We hadn't tried walking Fry for a couple years, until the other day he was really beggin to go outside. So we strapped on his harness leashed him and took him outside. Walking a cat is quite different from walking a dog...cats do not go where you want them to go. The basic concept is that you simply walk behind him as he roams around sniffing new things. We've only gotten beyond the end of the driveway once, yet these are still quite the big adventures for him. Now he demands his walks and lets us put his harness on rather willingly...it's sort of strange.

We once again live at California and Berkeley Way. For those who don't diligently read the Chronicle, you may have missed it, but for a while our cross street was Califorina. You can see the before picture here.

(Click for more photos)

It took a while, but Berkeley finally found a cause that people would rally behind/against. If you weren't watching the news a couple of days ago, Berkeley once again made the national spotlight. This time it was over a letter from the city (later retracted) demanding that the marine's recruitment center leave Berkeley because it didn't fit with Berkeley's stance on the war. Well, the whole thing riled up folks on both sides of the argument, and the above was the result. The police kept order, and it was a peaceful enough protest aside from some harsh words being thrown about. All in all, pretty entertaining to witness.

Going up is tricky, getting down is a disaster.

I voted! Luckily here in California we just have to go and vote like normal, no weird caucus stuff. Anyhow, now to play the waiting game until November. Though to be honest, I don't think our answering machine can take much more of this...

My birthday is actually on Tuesday, but given its proximity to the Superbowl I like to throw a big combined party on Superbowl Sunday. It also helps eliminate the "What should I do for my birthday this year?" question. Very convenient. The game was a pretty good one this year, or at least it got exciting at the end which is always fun, so that was nice. I was torn over who to root for from the beginning, so no disappointment with the underdogs winning. The Giants just wanted it more. As always we had way too much food at the party. Fried chicken and Amy's Two Kinds of Meat Stew were the main courses, with fondue, cheese and artichoke dip, 7 layer dip, bread, salad, and fruit salad on the side. Like I said, too much food as always. Oh yeah, and beer, but that's just a given. For desert, Alex made the cake above, and he and his Amy did the amazing decorating job. It was quite the sight to see when lit up with all the candles. And for the non-cake fans in attendance, my Amy made her apple pie. In the end, I hope it was a good time had by all; I know I had fun.