Katie-Dog!

Katie is continuing to get more comfortable in her new home... more confident, less skittish. Tracy and I are working together to bring her out of her shell, and Katie is thriving in the attention.

More pictures can be found here!

And a movie can be found here!

Introducing...

... Katie! Katie is a 9-month old Whippet who wasn't quite up to being a show dog. She's extremely affectionate and has a bit of spunk. She was born on February 2nd and came to her new home on November 11th.

Whoopie -- A 3-Day Weekend!

Although I had vacation just a bit ago, it feels like it was months ago. After the past week at work, frankly, I'm ready for another vacation. It's finally starting to cool down a bit; the evenings are especially nice!

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Anyway, I've got more photos from the Carmel trip... these are from Monday when Tracy and I putzed around Carmel and the 17-Mile Drive in Pebble Beach. There are a couple/few photos of my wagon with a large Bentley parked next to it... that's pretty much what the area is like around the big weekend in August -- just one huge car-show.

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The 17-Mile Drive is always nice, and I think this is the first time I've actually done the full loop rather than just the coastal leg. Some of the inland areas a beautiful... especially with fog rolling around the hills. Still, the highlight is always the coastal leg with such exotic wildlife as Squirrels.

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Actually, the scenery is quite striking... especially the Lone Cypress (which is Copyright Pebble Beach Corporation -- no commercial photography allowed without expressed written consent -- personal photography permitted -- seriously). Anyway, more photos can be seen HERE.

Nutso-Bizzy

Things have been really busy for me since my vacation, so I haven't had time to update this thing... bah! Seems like taking time off is just pushing the work out to be done later in addition to everything else. I'm hoping to get more stuff online this weekend, but I may be working.

NEWS FLASH!!!

O'Neal is proving to be as sweet as he looks... he's warming up a bit to me and Tracy, showing a bit more animation. I occasionally try to get him interested in a toy, but he seems really unsure what to do. At one point, it looked like he was going to grab it with his mouth, but he turned it into a yawn at the last moment.

Greyhound in da house...

My co-worker and her husband stopped by a bit ago to drop off their lovely Greyhound, O'Neal. He's a bit timid and shy, but a real sweety. He came complete with detailed feeding instructions, a list of do's and don'ts, food, treats, a muzzle, and a few toys. His mom said he doesn't play with toys... I wish Suzy was around to teach him the joys of destroying a squeaker. Maybe I can teach him... I've got until Sunday evening to do it...

Service sure is slow around here...

I've been sitting at this table for over 20 minutes, and no one has been by to see if I wanted coffee or anything.

Ways you can tell it's HOT in Folsom...

A Monkey Talks Back...

I received a phone call from an irate reader earlier today... didn't understand much of what they were saying... something about bananas and poo, I think.

Reasons NOT to get a monkey...

If you've been thinking about getting a monkey (or perhaps an ape), you might just want to rethink that decision. I know it sounds like a lot of fun at first, but there are some serious down-sides to consider:

• They throw poo
  
• They'll mock you by brachiating around the house
  
• They pack heat...

Bunches o' Greyhounds!

Tracy and I went to a Greyhound Meet-n-Greet being held at a local PetsMart. We showed up right as they were getting started... before any 'hounds had even showed up. Within minutes, the first carload arrived. A gal brought her three to woo the crowd... a sweet black/brindle female, a fawn-brindle male, and a red-fawn male... gorgeous dogs, but a bit riled up at first. The female was quite animated!

As I was kneeling down getting hugs and kisses from the crew (the dogs), a new nose introduced itself to me... then I heard someone say "O'Neal'. I thought... I know that name... turns out, a coworker and her husband brought their Greyound, (O'Neal) as well. He was fawn with just a tad of black around the muzzle, beautiful black-lined eyes, and a incredible coat. The owners were surprised how well he took to me... he's normally a bit shy around strangers.

The owner had asked me where I'd boarded Suzy when I went on vacation... I told her about the Duckpond Kennels, but said that I might be able to dogsit depending on when they were going to be out-of-town. After meeting O'Neal, he's definitely staying with me... such a super sweet boy. They said he doesn't play with toys... I guess I'll have to teach him the joys of de-squeaking them and tearing them asunder.

Seeing all these wonderful 'hounds really made me miss Suzy... seeing her personality develop over the years, the games we played, and our daily routine. I miss having her nose-up behind me and poke her head between my legs just to say 'Hi!' I miss sharing french-fries with her, and having her politely wait while I ate just for the chance to lick the bowl...

Attitudes...

Sometimes attitude can more than make up for size... I caught these two kids tearing it up on the beach in Carmel. The big dog is a Rhodesian Ridgeback, and I think the smaller dog is a Jack Russel Terrier.

Disturbing the Peas

Doing time...

Approximately five times a week, I spend most of my day confined to an area not much larger than a sheet of plywood. I'm pretty sure I'd built bigger forts out of cardboard boxes when I was a kid.

And about gloves...

I was just looking at that photo below and noticed the arm-length glove the one gal is using. I can almost say that I have zero interest in hobbies (or careers, for that matter) that involve wearing such protective gear, but then I remembered using them when I had a 55-gallon salt-water aquarium.

Cultural Diversity

I consider myself to pretty aware of how important cultural diversity is in this world, as well as the importance to being open and accepting to things that may seem different, odd, foreign, or uncomfortable in some way. In fact, one of my favorite general studies course at CSUC was Cultural Anthropology.

It's always interesting how many cultures share traditions, but with their own twist. For example, here in the US, a favorite birthday party past-time has been "Pin the Tail on the Donkey". I suppose in the Andes, they play "Pin the Tail on the Llama"... wait, do llamas have tails? Anyway, you get my point... the point is that... some traditions, though with variations, are universal. No, that's not the point, I think the point is that the folks in Glasgow have some really strange hobbies:

Are signs like this actually necessary?

My dearest niece asked me to post another picture because she's bored... well Celeste, "You'll get nothing and like it!"

Ok...

I think I can have some fun with this. I've got a tendency to collect random pictures that I come across, but I really never quite know what to do with them.

This is one of my favorites... this picture asks more questions than it answers. Now, I think it's pretty safe to assume that the worst didn't just happen, but was this staged? Did the photographer just happen to snap a photo at a wonderful moment? If so, did they realize it at the time, or only when they got the photos back?

Who knows... well, the dog probably does, though I bet the kid will never say one way or another.

Is this pointless?

Well looky here ... I've got a blog or something. I really only signed up so I could leave witty or pithy comments on my niece's blog. Maybe I'll post stuff here, or maybe not. We'll see... or actually, I guess I'll see, given that it's just me.