Zeus, 4/15/16
Posted on April 15, 2016 Posted by John Scalzi 29 Comments
Because it’s been a while, and while the Scamperbeasts get most of the photographic attention these days, Zeus is still a mighty beast. Enjoy him in all his majesty.
Other than that, for those of us in the US, celebrate that today isn’t tax day (for federal, at least), and that you get the whole weekend to try to jam through your forms and deductions. If you haven’t already filed, I’m wishing you the best.
(Yes, we filed before. And yes, we owed. I, uh, made some money last year. The taxes on that income were not trivial. It actually hurt to see the sums. But we paid them, because on balance we’re not overtaxed and also the roads don’t pave themselves, etc.)
Have a great weekend, folks.
Zeus is a majestic beast indeed, and worthy of his name.
What a regal pose!
He looks so grown-up!
He is a fine old cat.
When I saw the picture of Zeus on my blog feed, I had a moment of worry that it would be a eulogy post. I’m glad he’s still doing well. We had a tuxedo kitty who looked a great deal like him for many years (Hobbes lived to be 17-18). I hope Zeus is similarly blessed with longevity :)
Ah, what a handsome fellow Zeus is! I had a cat with very similar coloration back when I was in my 20s, and even though Myrddynn has been gone for decades now, I still have a soft spot in my heart for a dapper mask-and-mantle gentleman cat. Our current feline overlords are a pair of tuxedo boys, so the pattern has continued.
Thanks for sharing the photo – can’t imagine a better or more appropriate way to welcome the weekend.
lovely cat, a Zeus indeed! Happy weekend
I view taxes as the fees most of us pay to maintain civilization, or what passes for same these days, so I don’t mind paying them either. I do get a little grumpy about the state school tax, partly because we have a state lottery that was supposed to finance the schools, and partly because we live in a really crappy district. I’d be less grumpy about the school tax if our district was making good use of the money.
What a gorgeous cat! Well-named.
(I will forever be grateful that I *didn’t* name my cat Natasha Kerensky before we learned what her personality is like. She turns out to be the most submissive cat I have ever met–she behaves like a goofy, ambulatory marshmallow.)
“The roads don’t pave themselves” – That’s my mantra, too.
Taxes? I did mine last year!
What, they’re yearly?!?
The roads don’t pave themselves? Can’t they do that while they’re rolling?
When the kitten-ness has faded away, I think Zeus will actually come out on top in the looks department. Not that that’s the way we ought to be judging the value of feline-attributed people. But yeah, go Zeus!!!!
John, I feel your pain with the whole tax thing. At the end of the first year after I went freelance, I started preparing my return. Not having expected to hit the ground running quite so fast, I wasn’t anticipating the hefty bill. So my reaction was “Crap! Look how much taxes I have to pay!” (said in horror), followed almost immediately by “Crap! Look how much taxes I have to pay!” (said in pleasure). Talk about mixed emotions!
Yep, paying taxes is a privilege! We have roads, schools, universities (though they are becoming more private by the day)….once we were hit with an amazing seven figure tax bill (never before, never since, sometimes you win the lottery) and we were happy to pay it! Now I can say I’ve paid more taxes than the 1% BY FAR for the rest of my mortal days.
Zeus is a grand cat. Long may he rule.
Just catching up on DVR & “Limitless” tv episode has big reference to locked in syndrome. About 42 minutes into episode. Thought you should know.
Betsey Wilcox
Glad to see that Zeus is doing well and settling in into his role as Alpha Pet. I was a little concerned after seeing his name followed by a date in the title of this entry.
The eulogy post titles always are year-year, while his photo posts are usually the subject + date.
Based on nothing better than a vague impression, seems to me that, lately, Spice is getting a lot more camera attention than Sugar. We hope that Sugar is not becoming a camera-shy closet-dwelling cryptozoid cat.
Ah, a regal Senor Don Gato!
Indeed, taxes are the price we pay for civilization. I don’t have kids, but am happy to pay for public schools. I don’t get to hike as much as I might want, but again, parks are great. Flint, MI is an example of what happens when ‘the commons’ get ignored.
Between income and property taxes, I pay on the order of $3K a year. If I had to deal with the private sector for those services—let’s just say, it’s worth it for the time savings alone.
If GQ had a cat edition, Zeus could totally be their cover-tom.
Thank you for your tax comments. My dad was right-wing as any T-bagger and he said paying more taxes, just means you’re making more money. And like you say, those roads won’t pave themselves. Nor will kids educate themselves, or garbage pick itself up, or fires put themselves out (well, technically they will, but only after the house is a pile of ashes).
No no no, you’re doing it wrong! Once you start making enough money that you’re paying in a higher bracket, you’re supposed to realize suddenly that government is evil and most people are just ignorant freeloaders, so Taxation Is Theft, the rich are the only minority it’s okay to persecute, and you shouldn’t have to pay taxes at all.
Myself, I’m in no danger of making that much money. I’m still waiting to turn into the right-wing whiner that one is supposed to become as one ages. Instead I just keep getting more left-wing.
One of the advantages of a salaried job is Pay-As-You-Go tax, which means all I have to do at the end of the year is add deductions, sign the form and off we go. Refund in < a week usually. Of course I also have to deal with a boss so there's that…
Goddamnit, don’t do that to me. Usually headlines like that are for the death of one of your four-legged house pals! I like cats but I’ve become allergic over the last few years… MORE DAISY! Man’s best friend and all that jazz…
Such a beauty! Of course, being greedy, my thought was: “WHY SETTLE? Give us all of them! And your little dog, too!” But it’s awfully nice to see Zeus again.
He’s a magnificent cat!
And Zeus is the perfect name for him…
Hi Zeus!
Nice cat. Actually, I do enjoy cats. The problem is longer-than-weekly exposure is when my allergies kick in. I’m told that ferrets are a good alternative.
Pace taxes;
a) While not in OGH’s bracket, I’ve had a couple of (I OWE THAT MUCH!) moments. I paid and the IRS was kind enough to mail back, saying “You don’t owe that much” with a refund check and documentation. Most likely I slipped downwards column-wise. While I would panic in case of an audit, I really don’t get the hate.
b) A while back there was an article about a town that reverted to gravel roads so they would not have to pay taxes to maintain them. One “Father” stated that he wanted to leave his son with fewer taxes. (Father quoted as when said son goes off the road and / or EMT cannot get to accident site because of said roads, he will blame everyone but not lack of road maintenance.)
and c) For the history buffs, anyone recall Crassus, circa Julius Caesar? One of the methods that he reportedly used to gain wealth, was private fire-fighters. When an apartment was on fire, he and his group would approach the property owner and suggest a sale at reduced prices. That his fire-fighters would actively prevent others from fighting the fires did not hurt the sale. Rumors that he employed arsonists were circulated.