How do they find us?
Over the weekend, we had not one, but two temporary dogs to look out for.
The first, a pretty brown husky, had slipped from her person's car in a parking lot on Saturday and wandered across a busy street near downtown. It took four people following her for about ten minutes to finally get a hold of her and we gave her a drink. The number on her tag had been disconnected, which sent us into a state of worry about what to do with her. The dog got a little antsy as we waited and wondered, so my wife took her for a walk ∼ yes, I keep a spare leash in the car (as well as puppy and cat treats). Luckily my wife happened across someone who knew the dog and its owner, and we tracked her person to a nearby hair salon. (whew)
Number two wasn't so easy. This morning I looked out the back window to see a medium size black dog with a docked tail looking around.
With some coaxing (and a biscuit) I got a hold of him, and could see that he had had a collar on, but must have slipped it. It was obvious, too, that he was fairly young, maybe seven months, but was going to grow into a monster. As we watched him, we figured he was possibly a husky | german shepherd mix. We closed off the back porch, and let BlackJack out to play with him ∼ a bonus for everyone. I made numerous phone calls through the day, but couldn't find anyone looking for him, so we reluctantly brought him to the city animal shelter. They do have a good partnership with a local group that takes care of animals that have been there for more than a few days, so I do feel confident that he'll either find his original home, or get a good new one.
It was pretty clear that he hadn't had much obedience training, but he was very sweet and eager to please, like all good puppies!
31 May 2004
30 May 2004
Just strange
What kinds of things will make a waiter look at you funny?
For starters when two people of average size split a meal. I mean actually share the entree. Nutritionists & dieticians go on and on about how portion size affects obesity in America. And it's not cheap to eat out, either. With that in mind my wife & I often share a meal, as much to save money as to minimize our leftovers and growth.
Last night we shared an appetizer — chicken quesidilla, and then the entree — a 12 ounce Sirloin that was,admittedly, quite tasty. Having a 12 ounce steak on the menu makes it seem like a pretty normal serving, yeah? But how many folks out there actually eat that type of portion (and live past 50 to tell the tale)?
We still took enough home to split the remainder for lunch today! No wonder America is obese!!
I will admit that maybe we deserve the funny looks when we split the daquiri with the appetizer, thought it was served in a pint glass that would have done either one of us in, and the beer we split with the steak — again, a pint of lager.
And talk about huge, we split dessert, some incredibly to die for chocolate cake. Took some of that home, too, and had part of the remainder after lunch (though my wife was the real dessert, and still have a bit left for after dinner tonight.
So for our $50.00 we got four individual meals, with dessert… . Not too bad, I suppose.
For starters when two people of average size split a meal. I mean actually share the entree. Nutritionists & dieticians go on and on about how portion size affects obesity in America. And it's not cheap to eat out, either. With that in mind my wife & I often share a meal, as much to save money as to minimize our leftovers and growth.
Last night we shared an appetizer — chicken quesidilla, and then the entree — a 12 ounce Sirloin that was,admittedly, quite tasty. Having a 12 ounce steak on the menu makes it seem like a pretty normal serving, yeah? But how many folks out there actually eat that type of portion (and live past 50 to tell the tale)?
We still took enough home to split the remainder for lunch today! No wonder America is obese!!
I will admit that maybe we deserve the funny looks when we split the daquiri with the appetizer, thought it was served in a pint glass that would have done either one of us in, and the beer we split with the steak — again, a pint of lager.
And talk about huge, we split dessert, some incredibly to die for chocolate cake. Took some of that home, too, and had part of the remainder after lunch (though my wife was the real dessert, and still have a bit left for after dinner tonight.
So for our $50.00 we got four individual meals, with dessert… . Not too bad, I suppose.
19 May 2004
Poetic spam
I received this incredibly moving poem in my email today:
Believe me.
You may give her flowers and presents.
You may take care of her and love her.
But the best you may make for is to be the #1 10ver.
C1a2li3s will help you. Get er[ect[10n whenever you want.
Did I mention that it moved me to throw up?
Believe me.
You may give her flowers and presents.
You may take care of her and love her.
But the best you may make for is to be the #1 10ver.
C1a2li3s will help you. Get er[ect[10n whenever you want.
Did I mention that it moved me to throw up?
18 May 2004
10 May 2004
ahh...
Weellll.. Seems that dogs actually cannot get poison ivy, and BlackJack has a bacterial infection that he picked up running through the wet grass somewhere.
:-(
:-(
He went where?
Now.. I've known for a long time that if your dog rubs on poison ivy, the oils can rub off on you.
But I've never seen a dog actually get poison ivy!
I noticed a little bump on BlackJack's belly on Friday, and thought maybe some bugbite was irritating him. Then yesterday morning, we found them all over his cute little belly, and realized what it was.
We're off the vet momentarily to get a cortisone shot, and probably some more Benadryl for the itching.
Poor guy; I guess that's the disadvantage of those short little legs.
But I've never seen a dog actually get poison ivy!
I noticed a little bump on BlackJack's belly on Friday, and thought maybe some bugbite was irritating him. Then yesterday morning, we found them all over his cute little belly, and realized what it was.
We're off the vet momentarily to get a cortisone shot, and probably some more Benadryl for the itching.
Poor guy; I guess that's the disadvantage of those short little legs.
07 May 2004
04 May 2004
Stonehenge Lives
Stonehenge - Aotearoa.
For millennia people have gazed in awe at Stonehenge, often totally unaware of how structures such as this were used. Stonehenge Aotearoa will be a full-scale working adaptation of Stonehenge that is intended to inspire New Zealanders young and old, to explore and experience for themselves how technologies of ancient times were used, and still can be used, to give practical and detailed information on the seasons, time and navigation.
For millennia people have gazed in awe at Stonehenge, often totally unaware of how structures such as this were used. Stonehenge Aotearoa will be a full-scale working adaptation of Stonehenge that is intended to inspire New Zealanders young and old, to explore and experience for themselves how technologies of ancient times were used, and still can be used, to give practical and detailed information on the seasons, time and navigation.
29 April 2004
Full Text of the 'al-Qaeda memo'
The full text of the intelligence briefing of 6 August 2001, declassified on 10 April 2004.
18 April 2004
05 April 2004
Walmart screws customers
Okay, not a shocking headline to most. But it made sense after my mortgage payment failed to clear the bank last Friday!
Seems that April 1st & 2nd (an April Fool's hack, maybe?), Walmart's computers triple charged Visa & Mastercard customers.
Along with the triplicate charges, I also received $50 in fees from the bank, and -- before the facts were in -- a tongue lashing from the spousal unit concerning my fiduciary irresponsibility!
After calling the hotline set up by Wally World (I can see the non-English speaking call-center employee now, sitting at a desk with a red phone on it), they agreed to cover the bank fees and send a $25 gift card for said SuperScrew Center.
Seems that April 1st & 2nd (an April Fool's hack, maybe?), Walmart's computers triple charged Visa & Mastercard customers.
Along with the triplicate charges, I also received $50 in fees from the bank, and -- before the facts were in -- a tongue lashing from the spousal unit concerning my fiduciary irresponsibility!
After calling the hotline set up by Wally World (I can see the non-English speaking call-center employee now, sitting at a desk with a red phone on it), they agreed to cover the bank fees and send a $25 gift card for said SuperScrew Center.
31 March 2004
Affiliations
Sensei & I often discuss the pros & (mostly) cons of having our dojo on the university campus.
The biggest frustration we have, of course, is the constant turnover in students.
That we give them a good foundation for them to go on with is nice, but the fact that we produce so few yudansha can be a letdown.
Were we to move our dojo off campus into town, I believe that our numbers would go up, & that we would have more long term students.
That gets to the part that is frustrating for me, personally.
The way we are structured under T. Shihan, it seems very difficult for anyone to go beyond Sandan in the American schools.
Our only Yondan, who is now not training due to health problems, received his promotion after an extended trip to Japan to train at the xyz hombu. And since T. Shihan does all yudansha promotions himself, unlike a fair number of other organizations, there seems very little long term room for growth.
I don't worry about this for myself, but I do feel that if we start gaining students who stay at the dojo for 10 or 12 years (as I have now), that they will feel frustrated when they hit the tatami ceiling, and look for somwhere else to train.
The biggest frustration we have, of course, is the constant turnover in students.
That we give them a good foundation for them to go on with is nice, but the fact that we produce so few yudansha can be a letdown.
Were we to move our dojo off campus into town, I believe that our numbers would go up, & that we would have more long term students.
That gets to the part that is frustrating for me, personally.
The way we are structured under T. Shihan, it seems very difficult for anyone to go beyond Sandan in the American schools.
Our only Yondan, who is now not training due to health problems, received his promotion after an extended trip to Japan to train at the xyz hombu. And since T. Shihan does all yudansha promotions himself, unlike a fair number of other organizations, there seems very little long term room for growth.
I don't worry about this for myself, but I do feel that if we start gaining students who stay at the dojo for 10 or 12 years (as I have now), that they will feel frustrated when they hit the tatami ceiling, and look for somwhere else to train.
26 March 2004
19 March 2004
Quandary
Some background info: a couple of years ago I had a supervisor who it turns out was having an affair with one of my co-workers -- she was his supervisor also. While a couple of folks may have had vague suspicions, I don't think anyone knew it was going on.
She was also a fellow student in a martial arts class, and was missing one night a week or so, telling us she was taking a class through the local YMCA, which is not uncommon for people to do.
Well, everything blew up eventually. She had told her husband that she was travelling to a martial arts seminar with me and my wife, then staying overnight. Of course, she was spending the night with her lover, and her husband happened to call me a couple of days later to ask about it. So I was the guy on the phone with him when his wife's affair came to light.
Now I've inadvertantly found out that two of the married folks in our office are probably having an affair, though of course I don't know for sure. And the question is do I keep my nose out of it & hope it blows over? Or let them know that other people might be finding out...? I have no idea.
She was also a fellow student in a martial arts class, and was missing one night a week or so, telling us she was taking a class through the local YMCA, which is not uncommon for people to do.
Well, everything blew up eventually. She had told her husband that she was travelling to a martial arts seminar with me and my wife, then staying overnight. Of course, she was spending the night with her lover, and her husband happened to call me a couple of days later to ask about it. So I was the guy on the phone with him when his wife's affair came to light.
Now I've inadvertantly found out that two of the married folks in our office are probably having an affair, though of course I don't know for sure. And the question is do I keep my nose out of it & hope it blows over? Or let them know that other people might be finding out...? I have no idea.
17 March 2004
Long Day
Today looks like it probably won't be a great one. On top of trying to finish two projects in the office -- and being distracted by Dave Barry's efforts to help us get more done in the office -- my mother-in-law is going in for a biopsy today on a mass they found in her pelvis over the weekend. No one thinks that it is malignant, but she told J that she does expect to have to have a hysterectomy. I'm not sure if that will be soon, as in the next couple of weeks, or sometime this spring, but certainly, we'll take some time off to help her recovery.
And the vet called yesterday to let us know that Cyrano's ashes are back at the clinic whenever we're ready to come for them. I'm sure that won't be as easy as it feels like it will be.
In our house there we have a small altar set up, and it seems to be filling up with containers of our pets' remains. Cyrano's will be the fourth. We've talked about combining all of them into one urn, which I seem to remember being a tribal custom from somewhere in South America, though I could be wrong. Either way, I like the idea of them being all together again.
And the vet called yesterday to let us know that Cyrano's ashes are back at the clinic whenever we're ready to come for them. I'm sure that won't be as easy as it feels like it will be.
In our house there we have a small altar set up, and it seems to be filling up with containers of our pets' remains. Cyrano's will be the fourth. We've talked about combining all of them into one urn, which I seem to remember being a tribal custom from somewhere in South America, though I could be wrong. Either way, I like the idea of them being all together again.
15 March 2004
Oops!
Okay, so I may have been in a bit of a hurry this morning when L. asked me to re-install Outlook since she's been having calendar issues with the server. And I may have been a little distracted by my mother-in-law's news of a mass found in her pelvis that she'll have to have biopsied in the next few days.
But, it's still my problem that a possibly huge quantity of saved mail & info was lost. It's hard not to think that she is exaggerating some, as she often does, but I do still feel pretty bad about it; that's pretty much a rookie tech support mistake that I haven't made in years! And I'm sure I'll have to take some flack for it, as well, but I'll just have to choke it down and get on with other work.
But, it's still my problem that a possibly huge quantity of saved mail & info was lost. It's hard not to think that she is exaggerating some, as she often does, but I do still feel pretty bad about it; that's pretty much a rookie tech support mistake that I haven't made in years! And I'm sure I'll have to take some flack for it, as well, but I'll just have to choke it down and get on with other work.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)