These are my URL ABCs:

• A is for ananova.com/ - love the quirkies
• B is for barnesandnoble.com/ - I like to read
• C is for cdwg.com - spend the state's money
• D is for defectiveyeti.com/ - Hey, that's where I found this time-consuming tool
• E is for eclasses.org - Always have to know more
• F is for flowerfire.com - work related
• G is for gpf-comics.com/ - General Protection Fault rules
• H is for home.threeweb.ad.jp/english/jpncntrl/bgnr_hp.html - Trying to learn Japanese
• I is for inpassing.org/blog/ - Juvenile, but sometimes funny
• J is for jobs.vt.edu - Sshhh... don't tell my boss
• K is for kingfeatures.com/features/comics/comics.htm - Who doesn't like the funnies?
• L is for live365.com/ - Gotta have my tunes on the job!
• M is for mozilla.org/ - Always an update it seems
• N is for nanahiro.com/compe/ - Office Productivity at it's best!
• O is for overheardinnewyork.com/ - There are some rude people in New York!!
• P is for php.net/ - Yeah, I'm a geek
• Who uses q?
• R is for radford.edu/ - Everyone's gotta work somewhere.
• S is for search.ebay.com - People sell the weirdest shit..
• T is for tabletpcbuzz.com - I'm still a geek.
• U is for us4.php.net/ - Damn, I really am becoming geeky
• V is for viral.lycos.co.uk/ - A great place for a chuckle
• W is for weblog.herald.com/column/davebarry - The funniest man ever?
• Y is for yp.yahoo.com/ - who needs a phone book when we have the internet?
• Z is for zwire.com/site/news.asp?brd=1719 - Just a random news link from the wires.

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How to find your URL ABCs: Type the letter 'a' into your location bar, copy the first URL that your browser autosuggests as a completion, and paste it into the corresponding field below. Repeat for letters 'b' through 'z'.
I don't have the set up to post the form here, but you can see one on Defective Yeti.

Always close the door

After being out of town last Saturday, I noticed on Sunday that I hadn't seen one of the cats — our feisty former tom. She said he had been around on Saturday, so I wasn't too worried.
He continued not showing up for the next few days, & we both started worrying that something may have happened to him on one of his midnight roams.
Then yesterday evening, I was out on the back porch with the dogs, & heard him crying somewhere! I looked around and then grabbed a flashlight so I could see a little better.
I finally found him — in the shed! He apparently slipped in there last Saturday when J had the door open... .
Five days with no food & water is a long time for any critter, and he was happy to be out, though he was obviously dehydrated, & a good bit thinner.
After a night back inside with some canned food and as much water as he wanted, he seems more like his old self, but we'll still keep an eye on him over the next few days.

He still needs a new home, though, where he can be an only cat! With one or two dogs for company, & certainly no children.

Definitely like the idea... 

My wife has too much time on her hands this afternoon! But I like the sentiment. 

Overheard in the Office

Maybe it's just my mood today, but I cannot remembered the last time I laughed like I have been for the past few minutes while reading the archives on Overheard in the Office.

So sad

After such a nice day training with so many new people yesterday, and a wonderful dinner at The Blue Nile, an Ethiopian restaurant, I got home to find out that J had found another kitten that Momma apparantly had brought here last Thanksgiving while we were out of town.
We're not sure how the little grey one died; J found it between some concrete blocks on the deck while doing some spring cleaning.
The dogs never found it, & we never smelled anything, so it must have remained frozen there for a long time.
Now we know that there were in fact three kittens in her last litter, & that only one survived. But we know that Opus did very well, and found a good home.

Good Training

The boys got a nice surprise yesterday evening. The girl next door & a friend came over & asked if they could play! I brought the boys out to their leads in the front yard & let 'em have at it.
I was really surprised to see them stand BlackJack up on his back legs and dance with him! He hates it whenever J or I try to do that. It just shows how much he still loves little girls even though he's almost all grown up!
Rudy was very shy, though, and wasn't sure if he wanted them to get too close to them; at least until they picked up a stick for him to tug on!

I feel bad that it's going to be a nice day & that they can't come with me :-(
We're having an aikido seminar in Harrisonburg & there's no place there for them to stay while we're training. I am looking forward to training with everyone, though, since I haven't been able to get to any of the other dojos for a number of months.

U.S. Barred From Sending 13 Detainees Abroad

Another strike against our own terrorists:
U.S. Barred From Sending 13 Detainees Abroad

It's funny...

... because it's true.
Okay, and just a little bit tasteless, too... .

Condolences & Love

To Wil Wheaton and his family on the loss of Felix.
My wife I have had many cats - and now dogs - come to live with us and share the joys of their lives over the years, and somehow it is never any easier when one of them dies and moves on.
Hang in there, Wil.

Happy light

I just mounted my new Eclipse workstation Light, but am having a little trouble with the adjustment.
According to the instructions, I should adjust the reflective visor so that a pleasing ray of light falls over (my) work surface.
I'm not sure just how pleasing it's supposed to be, though... .

Spring time

Now I remember why we didn't want to move; the mini skirt has come out of hibernation!

Warmth!

Yes! My office is nice and toasty this morning, thanks to the maintenance guys who took half the wall apart last Friday to figure why the heat wasn't working, and then got it working.
One thing we didn't take into account when designing my new desk is that it blocks access to the heater, & they're supposed to change those filters every three months! DOH!
I think, though, that if I take the back privacy panel off of that section of the desk that they can access it without my having to take the entire back half of the desk apart every time.

And this, too, shall pass

It looks like BlackJack may be back to his old self. I gave him some of the cats' hairball remedy, & he was a little perkier after napping.
We took both boys for a walk to the park & while we were out, he passed something pretty nasty! And, yes, we're good doggy parents so we, & by we I mean I, cleaned it up.
He'll have dinner soon & I'll see how he does after that!

We met two dogs who came down the back side of their property to the fence, and they both appear to have had their vocal cords either removed or at least operated on so that they couldn't bark. I have heard of that being done to serious guard dogs so that they could sneak up on people, but I don't think that I've ever actually met a dog whose bark was just a whisper. Definitely a little weird, especially since they both were like that!
The boys found a deer (fawn) carcass, too -- yum -- but we managed to keep them off of it! I don't think that it had been poached, as it was fairly intact.
I'm sure that the vultures will do a good job with it, but I may call the county tomorrow in case they want to remove it.

Only part lab, but just as dense

He may only be ¼ lab, but BlackJack will still eat anything!
And this time,unfortunately, he doesn't seem to be able to get rid of it on his own :-(
He ate slowly this morning — which never happens — and then got sick almost immediately after, which is never a good sign.
We've given him two doses of an ipecac-type solution, which did make him throw up more, but no luck as yet with whatever is blocking his stomach.
We'll call the vet in the next couple of hours if he hasn't been able to take care of it, & go get him x-rayed to see what's in there.
The first time it ever happened, it was a fur covered cat toy mouse, but he was a much smaller puppy then. It's happened at least one other time, & that turned out to be a piece of a bone that he & Rudy had been working on.
I just hate to see him so miserable... .

Well..

Of course, once I had pretty much decided to cancel the weekend class, I had more students than ever show up today(6). Maybe not a huge number, but if people are coming, they must be getting something from the class, right?
The weather is warming up, though, so now I'm thinking that we can move back outside again... . That would (hopefully) make it possible to take the boys with us on Saturday morning & tie them out on a tree while we have class, & then take them for a nice walk after. And the farmers' market will be starting up again soon, too, & they enjoy going there with us.
They are so much better behaved at home, too, when they get exercised regularly. Just like people!

I'll just have to figure it out, I suppose.

Decisions

I'm thinking about cancelling our Saturday Aikido classes, at least for a while.
J. & I are very busy now, & one or both of us are out of the house four evenings a week as it is.

A number of things aren't getting the attention they need.
My move to the new office doesn't help any, either, since I'm too far from the house to come home & run the dogs at lunch like I could before we moved.
Not having that little escape at lunch is making me more tired in the evenings, too. I didn't realize how good it had been for my stress levels!
Unfortunately, one of the things that isn't getting the attention that it needs is J., but now that the animals are all fed I'm going back to bed to take care of that!

Geek-wa des

The wife & I started a conversational Japanese class last night, & look forward to being able to speak a little more by the time Tanaka Shihan arrives from Japan this summer.
It should be fun practicing with each other, & inflicting it on my aikido students for the next few weeks!

Another neat map tool?

Going on a trip? Like Chick-Fil-A?
Try their trip planner. Windows only, sorry.

I found this link today when my father called from his huge rental car and asked me to find a Chick-Fil-A for him near Statesville.
He's a fan of their food, & can't get it where he lives in California. The last time he was out on this coast, he actually bought a suitcase full of cooked, flash frozen fillets from the local restaurant and took them home with him. Did I mention that he (and many other members of our gene pool) can be a little weird?

Happy Pi Day!

Science Safari: National Pi Day