Weasel was not her usual ferrety self Sunday. That afternoon I laid down to take a nap and she crawled in with me which is not that uncommon but she draped herself over my leg and shivered for 20 or so minutes. Then finally curling up to me and slept. I love the rare occasion they do that but I knew something was amiss. Typical behavior is to scratch and want to play.

A vet visit yesterday confirmed it. Her liver and kidneys were shutting down and she was dehydrated.

Kept her in bed tonight. I woke for whatever reason at 2:51am. By her side, she passed on at 4:30am. I’m such a fucking mess right now and I’ll never forget her. She had such a short but wonderful little life. She brought more happiness to me than I can ever express!

Buried her next to Chippy.

Tags: Update, Weasel, Ferret

My old server (Mac PowerBook G4) blew up; first the drive then the display. That's ok. It gave me a good 5+ years so I've been very happy with it.

I went out and got a new Mac Mini Server and am now using that. I didn't like it at first but now that I've got the hang of it... it's pretty slick!

Tags: Update

It sure has been a long time since I’ve updated this. Sum that up to a complete lack of any motivation, being over worked and just plain tired all the time. I’ll try to be better. I have many videos and pictures to get up.

I posted a new video of a big Turkey Vulture. It’s in the Show Time -> Critters section.

Tags: Update, Video

I started messing around with Mogulus and I’m really impressed. It is far more maliable than any others I’ve tried so far (Ustream, StickAm, etc). Give it a try in the LIVE section. If the cam is not enabled then it will just play random clips I’ve uploaded to YouTube. I may re-upload them to Mogulus to get better quality out of them. Lately I’ve been disgusted with YouTube’s video quality.

Tags: Update, Video

Added 3 pictures of Banjo (in the 2007 album) as a baby after I just got her. She was about 7 weeks old or so. Such a beautiful sweet little girl. I love her so much!

Tags: Ferret, Banjo

Decided to create a third category for the videos. I have a bunch of stuff of random critters I’ve seen about so ‘Critters’ will contain that stuff.

Tags: Update

I couldn’t resist this new theme so I switched. Very slick. I may alter and tweak it here and there as I become more familiar with all of its many options. I need to redo my logo too to include Banjo.

Tags: Update

I just got a comment on YouTube that makes me feel all fuzzy inside. Thanks!

“my family just bought a hahns macaw bc of me seeing this vid! Thank you!! =)”

Tags: Update

It has been quite a while so I thought I’d turn it back on. The Live video stream is active. I tried StickAm and it works fine but UStream is currently giving me a nicer looking, smoother picture. It might be time to replace my poor old 500mhz G3 iBook with a PowerBook G4 since the iBook simply can’t push high quality high resolution high frame rate video.

Tags: Update, Video

4 New pictures in the new 2008 Freeze Frame Album.

Tags: Update, Bird, Parrot, Macaw, Ferret, Banjo

Finally got the Archives working right. Decided to change the look. Given up on the TagCloud for now. Maybe I’ll try again later.

Still have domains to move but they’re nothing major or even linked here. I’ll find something to do with them.

Tags: Update

I still can’t get this stupid Tag Cloud working. Everything else seems to be in order except Archives.

At this point I’ll worry about this crap later. I’ll concentrate on migrating all of my other domains to this server. I have a bunch of new pics and vids to post here. So, nothing new for a little bit.

Tags: Update

Finally got the Archive system working. Well, at least you can see it. The actual links are broken but I love having the drop-down vs. a huge list of links down the side.

Tags: Update

Finally got this migrated to my own server after much trial and error (still getting used to Linux, even though I’m comfortable with BSD; they’re a bit different).

GOOD : New Server. Unlimited Space, New Commenting System, New Archive System, Added Tags and a new Tag Sphere.

BAD : Archive System doesn’t work yet. Tag Sphere doesn’t work yet. Still trying to figure out why.

Tags: Update

This place is a mess.

My PowerBook screen goes crazy. My Cube dies and now my Linux File Server bellies up.

Reinstalled and set up the Linux server which I took from home to work so that I can CoLo it. Now it’s on a fast beefy 43mbps pipe.

Now that I have my own server I’m going to start migrating my domains to it so they aren’t on company servers. This might take a while depending on how much time I have and my having to refresh my memory on Apache configs. But hopefully it’ll be faster, completely in my control and have MORE than enough storage for whatever I feel like hosting.

Tags: Update

Tags: Bird, Parrot, African Grey, Sister

I split the Show Time section in two. There's a section just for the Birds and now one just for Weasels (Ferrets).

I will get some vids of Banjo soon, right now there's a vid of Weasel, my friend's Ferret diving in water for her toy.

Tags: Update

Work has been insane. Add to that the fairly new Wii consol; nothing gets done. I finally got around to pulling images and video from my camera (dating back 3+ months). I also have a Ferret now (Banjo) so I'll end up creating a little section just for her. Hopefully I can sneak a post in here and there soon and get this place back to the present. Oy, Also need to update Kleptoptics and Drunk-Fu while I'm at it.

Tags: Update

Ah. Last one (for now). I think I have more somewhere but this is good for one day. Mahana Doesn't Like Cameras, Part 2.

Tags: Update, Mahana

Beaker in a Box, part 2 is uploading.

Tags: Update, Beaker

2007.09.03-04 Mahana Doesn't Like Cameras Is up. 2 more to go.

Tags: Update, Mahana

Only took me 2 months but I have a new video up. Beaker in a Box. I have 3 more on the way.

Tags: Update, Beaker

It has been forever since I've updated this place. I've been so busy with work and sleep and drinking and Wii and movies and and and.

Ustream stopped working for me and I was just too busy or tired to even bother with it. So I switched it back to local hosting. Yea, it'll kill my bandwidth but whatever.

I do have a bunch of new videos to post of the kids. When I get them up is another question.

Tags: Update

Found another video to post. A few minutes of Beaker just mumbling away, saying "What's Up?", "Come on" and "Whatcha Doing?".

I'll have to get some more since both he and Mahana can say quite a bit more.

Tags: Update, Beaker

Uploaded and converted the Show Time to pull from YouTube. Now I'll have to see if I have any more good videos or make some more.

You can view the videos from the Show Time link (which I prefer) or at http://www.youtube.com/nerdbirdbeaker .

Tags: Update

Toying around with the Show Time section. Created a YouTube account to put my videos on instead of hosting them here. I'll see how it goes. Still have to upload the rest to YouTube. So far I like it.

Tags: Update

I never did really like the design of the Freeze Frame (Pictures) section so I finally got around to doing something better. Grouped pictures into year and am now using the very cool, free and lightweight SimpleViewer. You can also right click on the image to view it in it's full native resolution glory.

Tags: Update

I had my two front doors to the house painted which happens to be the bird room so I moved them and the computer into the house for a few days. Didn't want them getting all high and stuff. But the Cam is back on.

Oh, I've also been having a lot of sync issues with my DSL. Rather than deal with it right now I just lowered the speed from 13mb to 8mb so it much more stable. I'll get around to running cat5 from the NID and other things later. So the Cam should stream much better now.

Tags: Update

It's really not all that exciting, but I posted a video of Beaker taking a splash bath in the Show Time section. Woot!

Tags: Update

Mahana did it again yesterday. She flew away. I'm beginning to think we just weren't meant for each other. Her wings were just clipped too!

At least she was only gone for about 15 minutes this time. The second I got her back I trimmed her wings myself and (gently) tossed her into the air for a test flight. Good. No more paying the vet for this stuff. This is the second time I haven't been real happy/impressed with them. Live and learn.

Tags: Update, Mahana

Last Friday during lunch I had to stop home and it was such a nice day I thought that I'd take Beaker back with me to work. We spent about half a day together at work. I brought food and water for him. He was great. Didn't make a lot of noise and everyone loved him.

After that I wanted to do a test so I took him to a local pub that I frequent (about a block away from work). I'm friends with the owner and he previously said it would be ok. I couldn't have been happier. Beaker didn't peep at all except once when the phone rang and he said "hello?". He just sat on my shoulder and watched people. He also let me know when he had to go so we stepped outside to do his business. I've taken him to the park and he's been good but I just wanted to see how he does in/with various situations, places, people. Seems he's fine with it and very well behaved. He's such a good boy.

Tags: Update

Just added a comments feature. Doubt anyone will actually use it but it's there. Neato!

Tags: Update

Every morning I have a pair of Gold Finches visit so I'll have the live feed on them for a while. Now watch that I have the camera on them they'll not show up.

Tags: Update

Yesterday Mahana got her trim. It's so nice being able to take her outside with me and not worry. I foresee a fun filled summer with walks and visiting parks and having some great bonding time.

I'm not real happy about how they clipped Beaker. They cut it all off so if he jumps or falls off of me he drops like a brick. Yesterday he fell off of me while I was moving some computer things around and four of his long tail feathers came out because he landed on them. NOT happy. I told them to keep one or two of the first flight feathers on Mahana. Not only because I want her to be able to float to the ground without injury but damn, those feathers are beautiful.

Tags: Update

Going to stick with UStream. I'm liking that the best. Sure it's not nearly as smooth as hosting myself but now I'm only using about 25KBps upstream instead of 120+KBps. It's nice to hear them too.

Tags: Update

Today I'm testing UStream and so far I like it better than Stickam. The resolution isn't as high but the audio works much better and it has built in volume control. I guess my only complaint would be that the time stamp is PST whereas I'm in EST. I didn't look hard but I didn't see an option to tell it which time zone I'm in. Anyhow, I may stick with this.

Tags: Update

I have been doing the live video stream feed directly from home which is fine and all but it chews up my bandwidth especially if a few people are watching. Using a re-broadcaster like this allows me to only have one upstream and they will handle multiple downstreams. Today I've been testing out Stickam. It's ok. I like that it will do video and audio but it's laggy and the audio doesn't always come through. More than anything it's probably because I'm hosting from an old G3 iBook 500mhz. Just not enough oompfh to do it all. Tomorrow I'll try out UStream.

Right now my media center is a Mac Cube which I love dearly but it's not fast enough to do high-def content even though it has been upgraded (CPU, HD, RAM, GFX, etc.). I plan on getting a Mac Mini but damn it Apple. Update it to the Core Duo 2! So, if after WDC this month it gets a much over-due update I'll be getting a Mini to replace the Cube. Then use the Cube for the bird server which will easily handle video/audio feeds.

Tags: Update

Beaker got a trim today. Beak, nails, wings. Ahhh. Now his biting will be more like being gummed instead of harpooned with a needle. Mahana is next, on Tuesday.

Tags: Update

This weekend I had a blast with the kids. Spent nearly the entire time with them. We played and giggled and had a blast. Took Beaker to the local park and he did very well. We went down the slide and he freaked out. But he seemed to really enjoy the swing. We sat on the swing enjoying the breeze for quite a while. Next week Mahana gets a trim so I'll be able to take her outside. She doesn't get nearly as much attention because she can fly. That will change.

Tags: Update

After nearly 8 years I have finally replaced my first and only digital camera from 1999. It's an awesome little thing even though it's 1.3mp. All pictures on this site and my projects were taken using that. But it's time to retire it.

I just received my Canon PowerShot SD 750 Digital Elph and hooh-boy is it sweet. Expect some new pictures soon. Unfortunately my 4GB SD Card was shipped separately and hasn't come in yet so with the completely useless 32MB card included I can take a whopping 12 pictures in the highest resolution.

Tags: Update

Finally got around to fixing the Peep Show section (30 second image refresh). It had been broken since Apr.20 and I simply didn't have time to mess with it. All good now.

Tags: Update

All done administering the meds to Mahana. She only drew blood from my thumb once. I had never had her on her back in my palm so it took a few days to figure out how to do it without her putting up a fight. But once there she is great.

She's pretty much all back to normal now. Loud screeching is back and she's talking and eating like a pig (all normal). Even her little scab from the would is gone. She just has a bald spot on her chest. I'll wait a week or two before putting her through the trauma of getting all trimmed.

Tags: Update

First day I gave Mahana her meds. She didn't like it much but she was a trooper and didn't put up a fight. She let me cradle her on her back in my hand while I fed her drops of yummy goodness. She's still not screeching (so nice) but she is talking a little bit and moving around much more. Poor girl.

Tags: Update

Doctor checked her out and things are good. All her vitals are great but she did find a minor (insignificant) puncture on her chest. I'll be giving her 0.2cc of Baytril once a day for the next 10 days. After that she's getting clipped.

Tags: Update

This morning I was not greeted by Mahana's usual squeals and squawks. She wouldn't even step up onto my finger. She looks very tired and even wobbly. Eyes not bright and big like normal. She looked a little bit like this after I found her yesterday but given the stress I figured she had to be exhausted.

I ran her to the vet this morning making an unannounced emergency visit. They offered an appointment or emergency examination (twice the price) so I said emergency. The vet techs talked to the doctor (who was getting ready for surgery) and said she should be fine and an appointment will do. So I'm here now watching over her for a few hours until they can see her.

At least she started to perk up when I got back home. She actually made some squawks and dove right into her food bowl. I did notice what looks like a scratch on her chest but no blood. I hope she's just super tired and stressed and didn't eat something poisonous. There are a lot of hawks out here and I kept fearing she'd be easy spotting for one of them. All I can do is sit here and wait and be extremely tense. I suck.

Tags: Update

This just in. Mahana flew away!

Every weekend I clean out the cages and their room. I had the door open like I always do when it's warm so that some fresh air can breeze through. Boom! She bolted right out and away she went. I can't believe that. I mean she's a bird and that's what they do but she has never EVER flown away from me since I've had her. She has only ever flown TO me. I trusted her!

Though I was thoroughly sad, I kept my composure pretty well. What could I do? I spent most of the day walking around the neighborhood looking for her. Gave up. Came home, drank a bunch of Lager and a few shots (love that Tequila!) while eating some buffalo wings. Hopped into the shower and I was going to go lay down to take a nap. A stress filled day and I was tired.

Instead of going to bed I thought I'd look one more time. It's really REALLY strange but I kept being drawn to one area. Not sure what it was about that place but I kept going back there. It's about a quarter mile from my place. Walking, walking, what's that I hear!? I turn and there she is... "take a bath!" I hear. Can you believe the tension, stress and depression that just fell out of my body and to the ground? I picked her up and took her home. All is well. I'll never let that happen again.

The ironic part is that I was going to make an appointment next week to get the kids trimmed and clipped. I really hate seeing a bird that can't fly, but after this scare it's just going to have to be done. I'm sorry but I can't loose you again.

Tags: Update

This isn't really related (other than origami birds) but thought I'd just mention a new site I put up about another passion of mine; Origami. It went up only moments ago so there's nothing there yet but I plan to put all of the critters I make and diagrams for all to see. http://www.drunk-fu.com.

Tags: Update

Trying out this Video widget which allows you to leave me a video mail. Looks to be very cool. Try it out and leave me a video or voice message. Eep eep!

Tags: Update

Yes, it has been quite some time. Just been SO busy with work and social life and fighting this cold thing.

Anyhow, today is trim day for Beaker. He flew for the first time (that I've ever seen) around the room. I think it scared him. He landed, breathing hard, just sitting there with his head low looking like 'what the heck did I just do?'

Not much new to report. Being sick and busy hasn't allowed a lot of fun time with the kids. Can't wait until it gets warm so we can go outside and sun bathe.

Tags: Update

Yesterday Mahana did the most bizarre thing to me. Bizarre only in that I've never experienced anything like it before nor have I seen it done to a human instead of another (baby) bird.

I was hanging out in the aviary doing some maintenance on their computer. So I put my finger in her cage through the bars. I should say what she did next is not new. She does this a lot; whether it's my finger or the bars of the cage. I thought that perhaps she thought she was part woodpecker. What she does is peck at my finger rapidly. It's not with force or intent to hurt. In fact you feel her tongue more than her beak like she's trying to taste me and it kind of tickles. The difference this time is that I let her continue to do it for about 5 minutes or so. Normally I'll let her do this for a minute or so, giggle, then be on my way.

After a few minutes she stopped pecking and did this really weird motion like a human would do when they feel the urge to regurgitate. Sure enough she brought up some food and then continued to peck at me (much more slowly and lovingly) while smearing the food on my finger. I think she was trying to feed my finger as if it were a baby bird or something in her care.

I'll try this again but next time have the webcam ready to record. It's a really strange thing to watch (and feel).

Tags: Update

Well, I got the Movie Time section working but it's not exactly how I wanted it. The software I use has two methods for posting video. The one I want just doesn't seem to work. It allows you to post multiple videos just like the Freeze Frame section. The other one appears to only allow one video. I guess it will do since I only have one video, for now.

Tags: Update

I'm working on adding captured video and I do have one up but for some reason it does not work. I'll get to it when I can but the job has been insane so I end up sleeping most of the time. Hopefully I'll figure out why it doesn't function and post more. One of these days I'll get around to adding an audio stream as well.

Tags: Update

Just got a call from the Doc. Mahana is a female. Joy.

No cage yet. Didn't come in Friday so I guess it's another week.

Tags: Update

No cage for you!

The cage I ordered was supposed to be exactly like the one I have for Beaker only in white instead of green. It arrived on Friday but it was the wrong size. The design is identical but at least half the size. Damn. So Mahana has to wait another week for her new home. At least they are going to give me a deal for the mix-up.

Tags: Update

Yesterday was the day. I feel so bad but I know it was the right thing to do. Mahana got a beak and nail trim and yes, wings too. My thoughts of her darting out of a window or door weigh heavier on my mind than her wonderful ability to fly to and fro in the house as she pleases (which really didn't happen; she's only ever flown to me). I'm still sad though and feel like I took away her greatest ability. At least if I find it utterly depressing for both of us I can just let them grow back. On a good note I don't have to worry about having her on my shoulder if I step outside (like I do with Beaker). And now if she attempts to bite me it doesn't draw blood! What a bonus!

After I picked her up during my lunch hour I just came straight back to work and we spent the rest of the day here. She was very good and quiet. I brought food and water so she wouldn't starve. She spent most of the day on my shoulder, licking my head and taking naps. I have an extra web cam at work so I set it up and let my sister watch. It was a good day to bond.

Tags: Update

Someone pointed out that they thought of butt cheeks when they hear then name "Cheeks". I hadn't thought of that. I thought of rosy face cheeks and his/her name was Chico so it's similar enough. Anyhow. Being me I just had to give it my own name. I've decided to go with Mahana which is Tahitian for Sun. It's also gender neutral.

Speaking of gender I took Mahana for a vet check and all is well. Good health and all. A *little* on the plump side but perfect otherwise. According to the doctor he has never given his bird (he has a 14 year old Conure) seeds. He feeds it pellets only. Seeds are very fatty. So, I'll keep feeding them RoudyBush and use the seeds as treats and training. Oh, back to the gender thing. DNA testing can take 2 or 3 weeks so I won't know the gender until then. Bummer. From now on I'll just call it a her. I hope it's a girl.

I'm also contemplating having her clipped so she can't fly. I'm torn on this one. I know the right thing to do is get her clipped because I would just die if I or someone lazily left the door open enough for her to fly away. On the other hand I really enjoy seeing her have that sort of freedom. So far it has not been a problem. She has never flown away from me; always towards me. She rarely flies. She prefers to walk and climb around and only resorts to flying if I'm far away and she wants to be on my shoulder. So on Tuesday she has another appointment for a nail, beak and probably a wing trim.

Tags: Update

This is the beginning of my decent into that 'crazy bird guy'. Before you know it I'll have dozens of birds. Help!

As a semi-birthday treat I picked up a new family member. It's technically a Guyana Conure though it looks similar enough to a Sun Conure I'd be fine calling it that. I say "it" because the gender is unknown. We will put that mystery to rest Friday when I take it in for a general health check and DNA sex test. I hope it's a girl as I enjoy calling it a girl. It's about 7 years old, VERY sweet and talks. Virtually every color of the rainbow can be seen on this bird. Its original name was Chuckles and later changed to Chico. I'm more fond of Cheeks so I may just call it that from this point on.

It is not clipped so it can fly which does make me a bit nervous. However it wants to fly TO me, not AWAY from me. It's absolutely a people bird and wants to be with me (or others) all the time.

This morning I tried the shower thing I do with Beaker. I put it up on the shower curtain bar while I took a shower and it had a great time. Its favorite saying is Kiss-Kiss but it does know half a dozen or so other words/sayings. The pronunciation isn't nearly as clear as Beaker but can still be made out. And I thought Beaker mumbled. It loves having its neck rubbed and makes the cutest little sound, almost cat-like, when getting rubs.

Next up on the shopping list is a nice new HUGE cage for (I hope) her. I'm so excited I had half a mind to just call in sick and just play with it. :P

I'll get some pictures up as soon as I can.

Tags: Update

Last night Jahita (the Amazon) and I made some serious progress. She was terrified of hands which made it nearly impossible to get her to 'step up' onto my hand. She'd freak out and try to get away. I spent a good 2 hours with her last night and she is really turning around. I started by letting her just sit on my shoulder which she has no problem with then slowly moving my hands closer to her. I'd just rest my hand on my shoulder for a few minutes to let her know that hands are not a scary thing. Eventually I was able to get her to stay on my hand without freaking out then we did 'step up' excercises by moving from one hand to the other. She'll now do it over and over without any fear though she does still have a tendancy to want to go for the shoulder which is a safe zone for her (no hands). She will even 'step down' onto a branch/perch without fuss.

This morning I was able to put my hand in her cage without any fuss and step up onto my hand. Then I put her on a big branch on top of Beaker's cage so she could have some breakfast and freedom time. She still needs work and she's still shy but boy is she sweet. Not once has she ever bitten me (unlike Mr. Beaker, that little stinker). Of course my hands are scratched to hell because of her sharp talons but that's ok; it'll heal. Next we'll try rubbing her back, neck and under her wings. She's not comfortable with that yet but give me another day or two. Beaker and her seem to get along just fine. Ahhh, sweet.

Tags: Update

Ate some spicy Chinese noodles (with other bits) and shared with Beaker. He really seemed to enjoy the noodles. Couldn't get enough of them. Funny to watch him hold wet noodles in his little claws and munch on them. Also tried some more fruit which he took to. So-so on Chex Mix. LOVES whole wheat grain bread. I'll probably stop home today to make a sandwich and share with him again. Been doing that every day lately. Good times.

Yea, I like the green theme better.

Tags: Update

Took Beaker in yesterday to get another trim. His beak just grows like crazy. He doesn't seem nearly as bitey now. I was sick as a dog yesterday so I dropped him off at 8a, came back home and slept until noon. Picked him up and slept until today. 20+ hours of sleep did me good. Been a few years since I got sick like this. Bleh!

Tags: Update

I'm using different camera software which I really like but it allows you to control all kinds of things that I don't want to allow. So I created an account to use. This still allows you to see the admin page but you can't do anything other than watch the live stream (mwahahaha).

USERNAME : guest
PASSWORD:

That is, the password is blank, nothing, nadda, zippo.

Tags: Update

The software I was using to do the video just suddenly stopped working for the 30 second refresh. Live streaming worked fine. Couldn't figure that one out so I'm using another piece of software so that function is back. All is well. Thought I'd change the color of the site just for kicks while I was at it.

Tags: Update

Stopped at some pet stores to load up on new bird toys. Got a bag full of stuff including a clicker. Plenty to rotate out every week so he doesn't get bored while I'm at work. Time to start ClickTraining! Got a bunch of little wood block things (to mix in with bottle caps) so we can play together. I'll let him pick them up and throw them around and I'll pick them up. It'll be like 52 pickup. I think I'll also get a bunch of nail files next time I go shopping and make some sort of hanging mobile with them. One toy he had used nail file like sticks and he loved chewing them to shreds.

They had some parrots there. Holy cow those Blue/Gold Macaws are huge. I've gotten so used to Beaker's size I forgot how big these birds can be. Their feet and beaks could do a good deal of damage if wanted. There was a sweetheart of a Cockatoo (pink). So gentle and loving. Never even attempted to bite or nip. Just wanted loves. $2400 though. Ouch. Sadly though they were all pretty ratty looking. I felt bad for them, but glad at how lucky I am with Beaker. He's perfect.

Tags: Update

Beaker has been getting more and more bitey lately. I think it's because I work so much. We have a few hours in the morning then I'm off to work. By the time I get home it's dark and he's asleep. This morning while on my shoulder he bit me good and for the first time I actually got really pissed off at him. I can't believe how mad I was. Of course I didn't hurt him or anything but I immediately put him back in his house, ran to the computer and Googled how to rectify parrot biting. I felt bad and upset with myself for getting mad. So I stopped by the pet store before work and got him a big ladder to climb around on. I wanted some other toys but couldn't find anything I think he'd enjoy. My hours will soon change back to a normal day shift so I'll have more time to spend with him.

Tags: Update

Nothing new. Just rotating entries. I did get some snaps of a nice big black Cicada which I might post. Ahh, the joy of bugs.

Tags: Update

After lunch yesterday I decided I missed Beaker so I stopped at home and brought him to work for the rest of my shift (3 hours). He did very well and kept quite. I think 3 hours is a bit of a stretch though. He started getting a bit cranky and sleepy. But he did have a good time munching on some grapes and drinking from my coffee mug (with water, not coffee). We might try again some day but I want to have a spare perch with water and food which he seems to want almost hourly. He normally is asleep when it gets dark out so he was up past his bedtime so I can't blame the crankiness.

Tags: Update

Today he got a pedicure and a beakicure. The craws were quite long and now he's oh so pretty (and less deadly). I'll have to see how getting nibbled on and groomed feels now. He can bite hard if he wants to but really hasn't put much effort into it on me.

Oh and he's learning to say "whatdya doing?", "Ruff" like a dog and will make kissy sounds if you say "kisses". How nice. He still won't say "Arrrrgh" or "Where's the gold" or "Aye Matey!" yet. Working on it.

Tags: Update

The living room where I had Beaker was pretty dark. Even with windows open not much sun was able to light up the place. I kept the lights on during the day for him and for the webcam. Decided it would work out much better if I move him to the walk-way. I'm not sure how else to describe it. It used to be an outdoor porch but was converted to an indoor porch. You enter the house through it and has separate doors (with different locks) into the main house. There are some nice advantages to this move. Beaker now has 6 big windows which will allow natural sunlight and UV for him to bask in. The room has independent heating controls from the rest of the house so that during the winter I can keep that one room heated while not worrying about paying hundreds of dollars each month trying to keep the entire place heated. I'd like to get some big ass plants in there too to give it that jungle feel. Pictures of this too will be posted.

Tags: Update

Got some good pictures which I'll post (as soon as I have time) of Beaker's bath time which I do every Saturday. Also got a few of him on my hand to gain a better perspective of his size. He's not real fond of bath time but he doesn't put up that much of a fight. Poor guy looks so pathetic all wet and stuff. Nothing a good sun bathing won't fix.

Tags: Update

I knew it was just a matter of time. Beaker had been nibbling on my necklace from day one and this morning finally sliced through it. Beads and things all over the place. No more necklaces for me unless they are hard leather or solid titanium or something. I've never been fond of jewelry (on me) any how. Just as well. If he starts nibbling on my ears then I guess I will need to get something new to distract him.

Tags: Update

Had my first doctor exam today and all is well. Plumage is great, heart sounds good, eyes check out and I'm good to go. I'm being fed well and taken care of. I do need to go in next week for a beak and nail trim though.

Tags: Update

Really wanted nerdbird.net/com but they were taken. Ohwell. Moved the site to nerdbird.org now. Beaker gets his own domain instead of a sub-domain. Joy!

Tags: Update

I'm switching from Line Share DSL to a DLoop so there's no Internet for us today. Just need a few adjustments and hopefully birdie-cam will be back up sometime today or early tomorrow.

Tags: Update

We took a shower this morning and boy did he really open up. He paced the shower curtain rod back and forth and was laughing and talking up a storm. The laugh sounds like a little girl. I wonder if the previous owners had a young girl. He also makes some sounds which are something like a cross between a dog barking and a machine gun. Tons of new whistles and beeps I hadn't heard before. What a crazy kid.

Got the weight bench up out of the basement so I can resume my working out. It's heavy but a lot easier than I thought it would be. I missed 3 days of lifting because of all the rain out here and flooding. It's in the same room he's in so we can get pumped and rock out to tunes. I bet he'll perch on the bar while I presses and curls and the like. We'll have to try it.

I almost hate to put him on my shoulder any more (not really). He'll nestle in as close to me as possible and rub his head against mine which I do like (gives me goose bumps), but he does not want to move. I can't get him to step up onto my hand. I have to grab the guy and pull him off. I think he likes me.

Tags: Update

Got the iBook set up for him. He can now watch movies and listen to music. And we can now use iChat to hear each other while I'm at work. (I must be losing my mind).

I let him watch Star Wars IV this morning. Wouldn't it be cool if he could breathe like Darth Vader or make R2D2 sounds?

I added a photo gallery. Not much there but hey, it has been less than a week together.

Tags: Update

We had more bonding time tonight as we watched Penn & Teller. I was able to put him into a nice little nap by scratching/stroking his neck. Ooh he likes that. After that he tucked himself under my beard and snoozed away while I pet his back. So much love he has.

He also started mimicking me when I cough except it sounds more like a squeaky Achoo! What the heck am I teaching this guy. Soon he'll be making belching and gassy sounds. Oh what fun!

Tags: Update

Went home to spend lunch hour with Beaker since he looked so lonely and bored yesterday. I think the music today is helping. I haven't seen him glued to the door waiting for me all day. He was on my shoulder as I ate and he just had to scale down my arm to check it out. I gave him a bit of lettuce which he nibbled on then went back to his perch; my shoulder.

I'm getting better at understanding his vocals and behavior. He has only pooped on me once. But I'm learning that he'll get a bit nippy and make a specific frustrated sound when he needs to go. I'll pick him up *then* he'll do his business. Good Beaker! Now if I can just get a paper towel ready or something so he learns to wait for that. I have consistently said "poop" every time I see him go so he equates that sound with the act which will hopefully help in potty training him.

Stood outside while it was (STILL) raining for a smoke and got a few new things out of him. "Whatcha doing?", a cute little purring sound like a cat or something, a few new whistles I haven't heard before and he's starting to imitate my laugh. Is that good or bad?

Tags: Update

Flooded basement. About 1" of water. Beaker (yes, I am naming him Beaker) was a trooper and helped me mop up and move boxes around with mumbles of encouragement. At least I found the leak and why it's happening. The LandLord is fixing it now.

Took a shower this morning and had Beaker see how he'd do perched on the curtain rod. I think he enjoyed it but wasn't quite sure what was going on. I'm sure seeing me naked is a bewildering thing. :P He just watched and pretty much kept quiet. I want to expose him to all kinds of places and situations so he doesn't freak out in the future when I want to take him out.

Found some nature/jungle/ambient music online and am trying that today while I'm gone. I noticed yesterday he seemed to look pretty bored wondering where I was at about 6 or 7 hours into my shift. I'm going to set up my spare iBook to play music and maybe some TV for him while I'm not around.

Oh, and I set up the cam to automatically turn on at 9a and off at midnight (EST). Birdie needs his beauty rest plus you can't see anything in the dark anyhow.

Tags: Update

I got a little over-excited and told just about everyone I know of this site. It was meant as my personal playground but I just had to share. I only have a 1mbps upstream so it's pretty easy to kill the feed. If you find that the High-Fi (live streaming) feed isn't working very well then switch to the Low-Fi (30 second refresh) for a while. I'll have to see what I can do about fixing this.

I managed to kill the feed entirely once today (having been up all of a few hours). Had to remote in and reboot and tweak some settings. If it acts strange or slow for you just take all of this into consideration. Thanks.

Tags: Update

A little site for a new family member. Primarily so I can watch him while not at home.

I went to the pet store last week to get some crickets for a Wolf Spider in dire need of fattening up. There was a Macaw there I just fell in love with. I've always had a deep love and respect for birds and wanted one some day. But it's a huge commitment as they can live a very long life. After much weighty thought I decided to go for it.

Purchased on 2006.06.24 (Saturday). He is approximately 3 years old. He has been DNA-sexed as male.

Spending the weekend together has been fantastic. He's very vocal but mumbles a lot so it's difficult to understand what he's trying to say. So far I've discovered he'll say "Hello", "What's Up?", "Good-Night", "Come in" (I think) and a host of other nonsense. If I say dance and move around he'll move around, side to side and make noises. At night when I lay in bed he loves to climb up on me and nestle in under my beard and groom me. Every day we discover something new about each other.

I should have done this years ago. He's such a joy and I look forward to spending the rest of our years together.

PS : His given name is Dray. It's not a terrible name but it makes me think of Dr. Dre which I find unoriginal. If he starts to respond to it I may give him a new name. Not sure what yet. I like Pico or Beaker so far.

Tags: The Beginning