So today I am toiling at the workstation, smashing pixels as usual. I got a rare website makeover job. It is from a California client, one who has been quiet for a long time.

I am working in Photoshop, with Acrobat professional, MS Word, a screen "grab" program, Illustrator and two web browsers open, not to mention my email instructions. That is a lot of windows open, and I am forced to use all three monitors, including the one on this laptop which is half-fried and has no left side!

In a few hours I will also have to launch my web creation program. I use Adobe GoLive. Adobe won't support it anymore, since they bought out Macromedia and began bundling Dreamweaver in their CS3 and 4. But I used Dreamweaver centuries ago and never liked it. It feels clunky and half the time breaks links when it feels like it. I never have problems with GoLive. It is an original Adobe program, which makes it much better.

I make everything in layers in Photoshop. Then I make a flattened copy, save it as a .JPG (JPEG) and email it to the clients for input/changes/additions/approval. The JPEG is just for them to see. The layered Photoshop file is what the final page will be built from. They have a lady in OC who builds the code, so I only do the GoLive pages to check color and look.

I get paid for this, which is good, because this is a rotten month. I am eating mostly pasta because it is cheap. The cats eat better than me. My natural gas bill was not as high as I thought it would be. I paid all my bills except the cell phone and that one because the account got down to seventeen dollars. So I must wait until this client decides to pay me. They won't shut off the gas because I just got the bill. I told Mom today that we won't be going to brunch much until I get some cash flow. Painting sales died. I think it is the economy. You need a house with walls in order to hang paintings. Unemployment here is over 10 percent. Even a church closed. Some schools are considering shutting down their sports programs. I'm not in that bad shape. I can survive.

It is Bisbee Bird's 8th birthday today. I watched his egg crack open. What a life! He has not been feeling very good. Today he chirped more than yesterday and doesn't seem so fluffed up. I keep him very warm, so it isn't the temperature.

These cats must really hate me. They keep opening doors upstairs to the cold rooms. I chastise them and they just look at me like I don't run this place - they do!

Back to work. Happy Valentine's Day. If you don't have a 'honey,' according to the big church in Rome you shouldn't pray to St. Valentine. He's the Saint for people who already are in love with a mate. Pray to Saint Raphael. He's the one.

I'm a peaceful and gentle guy, but there are times I want to see some violence. One time here... the CEO of Peanut Corporation of America, who refused to testify before Congress, and whose emails ordered his employees to ship contaminated peanut product even after he was informed it tested for Salmonella, should be beheaded in public and have his body drawn and quartered. The maximum fine he can face is one thousand dollars and a year in the slammer. We need better laws about poisoning people through our food chain. The punishment should fit the crime. What was the result of the crime? Nine people died so far. Too bad he doesn't have nine heads to lose to the axe!

Speaking of praying, say one for Bunjii.