Small Talk: "I'll Take Non-Show Chat For $400, Alex."

[SoMuchTV]

23 hours ago, Jesse said:

I was on Jeopardy in 1996 -- back when people could only be five-day champs, and I was on the fifth day.

Good for you!

[saber5055]

On 4/2/2019 at 5:00 AM, GreekGeek said:

I was, back in 2010. I was the only one to get FJ, but the champ had already made it a runaway with his buzzer skills.

What was your FJ question/clue? I know you still remember!

[GreekGeek]

3 hours ago, saber5055 said:

What was your FJ question/clue? I know you still remember!

Subject was Moons and Mythology and the clue was "This planet was named for a Roman god, but its only moons were named for the sons of his Greek counterpart."

Answer: What is Mars? (The "only" is a subtle but important hint that it's not one of the giants that have many moons.)

[saber5055]

And Mars' moons are named ... ?

Good on you for the only correct FJ that day. If I had been playing, that would have made three other players you shut out. "You'll always have ... Final Jeopardy." -- TM Rick Blaine

[illdoc]

47 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

And Mars' moons are named ... ?

Daemos & Phoebos, I think. Yes, I have horrible spelling.

[GreekGeek]

22 minutes ago, illdoc said:

Daemos & Phoebos, I think. Yes, I have horrible spelling.

Deimos and Phobos. (Dread and Fear).

[saber5055]

1 hour ago, GreekGeek said:

Deimos and Phobos. (Dread and Fear).

Good name for kids if I do say so myself.

[SoMuchTV]

49 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

Good name for kids if I do say so myself.

Or cats. 

[Prevailing Wind]

I was typing up a chart for a cat the other day and I couldn't stop laughing. His name was Edward Biscuithands.  Let's guess what he does when he's on someone's lap!

[Tabasco Cat]

On 3/29/2019 at 9:19 PM, saber5055 said:

Study all of the above before that April test. Become a charter member of Taylor Swift's squad!

I didn't hear back after the Florida test. Not too surprising, I guess. Having another go this week for the nationwide test.

[BuckeyeLou]

3 hours ago, Tabasco Cat said:

I didn't hear back after the Florida test. Not too surprising, I guess. Having another go this week for the nationwide test.

Good Luck!

[zoey1996]

Not sure where this should go, so I’m posting here.

I know this will sound “judgey” but I can’t help wonder why anyone with a good brain could think becoming a professional gambler is a good idea.  I’m opposed to gambling in general, and risk-averse, so would never have considered it as a “job” or “profession” for myself.  Is it a job like any other job?  You know, go to work to make money so then you can do other things that interest you?  

[Prevailing Wind]

I can understand poker being a profession - it does take an amount of skill, but James is a sports gambler, according to the intro, which, in my mind, is totally random. But I know very little about sports, so I may be way out in left field (sports metaphor!)

[saber5055]

I would like to know more about what it means to be a "sports gambler" as well. He lives in Las Vegas so at least he's in the correct city. I did wonder if he had another job (or jobs) and chose sports gambler to be the one used on the show. Alex Jacob played professional poker but I believe he also was a currency trader during his time on the show. (Don't quote me.) James does the "pushing my chips all in" for his DD bets; do sports gamblers use chips? I do know my nephew got kicked out of Vegas for counting cards, he got discovered after winning too big and was banned from all casinos within minutes.

While I have no doubt that is his profession, I'm also used to some shows making up job titles for some people. Not Jeopardy. But enough other ones that I don't pay a lot of attention.

He does wager like a high roller though, I'll give him that!

[GreekGeek]

ABC, which airs Jeopardy! where I live, ended tonight's Evening News with the death of Charles Van Doren and the quiz show scandals of the 1950s. It reminded me of what our beloved show owes to that uproar: the scandal was that Twenty One gave contestants the answers; Jeopardy! also gives contestants the answers (but makes them come up with the questions).

[BuckeyeLou]

7 hours ago, saber5055 said:

I would like to know more about what it means to be a "sports gambler" as well. He lives in Las Vegas so at least he's in the correct city. I did wonder if he had another job (or jobs) and chose sports gambler to be the one used on the show. Alex Jacob played professional poker but I believe he also was a currency trader during his time on the show. (Don't quote me.) James does the "pushing my chips all in" for his DD bets; do sports gamblers use chips? I do know my nephew got kicked out of Vegas for counting cards, he got discovered after winning too big and was banned from all casinos within minutes.

While I have no doubt that is his profession, I'm also used to some shows making up job titles for some people. Not Jeopardy. But enough other ones that I don't pay a lot of attention.

He does wager like a high roller though, I'll give him that!

Like, say, on "The Bachelor" & "Bachelorette"....half the time I don't know what their jobs really are 🙂 I, too, wonder if James has another 'steadier" job?

[saber5055]

1 hour ago, BuckeyeLou said:

Like, say, on "The Bachelor" & "Bachelorette"....half the time I don't know what their jobs really are

LOL. Those are the shows I was thinking up but didn't name. Jobs like "sorority recruiter," "healer" and "social media participant" are some of the tamer jobs represented.

Today Trebek did ask James about being a sports gambler though, and he gave a good answer. Based on his Jeopardy play, I can see him being pretty good at pretty much everything he does.

[Prevailing Wind]

14 hours ago, GreekGeek said:

ABC, which airs Jeopardy! where I live, ended tonight's Evening News with the death of Charles Van Doren and the quiz show scandals of the 1950s. It reminded me of what our beloved show owes to that uproar: the scandal was that Twenty One gave contestants the answers; Jeopardy! also gives contestants the answers (but makes them come up with the questions).

I recall Merv Griffin telling the story - he and his wife, Julann, were on a plane discussing the game show scandal and Julann suggested a game where they give the answers to the contestants on purpose. He ran with the idea. I hope she got a lot in the divorce. Merv also said he composed the "think" music and it's really named "Time for Tony" (named for his son.)

[Prevailing Wind]

54 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

ETA: I'm good at geography. I love maps, love to look at them. I've traveled extensively and would never use a GPS, I use maps and my brain. Yes, what's left of it still works to get me wherever I'm going.

<rant> Me, too. It's getting harder and harder to get folding paper maps for my annual Road Trips. Not even my roadside assistance sends out maps anymore. They'll work up a trip for you, but then they email to you. WTF am I supposed to do with that in the car? I have a dumb phone - a flip phone - I don't have internet in the freakin' car.  I CAN pull off the road & read a well-marked map, however. You get so much more information on the states' Dept. of Transportation maps than you do on Google maps or Mapquest. The only reason I use those two is to see how far it is between sites when planning or close detail of towns that I've flagged with multiple destinations.

And don't get me started on the Rand McNally LARGE PRINT maps from the AARP roadside people - the ones they USED to send out. Print is so damn large (it's AARP, y'know), they leave off half the tertiary highways - the ones I like to drive on. Not to mention highways numbers being mis-marked on the maps! Thank goodness for common sense, or I'd have driven nearly 50 miles in the wrong direction last year in Arkansas.  </rant>

[saber5055]

@Prevailing Wind, check out eBay or Amazon for maps. I bought the Indian Country map on eBay from "The Map Guy," based on a discussion here about Tony Hillerman. It only cost a few dollars, free shipping, and the map is wonderful, it has everything plus more than everything on it. I did a Tour of National Monuments on my own a few years ago, leaving from Las Vegas and driving through Utah and down to Four Corners and going back to Vegas via Hoover Dam. I stopped at all the national monument sites in Nevada, Utah and Arizona (including Route 66 in Arizona, anyone who is interested!), but looking at this map, I missed a zillion things I could have seen if only I had this map then. Now I want to go back and do it right. Or better I guess.

Anyway, long story long, try eBay. My map was put out by AAA of Southern California for $6.95 originally. I paid less than that. I don't see a year on it, but I didn't look all that hard.

I do know Arkansas fairly well, having spent every summer from a little kid through college on my aunt and uncle's farm in the Ouachitas. Lots of fond memories there.

I have paper maps of the states around Illinois in my car in case I get misdirected somehow. I've had them since high school and they have often come in handy. The good old days were when one could pick up a free map at the local gas station.

[Prevailing Wind]

On my itinerary for this year's trip (in August) to coastal Maine from Georgia, at every state line/Welcome Center I have "Get map!" as if I'd forget. The Welcome Centers have them; the states are just getting testy about mailing them out.  (Well, except the one year in West Virginia, when the entire state was out of maps!)

I'm even going into New Brunswick while I'm that far north and boy, do they send stuff! (Yes, I have my passport card ready to get back into the USA. It's only good for land or sea travel -  you can't fly using it; it's good for travel to Canada, Mexico, & the Caribbean and half the price of a regular passport.)

[Tabasco Cat]

On 4/10/2019 at 11:54 AM, zoey1996 said:

Not sure where this should go, so I’m posting here.

I know this will sound “judgey” but I can’t help wonder why anyone with a good brain could think becoming a professional gambler is a good idea.  I’m opposed to gambling in general, and risk-averse, so would never have considered it as a “job” or “profession” for myself.  Is it a job like any other job?  You know, go to work to make money so then you can do other things that interest you?  

The best gamblers don't "gamble". They're in business. They have superior knowledge about whatever it is they're betting on and use that to their advantage. They go in with a positive expectation that they will come out ahead.

Not to be confused with lunkheads that have a superstitious "system" or an overinflated sense that they know what they're doing. Fact is, most of those people don't. Real professional gamblers do.

[Sharpie66]

2 hours ago, Prevailing Wind said:

they leave off half the tertiary highways - the ones I like to drive on. Not to mention highways numbers being mis-marked on the maps! Thank goodness for common sense, or I'd have driven nearly 50 miles in the wrong direction last year in Arkansas.  </rant>

In 2014, I was driving from the Wicklow Mountains south of Dublin to Kilkenny, relying on the rental car’s GPS. It ended up taking me off the tertiary road I was on to a back road for about ten minutes. This road was just the width of my small sedan, no turn-outs or even driveways to pull into if there was an oncoming car approaching, grass growing in the middle of the road, and dense hedges on both sides that brushed the sides of my car. At least it was straight as an arrow. I started out terrified I would have another car to contend with, then about five minutes in, I started giggling, then by the end of the road, I was laughing hysterically. It was all just so ridiculous! I probably could have taken the next marked road and only added a few miles, but I stuck with the GPS instead. The best car anecdote I had of my own for the trip.

(My brother and sister drove the big minibus we had for the six of us in the previous two weeks, but I got the sedan when my mom and I had an extra five days to ourselves. Sis got in a bit of a fender-bender with that big car that was the most interesting driving anecdote of the whole trip—the Garda officer taught us how to swear with an Irish accent!)

[saber5055]

4 hours ago, Sharpie66 said:

relying on the rental car’s GPS. It ended up taking me off the tertiary road I was on to a back road

I would never trust a GPS. Friends were using theirs to get to a dog show in the Chicago loop. I was following, and couldn't believe they turned right when the dog-show building was just to the left. I followed them for five blocks before I could get them to stop and turn around. People with GPS don't use brains.

I've read too many stories about people lost in Death Valley after GPS sent them on some road that doesn't exist, or down a closed road in the mountains in winter, where they are get stuck for days if not weeks. People will drive around a "Road Closed" if the GPS tells them to. Dumbasses.

You are lucky you made it through that lane, @Sharpie66, and came out alive on the other end.

I've always wanted to go to Maine, @Prevailing Wind. I planned that would be my honeymoon trip, camping in New England with final destination Maine. I'm still waiting. (Note: Ain't never gonna happen.) So have fun and eat a lobster roll (or two) for me.

Edited April 12, 2019 by saber5055

[Prevailing Wind]

11 hours ago, saber5055 said:

I've always wanted to go to Maine ... So have fun and eat a lobster roll (or two) for me.

I have, too. Mainly, I want to see Acadia National Park. I *know* Murder She Wrote was filmed in a small town north of L.A., but I really want to see Cabot-Cove-like towns.  And much lobster will be eaten.  I was planning to go in May, before the high season really kicks into gear, but then I read that the famed wild blueberries aren't out until August, so I'm leaving Georgia 08/17 and will get back 09/07. In addition to much lobster, many blueberries will also be eaten. I'll think of you!!

[Prevailing Wind]

Quote

I love these Jeopardy coincidences.

I was watching Password Plus on Buzzr the other night. The word was "bench." The woman contestant said to Dick Martin, "Johnny..." to which he answered "Carson."  The man contestant gave the clue "Stool" and the woman celebrity (I don't know who she was) replied with, "Chair?"  Then the woman said to Dick Martin, "Baseball," and he correctly replied "Bench."  They went to a commercial and there was a quite elderly Johnny Bench selling Blue Emu Ointment. I laughed so hard, the cat had to jump off my lap.

[Browncoat]

@Prevailing Wind, if you go to Freeport, in addition to the LL Bean mothership, you must go have a lobster roll at Harraseeket Lunch and Lobster.  It's a very short distance outside of town, but easy to find, and had the best lobster roll I had a few years ago when I went to Maine.

The second best meal I had was in Salem, MA -- scallops poached in lobster bisque. 

[Mindthinkr]

47 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

@Prevailing Wind, if you go to Freeport, in addition to the LL Bean mothership, you must go have a lobster roll at Harraseeket Lunch and Lobster.  It's a very short distance outside of town, but easy to find, and had the best lobster roll I had a few years ago when I went to Maine.

The second best meal I had was in Salem, MA -- scallops poached in lobster bisque. 

Oh gosh. You are making me hungry and I just had lunch. When you’re in Maine @Prevailing Wind wave hello to my brother for me. It’s such a beautiful state. I’ve enjoyed many trips there. 

[Grundoon59]

Prevailing Wind - have a wonderful trip.  If you go anywhere near Williamsburg VA, I recommend the Cheese Shop sandwiches with extra house dressing.

For lobster rolls, Bite into Maine in Scarborough (on Route One south of Portland).  They also have food trucks, usually one at Portland Head Lighthouse in summer.  I had their food at least twice on my last visit.  Also it is not far to Len Libbey's candy shop -also on Route 1.  Have you ever seen a life sized chocolate moose?

[saber5055]

53 minutes ago, Mindthinkr said:

You are making me hungry and I just had lunch.

So did I, except my lunch was a far cry from scallops or lobster bisque. (Insert sad face here.)

17 minutes ago, Grundoon59 said:

Also it is not far to Len Libbey's candy shop

What sort of candy is Maine known for? Like pralines in NOLA.

17 minutes ago, Grundoon59 said:

Bite into Maine in Scarborough (on Route One south of Portland).  They also have food trucks, usually one at Portland Head Lighthouse in summer.

Barbara Corcoran from Shark Tank is a partner in some Maine-based lobster-roll food truck.

Edited April 12, 2019 by saber5055

[Mindthinkr]

26 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

Like pralines in NOLA.

I’ll be in NOLA in 10 days. PM me your address if you want a box shipped to you. 

[Browncoat]

45 minutes ago, Grundoon59 said:

If you go anywhere near Williamsburg VA, I recommend the Cheese Shop sandwiches with extra house dressing.

If I could like this a thousand times, I would!  The Cheese Shop is one of my go-to places when I visit Williamsburg -- I got my fix about three weeks ago.  And if you like root beer, try the Chowning's Tavern variety.  It's delicious.

[Mindthinkr]

1 minute ago, Browncoat said:

If I could like this a thousand times, I would!  The Cheese Shop is one of my go-to places when I visit Williamsburg -- I got my fix about three weeks ago.  And if you like root beer, try the Chowning's Tavern variety.  It's delicious.

I’m going there in July with the grandkids and will now definitely will go to the Cheese Shop and I love root beer. Thanks for posting this information. 

[saber5055]

Just now, Browncoat said:

The Cheese Shop is one of my go-to places when I visit Williamsburg

I do not like cheese sandwiches, toasted or not toasted. And I'm not a fan of cheese by itself. Based on its name, I would never go there unless I knew it had something else. Like a full-sized moose made of chocolate.

[Browncoat]

Just now, saber5055 said:

I do not like cheese sandwiches, toasted or not toasted. And I'm not a fan of cheese by itself. Based on its name, I would never go there unless I knew it had something else. Like a full-sized moose made of chocolate.

Funnily enough, I never get cheese on my sandwiches from there.  They also have lots of gourmet-type products in addition to cheese, plus an extensive wine cellar, y'know, downstairs.  My go-to sandwich there is roast beef.

@Mindthinkr, enjoy Williamsburg!  If I can help in any other way, let me know!  🙂

[Sharpie66]

Williamsburg is very neat! I was there with my mom in ‘87 and we had a blast. Definitely go to one of the taverns for an evening dinner by candlelight. 

I have been to Maine twice and loved it both times. First was when I was 16, in the early ‘80s, and the lobster was reallllly cheap. We were at the pier in Bar Harbor, walked up to one of those pass-through windows that I would normally get an ice cream cone from, and ordered lobster, served on a styrofoam plate and given nutcrackers to use while sitting on a bench. Those one-pound lobsters were $5 each! When I went back about four years ago, the price had tripled, but it was still an outdoor picnic bench we ate at. 

Definitely go on a whale watch, and try some deep-sea fishing, too. And if you are staying in Bar Harbor, try and get just a sailing ship tour for the beauty. We saw some great whales in the recent trip, and caught lots of fish in the first trip. (I even got a little shark! Tossed him back, but seeing those teeth as I reeled him up was a big surprise!) And on that first trip, we had booked a mid-sized sailing tour with about twenty other people, only to find out they had overbooked. So, my family of three got our own little sailboat to go around the island, which meant we couldn’t get as far out into the ocean, but we got into the smaller inlets we would never have seen in the other boat. My sister and I even did some of the sailing ourselves, which was a big thrill.

Acadia Park is beautiful. And if you get a forecast of a foggy day on the shore, I would recommend driving a little further north to Quaddy Head State Park, which is the easternmost point of the U.S. We went there in the first trip on a day that was so foggy, you couldn’t see more than 10-15 feet in front of you. But, there was absolutely no one else there, the lighthouse’s foghorn was intermittently blaring, and you could hear the seals on the sandbar just offshore, but you could only see vague lumps where they were at. One of the most evocative days of my life! I don’t know how beautiful it is in full sunlight, but it was wonderful that day.

[Prevailing Wind]

Quoddy Head is on my itinerary, as is the giant chocolate moose, the building wrapped with a giant ribbon, all kinds of weird statues, LL Bean, Stephen King's house, Eartha (the giant globe in the former DeLorme Maps building), a lobster catching/whale watching cruise, a puffin cruise, a sunset cruise, and a Duck Tour of Portland, with an excursion in Casco Bay. I've got a lot of restaurants, bakeries, and hand-made ice cream places on the list and quite a few walking tours. I'm spending 3 nights in Bar Harbor (one of those days is laundry day, so if I finish early, there's time to poke around stuff NOT on the itinerary.)  There's another laundry day when I'm in Presque Isle. (I will be on the road 22 days!) After I leave Bangor, I head east into New Brunswick, see some things in Canada while heading north and cross back into the US at Van Buren, where they have a giant (non-chocolate) moose, and a whole bunch of other symbols of Maine, like the Maine C*** cat.   I start my trip planning with RoadsideAmerica.com - I list all the weird shit I wanna see first, and then fill in with regular tourist stuff. But I gotta get all the weird things in...like the 45th Parallel Gift Shop...halfway twixt the equator and the north pole.  It's gonna be excruciating to have to wait until August...

[saber5055]

I'm trusting you will not notice me, that big lump under the blanket in your back seat. (I don't mind being a "big lump" in this case.)

[Browncoat]

Sounds like a fun trip, @Prevailing Wind!  Be sure and at least get a tasting spoon of the lobster ice cream at Ben & Bill's in Bar Harbor.  I can't recommend a whole scoop, but it's worth a taste. But the lobster mac & cheese at Side Street Cafe is yummy.

[Prevailing Wind]

9 hours ago, saber5055 said:

I'm trusting you will not notice me, that big lump under the blanket in your back seat. (I don't mind being a "big lump" in this case.)

Just don't crush the wide-brimmed straw hat back there.

[zoey1996]

18 hours ago, Grundoon59 said:

Prevailing Wind - have a wonderful trip.  If you go anywhere near Williamsburg VA, I recommend the Cheese Shop sandwiches with extra house dressing.

17 hours ago, Browncoat said:

If I could like this a thousand times, I would!  The Cheese Shop is one of my go-to places when I visit Williamsburg -- I got my fix about three weeks ago.  And if you like root beer, try the Chowning's Tavern variety.  It's delicious.

I'm not a fan of the Cheese Shop house dressing, but I'll second Chowning's root beer.  At the Cheese Shop, I like their sandwiches and bread. They usually have some freshly baked brownie squares and lemon squares, which I recommend.  Vernor's Ginger Ale has somewhat of a cult following, and you can usually get some there.  Also Dr. Brown's sodas are usually available there.

[Grundoon59]

Zoey1996 - as a Detroit girl who loved her 4 years in the Burg, I can tell you just about exactly when the Cheese Shop (at its original location across DOG street) began stocking Vernors.  It was either spring or fall of 1980 since I graduated in 1981.  I walked in one day and saw it and did a happy dance.  When I took it to the cashier who was about my age, she said "I have to warn you, it's not real Ginger Ale" while pointing out Canada Dry.  I politely 🙄 explained how wrong she was and one of the owners of the store guessed I was from Michigan.  

I love all the taverns but would go to Christiana Campbell's first  - spoon bread.

[saber5055]

You guys are making me all depressed about my 2019 vacation trip ... to nowhere.

[Browncoat]

@Grundoon59, I missed you there by about a year -- I started in 1982.  🙂

[ABay]

Roadside America is my tour guide, too, @Prevailing Wind. It's more fun to come upon things like giant cow statutes or dragons on the sides of buildings by serendipity, but It's fantastic to have a site like RA when planning a trip. Are there any Muffler Men on your route?

[Prevailing Wind]

I don't know if they're actual Muffler Men converted, but there are a lot of Old Salt-type guys holding lobsters. LOL.

The BEST place for Muffler Men is the Farnham Colossi near Unger, WV, below Berkeley Springs, where they have no zoning - Mr. Farnham, retired NY lawyer, collects the giant fiberglass statues and has them all over the place. It's hilarious!!

[zoey1996]

5 hours ago, Grundoon59 said:

Zoey1996 - as a Detroit girl who loved her 4 years in the Burg, I can tell you just about exactly when the Cheese Shop (at its original location across DOG street) began stocking Vernors.  It was either spring or fall of 1980 since I graduated in 1981.  I walked in one day and saw it and did a happy dance.  When I took it to the cashier who was about my age, she said "I have to warn you, it's not real Ginger Ale" while pointing out Canada Dry.  I politely 🙄 explained how wrong she was and one of the owners of the store guessed I was from Michigan.  

I love all the taverns but would go to Christiana Campbell's first  - spoon bread.

When I first came to Williamsburg, the Cheese Shop was on Prince George Street, and I worked in the Goodwin Building a couple of doors down.  When they moved to DoG street, we had hoped they would improve their ordering  & wait system.  Alas, they didn't, and during busy times, it gets downright chaotic.

[Prevailing Wind]

4 minutes ago, Toothbrush said:

How is Miss Stella doing?

She's doing great. The Doc really didn't do anything to fix a problem; she just opened the cat up, looked around for anomalies, found none and sewed/stapled her back up.  She has barfed twice since then, but each time it's also included a fairly large hairball, so I'm not considering that as part of her problem. Dr. E. said the vets actually have a phrase they use for what happened - "We let the demons out."  Her staples never bothered her; I took the funnel-head collar off her early on and she never picked at her staples. Now they're out and she's doing fabulous.  I've got both cats back on the Purina OM food - we tried a bunch of different foods, none of which they liked, so we're back to the old standby. She gets extra because it's actually diet food (Bosco's a monster; he NEEDS to lose weight) and I don't want her getting too svelte.

We're happy at our house, until I start yelling at the TV. Thanks for asking! Stella sends you a nose boop.

[Toothbrush]

I'm so glad Stella is dong well now that the demons have been released 😄 

We have a tubby kitty & a tiny one (12 lbs & 6 lbs), and of course tubby kitty wants to eat tiny kitty's Fancy Feast instead of her own Purina OM (she also eats Hill's prescription weight control). Tiny Kitty couldn't care less about food but it's tubby kitty's reason for living! 

Chin scratches to Bosco & Stella 😼

Edited April 18, 2019 by Toothbrush

[rubaco]

Hey, @Prevailing Wind, if the Purina OM food keeps on working for you and the cats, that's great. But boy, I had a bad situation a few years ago with Purina food with a couple of my kitties (they were littermates), and I did a whole lot of experimenting and research to find a different food that would work. I landed on Halo Sensitive Stomach dry food, which turned out to be a Godsend. Yes, expensive, but it totally solved my cats' problem. 

Just wanted to share because it took me a lot of time and $$$ to figure that out, but we've been happy campers ever since. 

Good luck to you and the kitties.