so native West Coast junipers available. It is important for the amateur to select the ones suited to his climate and soil.

High Altitude Junipers

Juniperus occidentalis, the valiant and stalwart giant of high altitudes, thrives only on hilltops and mountains.

Prostrate Juniperus sibirica, which pads the same zones takes more kindly to lower altitudes, though it merely lingers in fog. It is a great addition to hot rock gardens inland from the coast.

Juniperus osteosperma, an erect and compact small tree, is a success only in gravelly gardens of high deserts. Here it takes the subzero temperature of arid slopes.

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Q: Our adopted indoor cat, Suzy, is about 4 years old. Recently, she has started dragging clothing articles out of our son’s room, down the stairs, while baying at the same time. When she reaches the bottom of the stairs, she’ll continue to bay and then knead the clothing article until we finally tell her stop. By the end of the day, there is a pile of his clothes downstairs. Could this be her version of hunting?

A: My first emotional response is that she misses your son, but maybe he isn’t away. Also, I wonder why specifically your son’s clothes? Is your son Suzy’s favorite family member?

As you may have guessed, this is not typical cat behavior, but it’s not unheard of.

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If you havent yet come across it, you should check out one of the recent success stories from Kickstarter and start getting excited.

Want to hook up things to the Web? Maybe you want to get a tweet when your laundrys done, or get an email when the basement floods while youre on vacation.

Well youll soon be able to. Twine is a 2.5-inch box of magic, complete with Wi-Fi module, accelerometer, thermometer and an expansion connector for other sensors.  It allows you to internet enable physical objects and build networks of them all controlled with Spool, a browser based real-time web app.  Initial Twine units were designed to work with vibrations, temperatures, moisture and magnetic switches as the standard sensors on offer but due to the demand for the product current sensors, pressure sensors and an RFID reader will also be incorporated.

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