Ending 2013 in style

On this, the last day of 2013, Dave is sending off the year with a bang. He's doing what he loves the most, napping. It has been a good year for Dave. He made new friends, strengthened his relationships with old friends (such as his couch), and ate a lot of food. He moved, so he no longer lives on the mean streets of Iowa where he came of age. His move gave him a whole new home to explore, a new set of windows to look out of, as well as new terrain beyond the windows which he could also look at. He changed foods, then back to his original food again. He got a new cat tree, and has made significant progress destroying it. Most importantly, he has developed several new napping strategies that he hadn't used before, to go along with the old standards. 

May your 2014 bring as much joy as 2013 did for Dave.

The Conch Crevasse

Dave doesn't let anything hold him back. His creativity knows no bounds. Dave's creative process has allowed him to develop countless napping techniques and strategies, ranging from The Crevasse to The Plateau to The Conch and beyond. While these techniques each represent singularly impressive and courageous approaches to napping, another part of Dave's legend is his willingness to combine techniques. It doesn't always work, but, as any connoisseur knows, true greatness requires taking chances. True greatness is evident in both the result and the process. That's why it is such an amazing experience to watch Dave create. Pictured below, Dave has combined two of his favorite techniques, The Crevasse and The Conch, to develop a new napping technique wholly different from its two progenitors. This combination Conch Crevasse really brings the whole package. Comfort, warmth, and comfort. Greatness.

The Conch, Volume II

Dave loves to curl up in his Conch position. It has been a major part of his napping repertoire for years. It creates a lot of comfort for Dave. His great girth doesn't allow him to curl up as tightly as some other cats, but he finds the Conch to be an effective alternative to the standard curl-up technique. It is innovation like this that allows Dave to be such a prolific napper.

The Conch

By now, you are surely familiar with some of Dave's favorite napping techniques, such as The Crevasse and The Plateau. But Dave doesn't confine himself to just those strategies. He has many other techniques as well. Pictured below is Dave employing The Conch strategy. As you can see, he curls up in a semi-circular conformation, somewhat like a conch. Over the course of a full day of napping, Dave thinks it wise to change positions several times. He wouldn't want to get a sore neck from staying in a position like this for too long. An experienced napper knows these things.

The Plateau, Volume III

Dave often employs a version of The Plateau on top of the couch, especially when there is a blanket or other soft item on top of the couch that he can sit on. While The Plateau began as a napping technique, Dave has also adapted it for another use. Dave likes to perch himself above his domain, so that he can better observe any potential threats. You can see how alert he is in this photograph. Those are the eyes of a guardcat who is ready for anything. 

CSI: Dave, Volume IV

Nothing is off-limits to Dave when he is in investigation-mode. He will literally go anywhere and put his nose in anything in order to solve a mystery. He really is just as dedicated to his investigations as he is to napping, as hard as that is to believe. He even knows how to open full-sized doors, which is not a universal cat skill. Here you can see that Dave has infiltrated the area underneath the kitchen sink and is sniffing around for clues. Some horrible grating noise was emanating from there, so Dave went to investigate. 

Sniff sniff.

CSI: Dave, Volume III

Dave always gets excited when he has a visitor. He is especially excited when there is an unexpected visitor, which is most of the time, because he is a cat and doesn't get to invite his own visitors over. Here you can see Dave one day when a plumber was visiting. In this case, Dave found the visitor to be somewhat suspicious, so Dave put his investigator hat on. After the plumber left, Dave stared intently at the doorknob for quite a while. Like any good investigator, Dave knows the importance of patience in any investigation. 

Merry Christmas, from Dave

Dave would like to wish you a merry Christmas. Dave mostly plans to take naps tomorrow, and he encourages everyone around the world to take as many naps as possible tomorrow.

CSI: Dave, Volume II

Dave models his investigative methods on some of the all-time greats like Columbo, Marlowe, and Horatio Caine. A lot of other cats might scoff at the idea of walking in a wet bathtub, but not Dave. Dave doesn't mind getting his feet wet if that's what is necessary for his investigation. When something weird happens, most cats run away, but Dave runs toward the commotion. That's true commitment.

Just look at those eyes. Those are the eyes of a battle-tested investigator.

CSI: Dave

Dave, widely known for his prowess in napping and love for exploration, also fancies himself an investigator. If something interesting happens, Dave will appear in short order to investigate. Here you can see Dave investigating the bathtub in the aftermath of some unknown event. They say curiosity killed the cat, but nonsense proverbs like that don't bother Dave. He is curious, and he pays no mind to fools who try to change him. He doesn't even care if his feet get wet. 

The Plateau: Volume II

The Plateau is definitely one of Dave's favorite positions. This is mainly because different surfaces offer different levels of comfort. Dave loves a good couch, there can be no doubt about that, but sometimes he is in the mood to nap on a blanket instead. It's even better if said blanket is on top of the couch, making it extra soft. Dave likes soft. 

Look at this Dave. What a Dave.

Dave being a weirdo

You may remember seeing Dave in this pose before. Dave can really be a weirdo sometimes. What is he trying to accomplish here? He doesn't look very comfortable. There is no head or neck support in this position. It's just a silly thing for a cat to do. You never really know what is going on in Dave's head. But if you really want to know what he's thinking, just remember that almost everything Dave does is about figuring out new and inventive ways to nap. That's probably what he was doing here. Not everything he tries ends up working. But you have to take chances to be great.

Dave and Jack by the window

Dave and Jack both spend a lot of time in the area pictured here. In fact, you may remember that looking out the window is one of Dave's favorite hobbies. One reason Dave likes to look out the window is that while most things inside usually stay about the same, there is nearly limitless potential for new events to take place outside. Dave is excited by new things. He is an explorer at heart, and very intellectually curious. What others might find mundane or unimportant, Dave wants to know all about. For example, Dave enjoys road trips. He once went on a 1,000 mile road trip, and despite passing through miles and miles of nothing but corn, Dave loved every bit of it.

The Plateau

You may know about one of Dave's favorite napping strategies, The Crevasse. Here, you can see another of Dave's natural formation-inspired napping strategies, The Plateau. Dave is lying atop the folded blanket, with his legs hanging out over the side, as if he is perched on top of a plateau. Dave definitely enjoys the outdoors, although he spends almost all of his time inside these days. Perhaps his love of the outdoors led him to develop so many napping strategies like The Crevasse and The Plateau. 

Dave the rascal

The Dafe can really be a rascal sometimes. He recently learned that despite his great girth, he can easily leap onto the kitchen counter. This has expanded Dave's horizons. It really opened a whole new world of exploration opportunities for Dave within his home. While he hasn't been able to explore the counter in peace yet, he will undoubtedly persist. As every Dave observer knows, Dave's main priority at all times is developing new napping techniques or locations. It seems clear that Dave's recent forays onto the counter are part of his search for new locations. Most cats wouldn't anticipate finding any good napping opportunities on a kitchen counter, but Dave takes the broad approach. He never assumes that he won't find something new, because Dave has been around long enough to know he might find a gem anywhere. An experienced veteran like Dave knows to explore every possibility. 

Issues with personal space

Honestly, Dave can be a handful at times. No one understands this more than Jack, who really can't escape Dave's antics. Here you can see Dave being inappropriate. Jack was once again lying on the chair, just trying to nap. Meanwhile, Dave had some new napping strategies he wanted to try out, and he needed the chair to properly test them. A more polite cat might have waited for Jack to complete his nap, but Dave is an artist as much as he is a scientist. He was having a moment of inspiration, and didn't want to forget his sudden insight while waiting for Jack to finish his nap. Therefore, Dave had no choice but to disturb Jack. It would be for the good of all cats, Dave thought, because any new napping strategies he developed on the chair could then be used by other cats around the world. Jack, yet again, was left wondering, "WHY."

Cats having a concert

While Dave spends the vast majority of his time eating food, napping, and looking out the window, he has other hobbies as well. Pictured below are Dave and Jack taking part in a kitty cat concert. In this case, they were listening to traditional Scottish bagpipe music. That is one of Dave's favorite genres.

The Crevasse: Volume III

Here is yet another occurrence of Dave employing "The Crevasse" strategy. This is a slight variation of the strategy, because he is only partially covered on one side. It's more like he is leaning up against a bank of snow than inside a crevasse of a glacier, but it is still in the same mold of "The Crevasse." If Dave had a different name for every slightly different napping strategy, he would run out of words in the dictionary very quickly, so this one falls under "The Crevasse" umbrella.

Unhappy Dave

The napping locations in highest demand are typically Dave and Jack's houseguests. Jack prefers those he has built relationships with over time, while Dave primarily ranks his preferences based on body heat. Here you can see an unhappy Dave surveying a situation in which Jack has claimed a highly desirable spot, a place that could perhaps be described as the Malibu of napping locations. Dave crept up on Jack, hoping to nudge Jack out of the picture, but Jack did not even contemplate conceding the spot. The development of the situation could best be described by this famous scene. 

Friction between roommates

For the most part, Dave and Jack get along well, but on occasion, there is friction in their relationship. The usual source of friction is disagreement over napping locations. There are plentiful available locations around their home, but sometimes they both just really want to use one particular location. In the scene pictured here, Jack had been calmly hanging out on the chair, only to be disrupted by The Dafe attempting to usurp Jack's position. It was sort of a rude move by Dave, but Jack has also been seen kicking Dave off the chair in the recent past. Dave, as we know, has extremely flexible napping abilities, and is usually amenable to giving up his spot for Jack. Other times, however, Dave is in NO MOOD, and he wants the spot he wants. The scene here is one of those times. You can see that Dave has sat himself all up in Jack's personal space, and you can see Jack's eyes saying, "WHY. Why must I deal with this?" 

The Crevasse: Volume II

This is another way that Dave employs "The Crevasse" strategy. In this case, he has essentially embedded himself into the futon/blanket combination. The corner of the futon, where it forms an "L"-shape, is a favorite spot for Dave. There is comfort underneath and on a side! Two for the price of one, Dave says. Just throw in a blanket and you are ready for a great nap.

Sad Dave

Dave was very said to hear of the death of Nelson Mandela. He was a great leader who will be missed. 

One of Dave's strategies: The Crevasse

One thing Dave likes to do is lodge himself between two objects. Usually, he chooses two objects that are each comfortable enough to nap on. This is a strategy he finds particularly useful in the winter months, and it is called "The Crevasse" strategy. In the example seen below, Dave has lodged himself between a pillow and a person. Dave doesn't have a great grasp on the English language, but if he did, one of his favorite words would be "crevasse". Dave would love to explore a crevasse like this one. While he typically prefers warm napping locations, he is also an explorer. Any opportunity for exploration excites Dave, and he would gladly explore a crevasse in a glacier, despite the lack of warm napping locations. Other cats might balk at the idea of a glacier as a napping location, but Dave's dexterous napping abilities simply afford him opportunities not available to other cats. 

Dave's creative process

Sometimes Dave does things that just cannot be explained. Below is one such occurrence. One day, on Dave's favorite couch, there was a pillow and a folded up blanket. Most cats might lie on the couch, instead of in an awkward position on top obstructions. Dave, however, decided that lying on top of this pillow and blanket would be preferable to simply lying on the couch. As you can see, he doesn't look particularly comfortable in this position, but you have to understand Dave to fully understand what he is doing here. Really, this is an image of Dave's creative process when it comes to napping. Not everything works, but real creativity and greatness requires taking chances, being bold. No one bats 1.000. You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. As Mark Twain said, "Life is short, break the rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile. Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

That is Dave's philosophy as well when it comes to napping. 

Naps and excuses

Dave doesn't need tryptophan or anything like that to take a good nap. In fact, he doesn't think he needs any reason at all to nap, and he thinks people only really talk about tryptophan around Thanksgiving because they want an excuse to take a nap. Dave looks at things a little differently. He doesn't pretend to need an excuse to nap, and he pities those who think they do. Napping is one of the great joys in life, and Dave knows he owes much of his happiness to his tremendous napping abilities, as well as his plentiful opportunities for naps. That's why he wishes society would be more accepting of naps so that everyone could nap guilt-free. Not everyone can be as immune to peer pressure as Dave is.

Dave's Thanksgiving

Dave hopes you had a good Thanksgiving. He had visitors over the weekend, but still spent most of his time eating and napping in positions like this one. Dave is a pretty big cat, but he is also quick and, as you can see, flexible. He doesn't often employ his flexibility as seen here, but once in a while he drops something like this on his observers just to remind them of his athleticism. 

Thanksgiving is certainly one of Dave's favorite holidays, even though he is a cat and isn't impacted much by holidays at all. In fact, Dave mostly had the apartment to himself over the weekend. However, Dave still thinks Thanksgiving is a pretty sweet holiday. Food being one of his top daily priorities, it shouldn't surprise anyone that Dave enjoys a day dedicated to eating a lot of food. Dave is a straight-shooter that way. He notices that most every holiday involves eating a lot of food, but they are ostensibly not celebrated for the food itself. To him, it seems that Thanksgiving is all about the food, and this pleases Dave.