[badger]

Are you worried that your cat is trying to delete your operating system? Does the report you stayed up all night writing contain literary gems like "ffeswwa" and "jlkikkjikiklkuh"? Has your cat made purchases on eBay?

Then you need PawSense, software that identifies and blocks your kitty's keyboard tap-dancing. When it senses little cat feet on the keyboard, PawSense brings up a screen that says "Cat-Like Typing Detected." Should you accidentally engage in catlike typing yourself, the screen has a box where you can type in "human" and the computer will let you proceed. PawSense was invented by Chris Niswander after his sister's cat crashed her computer. He was awarded the IgNobel Prize for Computer Science in 2000 for his invention.

The software works by recognizing the unusual combinations and timing patterns that occur when a cat puts its paw on the keyboard. Niswander is thinking about creating BabySense; though, depending on your baby's typing habits, you can also use PawSense to discourage little Apple or Zeke. If Apple bangs on your keyboard with open hands or fists, she may come close enough to "catlike typing" to activate PawSense. If, however, little Zeke pecks delicately at the keyboard, PawSense will recognize him as human. I can't vouch for this since I don't have a baby lying around the house, just two pesky cats.

PawSense also plays sounds that discourage cats from coming near the computer. While I knew my cat Chaos didn't like the sound of hissing, I didn't realize until I discovered PawSense that he, like most cats, also has an aversion to the harmonica.

You can buy PawSense for $19.99 plus $3 shipping and handling. "In writing the software, part of my motivation was that it was a really funny idea," says Niswander, "while at the same time I knew people who really needed something like this." And while the humor of his invention may help sell it, Niswander wants to make sure people realize that it really works. And it does. Now I never have to worry about sending another cover letter that reads, "I hope you will agree that my kjiu,kkkkkkkkkk qualifications make me well-suited for this important position."