Just Wasting Time

Oh my aching back.

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 02:12:27 GMT

After three days of lumping boards and shoveling wet muck, my back is in open rebellion. Yesterday I reached for something and muscle in my shoulder and neck went 'twang'! And I totally forgot to buy ibuprofen today.

I had to bury the cat this morning. I wanted to get it done before I had to fetch Biv. No need for her sympathies. While I was digging I got a text from her saying she was not coming in. Infected toe. Yes, that's right. And infected toe. But she texted me later today to say she would make it in tomorrow. Funny thing, she never once complained about her foot or toe all day yesterday.

Yesterday... I got in early to check the grave and set up another for a cremation. There was about two feet of water in the hole. I got the pump and set it up, got it running and took out about a foot of water. Squared off the hole. Then went to do the cremation. The vault guy shows up, and thankfully it's a good one, but the vault is the kind that has a hole in the bottom (for drainage) which when lowered into the water, shot a fountain of muddy water up into the vault. The alternative would have been a vault with no hole that floated around in the grave. Not good choices either way.
After the cremation (which has it's own story I'll get back to) I went back with the pump, but couldn't get it started again. I went to get ether at the shop, and when I got back, the vault guy had started it. But it wasn't pumping for some reason. No amount of fooling with it would get it to work. And the tied in the vault was still rising. We had to plug the hole. So I went back to get some 'dum dum' or black rubber and plugged the hole for the most part with that. It was still leaking in, but much slower, and we were able to bail it out enough for the funeral.
Overall, things went pretty well.

Meanwhile, back at the cremation...
I had pulled over on the side of the road while the family was doing their thing. A visitor came by as I was waiting, and drove by me. He's an old guy, and I knew he would be backing down, so I pulled the truck way over off the road to give him plenty of room. Well, on his way down, he stopped to talk to me. I know the guy from a past incident, so I was ready. He starts telling me about how he was backing down the road, and he hit a woman's car, and tore the side of both their cars up pretty good. He's blaming her for not pulling off far enough, but he got the surcharge on his car. Then he tries to make it out to be the cemetery's fault because there is no turn around, and he has to back the car up. All the while he's trying to be in my face, which isn't easy because he's very short, and absolutely has short man's disease. And he had this thing on his eye I was dying to pick off... but I digress....
So he starts out pleasant enough, but then he gets into how he worked for the government and he knows this and that.. and he wants to talk to somebody in charge and he's going to write a letter to the mayor.. and I'm pleasant at first listening to him, but then he starts telling me who I think I am.. and I tell him he doesn't know the first thing about me.. and basically I go off on him and tell him it's nothing to do with the cemetery that he hit another car and he can certainly feel free to speak to the Supt. and this is the address bla bla bla... And all the while he's trying to be in my face, and I just thank goodness he didn't have bad breath so I didn't have to back down. As we went round and round he finally got back to what he must have wanted to get out originally, which was why cant there be a turn around at the end of the drive? Why he couldn't have asked that to begin with... well, short man syndrome got in the way. So I told him I would absolutely bring it up at the meeting and we'd talk about it. I think he thinks he's going to sue us for his accident if he doesn't get his turn around. I honestly think the old guy is losing it. When you drive a car forward or backward, no matter where you are, if there is another car in the way, and you can't get around it, you don't scrape by it, you wait until they move, or ask them to move. This guy is entirely at fault, which is why he was charged. He probably shouldn't be driving.
But you know what? I'll probably get the last word, as he's in his 80's :)

In other news, Peter Graves died a few days ago. I liked him as an actor, and he was a handsome guy well into his old age. RIP Peter. (cue the Mission Impossible theme)

The town of Duxbury is going to be building a new crematorium. There was an article in the paper about how Duxbury is the third busiest crematory in the nation. I find that hard to believe, but up until this year when Plymouth opened a crematory, Duxbury was serving basically the entire South of Boston community and the Cape. They run a good business from what I've heard. More power to them... and speaking of that, I don't know if Plymouth did it, even though they talked about it, but how about re-using some of that heat and power for other purposes? Waste not want not! Yeah, right.

I keep forgetting, maybe because I am exhausted, that we finally saw Slumdog Millionair. I was really blown away by it first because I thought it was going to be a musical of sorts, and second by how well the story was told. Totally nothing like what I was expecting. Great movie. Himself even thought so.

Ok, got to go catch up on LOST now.

The longest day

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 02:16:41 GMT

I should be in bed. Really I should. Going there soon. Have to get up early.

I have not had a day this bad in a long time, and the only consolation is that it ended well, after much much frustration.

Even after laying out every board I had, and thinking I was okay, the weight of the sopping wet dirt on top of the sopping wet ground was too much, and the plywood went spinning out from under the tires, and the truck buried itself. Eventually, we had to unload it and pull it out with the tractor. And all the while it just kept raining.
Not to mention the hole is flooded, so tomorrow I have to go in early and see what I can do about that. Bail or try to get the pump going. I've been told the rain will stop. I really don't believe it as it was supposed to stop today.

I didn't get out of work til 4 today, and then came home and had to do the papers on top of that because Himself is 'sick'.

Oh yeah, Ryther had to go get him on his way to work and bring him home from school because he 'threw up'. I'm not sure what this is, but it's happening way more than the stomach bug goes around. And it's not serious, just 'upsetting'. And this was before he even learned about the cat.

Okay, times up, got to go to bed.

RIP Harry

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 11:19:43 GMT

This morning at around 3:30, Harry made an attempt to jump on the bed and fell. He began crying in pain. I think he twisted his hip, which has been strained by the swollen leg. That was it. I called the vet that's open 24/7 and told them we would be coming in. Harry went down cellar and hid in the time it took me to get dressed. We spent a good 15 minutes trying to find him.

The vet was very good. They put in a line first and made him comfortable, then they put in a sedative and then the drug that stops his heart. He was actually in pretty good spirits at the last, looking around and probably thinking "I don't like the vet's office". He went peacefully. They bundled him up in a nice cardboard carton, and he'll get buried near Marbles and Bumpkin at the cemetery, in the woods. But not today, it's too wet today.

We'll miss the lump on the bed that Harry has been for the last few months, the lump that slowly works it way up to our head by the morning, needing to be moved back down so we can sleep. We'll miss Harry's playfulness on the bed in the morning, trying to entice us to pat him so he can take a swipe at us or grab us. Only since he's been sick lately had he seemed to figure out we DONT like to be grabbed with claws out. I'll miss watching Harry sit under the wisteria on the porch, waiting for a chance to grab a preoccupied bird. I won't miss dealing with the dead or crippled things he brought home. He was a great mouser and decent birder.

Harry had a few homes, but when we got him, we told him this would be his last. And it was. I think he had a happy 8 years with us. Now it's just Smudgy. She's outlived 3 of her housemates.

Needless to say, I am going to be very tired today, since I didn't really get back to sleep this morning.

What a rotten soggy bottom weekend

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 02:09:30 GMT

It doesn't help that we had the switch to daylight savings either, not that there was much daylight. All I can hear is the wind whipping and the rain pelting on the roof or the windows or whatever. I am so not looking forward to tomorrow. I got a call today for a funeral. We are supposed to get two day's notice. Two 'work day's'. I am not impressed. I do hope they don't try to pull this shit too often. It's not going to be nice for them when I tell them they cant have the funeral they already planned. They don't seem to get that sometimes things are in the way, like stones that need to be moved, and I don't do that.
As it is, it's going to be a mushy mucky mess like the last one, only this time I have to take the truck in. I have no choice. I didn't call Biv. I just don't want to listen to her bitch about the work. Maybe I'll text her in the morning and see how 'sick' she is.

I think I'm going to go to bed early and read. I feel like just being in bed. Crappy weekend.

Huh?

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 15:38:29 GMT

Hidden question which will store the final values for the segmentation values in this final variables for US Long form (26 segments)

This was the last question or statement on a Yahoo survey I took this morning. Not only do I not have a clue what it means, but I couldn't even choose NA at the bottom, it froze me out. Anyone have a any clue what it means? Just a boo boo?

Scrapbooking

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 00:14:59 GMT

Well, I got a few pages done of the Disney trip today, on this gloriously BLAH rainy windy day. Somehow I cant tell you anything else I've done today. Kind of seems like a waste. I'm sure I did something....

Yesterday I put a coat of tung oil on the pedestal I made. It needs another coat or two, but it's too cold and crappy to do it today, and I don't want to stink up the house again. I also threw a coat on the front door, since it's been naked ever since I stripped the old brown paint off maybe 12 years ago. Nothing goes very quickly in this house. I was thinking as I had to clear away all my paper and photos for dinner "oh, yeah, that's why I don't do this anymore."

Just when I think my cold is gone, I can't seem to leave the house without mints of gum or something, or I go into a coughing fit. Post nasal drip or something like that happening, but it doesn't fell like it. Just this mad tickle that forms. Be done already.

I got my phone bill, and for the second month there were charges from these 'fake' companies. I may have ranted about this before. So I called Verizon to tell them, and to get the charged again removed and make sure they were blocked. I was told they were blocked, but that I had to call the actual companies that billed me to get them to take off the charge. Um NO! No I don't and NO I wont. First off, I had this happen before with the cemetery, and they took of the charge, and I didn't have to call anyone. Secondly, I never have ever had any dealings with these 'companies'. They are fake, bogus, scam companies that dont' actually do anything except bill people for services NOT rendered. Verizon allowed these scammers to put a charge on my bill, without my every having consented to it, and without my ever using these services, so VERIZON can contact these scam artist and talk to them, or they can choose to simply take the bogus charge off my bill. I will not call a company that I have never before called to remove a charge for something I never used. ITS NOT MY RESPONSIBILITY, IT's VERIZON'S! And when I'm dont here I'm going to email them to let them know I am not happy with whoever it was that told me I would have to call them.
And again, WHY does Verizon allow scam companies to bill people? It should be illegal. Once you know that a company is doing this, it should be blocked PERIOD! For everyone.

Today I also got my registration renewal (yes, I should feel privileged they still sent it out).
I know how hard up they are, considering they had to send out three adds with the registration. Yeah, they are really hurting for money in the RMV.

I woke up tired and achy thinking 'why am I so tired'? I thought I hadn't done much yesterday. Then I remembered it didn't rain like it was supposed to yesterday, and although I didn't pick up leaves, I did tamp 7 graves with the gas tamper, and lugged it all over the place, and then raked in the graves. I did something else too, but I forget what it was. I think I pulled more muscles yesterday than I did all week pitch forking leaves.

Sarasuperid mentioned skin and warts in her post, and I had been meaning to post about the curious wart cure my doctor recommended. I have the plantar wart my son had last summer. His finally went away after the whole rigmarole of freezing, and then salicylic acid and band aids and so on. Took forever. But of course he wouldn't just dig out the dead thing like I would have. So my doctor told me that someone had recommended to her to use duct tape on a wart, and she tried it on her kid and she said it worked. She didn't however say how long it would take. I did look it up on line, and it's listed there as a cure. So I've been wearing a patch of duct tape on my foot for about 2 weeks. I can say it helps make it feel better, because when I take the tape off and it dries and hardens, it hurts, but with the tape on it keeps the skin soft. I'm not sure if it's killing the wart though. Almost time to try the exact o blade again.

Well, it's off to Verizon....

New Glasses

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 03:26:03 GMT

I picked up my new glasses today. I don't like them. They aren't as bad as the last 'new' pair I got, I can at least wear them without tearing up, but they feel too strong. I have no depth perception. And my left eye feels funny, like something isn't right. I may not have great vision with my old pair, but it's even vision, I don't feel like one eye is screwy. And the eye doctor wonders why I never come in? Why bother? What's the point of getting a new prescription and an new pair of glasses when the goddamn things don't feel right? I have no idea if I'm going to be able to get used to these things. Very aggravating.

Ryther is out with the boys tonight, so Himself and I got pizza and watched "1941". What a stupid movie, but it had some very funny stupid parts. I couldn't believe it was Steven Spielberg.

My cold has moved into my chest, so laughing isn't a good idea. It leads to coughing fits.

So my son's been experiencing harassment at school. And not just the usual shit, it seems some boys at his school think it's okay to sexually harass other kids. He transferred out of one class because of a group of kids who couldn't keep their hands off him, and now there are two more in another class that don't seem to understand what is and isn't appropriate behavior at school. Yeah, I'm so glad the legislature and the schools are doing something about bullying. Let me tell you, the kids still aren't getting the message. He tells me there is a girl from one of the shop classes that comes into his study hall instead of being in class. Gee, I wonder why that is? Girls still can get equal treatment in shop class. Wow, things have changed a lot in 25 years haven't they?

A woman I know came by the cemetery. She had been suffering kidney stones for a couple of years now. I asked her how she was doing, and she said she was better. She stopped drinking the water at her apartment. Apparently her building's water is well water, and since she stopped drinking it, her stones have stopped bothering her. Isn't that interesting. So much for the 'anti' bottled water campaign.

There is so much in the news I think about commenting on, but then I forget by the time I get here.

I built my pedestal for my sculpture. Actually right now I should be stripping wire for the whiskers so I can enter my sculpture in the art show. I still need to fill that paper out too. This weekend I have to get my cemetery stuff done up for the meeting. Ug. I also had the vacation pictures printed and decided I am going to put them in the scrapbook now, rather than trying to catch up with all the stuff before it which I may never do. I'm about three years behind on my scrapbooking.

Well, one thing with these new glasses, I'm not squinting. That's good right? I guess I won't find out if they are actually polarized until Tuesday when the sun comes out again.

That's about it for now.

Bivness as usual

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:09:30 GMT

Got a text from Biv this morning, after she called me last night and said she'd be at work today. She's going to the doctor maybe. She's taking the week off. Well, that's okay by me. Glad to know I can plan ahead. :)

Got 4 truckloads of leaves picked up. And boy are my arms tired. Ba dump bump! (that doesn't work does it?)

Back to Bivness.

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 02:29:12 GMT

So this morning I wake up all groggy and yucky, nap on the couch while Ryther makes my sandwich and so on. Drag my self to work. Ryther says I should just take the day off and call Biv and tell her to forget it. "No" says I, I'm not that bad (and I'm not). I get to work and the phone chimes, and there is a text from Biv saying she has a low grade fever and sore throat, maybe tomorrow. Yeah. Reliable, but not in the good way. Really, I'm not upset, but I stew over it for a good 20 minutes, just because. Not that I would have taken the day off, it's just the principle of the thing. I only call in sick if I have the flu or a stomach bug. It's just the way I am. I find working, esp. outdoors, generally makes me feel better than just moping around at home. If I were really sick, then I think it's good to stay home, but a sore throat or stuffy nose? Nah, suck it up. I don't really believe her fever BS. I've just heard too many 'stories'. She goes to the emergency room at the drop of a hat. I'm surprised she didn't have an 'ear infection' or something. And she called tonight and she sounded like death warmed over, and she says to me 'you sound worse than I do.'. I don't think she knows how bad she sounds, because I know I don't sound That bad. She did that too me before, telling me how bad I sounded, like I had something, when I wasn't even sick. I don't know what that's all about. She also added a "miss you". I let that drop in mid air. No, I don't miss you. Sorry. These last few months have been rather joyous not having to deal with you on a regular basis.

We got a call yesterday from Himself's theater camp. They are doing a production and want him to be involved. He was very excited, as were we, because he has no extra curricular activities, and he needs to get out more. And he needs to get involved with kids who are not just sports nuts, which seems to be the only thing any of the kids around here do. So the only drawback is that he is also doing a play at school. So on some days, he'll be running from play to play. Luckily it looks like they don't overlap, but some days it's going to be close. Well, if the kids can do it with sports, we can do it with plays.

I checked on line and found my score for the backhoe license. I got a paltry 73, which means I passed, but just barely. I thought I had done a bit better than that, although honestly, if I had had something concrete to actually study, I'm sure I would have done a lot better. Well, I did it, that's all that matters I guess. Really the most important thing for me to know is safety and when to call Dig Safe. Otherwise, I never dig off cemetery property, and don't intend to. Not the career of my choice, backhoe operator.

There was something on NPR today about the group of wolves in Yellowstone called the Druid pack. They have apparently been decimated by disease and other factors, and there is only one remaining wolf from that pack, and she is dying. Sad, but of course that's the way it goes. They asked what the parks people will do? And of course the answer is 'nothing'. Its nature. That's the way it's supposed to be.

And again, feeling like I have more to say, but not able to recall what it was....

Night at the movies

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 02:34:09 GMT

Definitely have a head cold. blah.

I got my notice telling me my Census form is on its way. I really wish they had more interesting question on the census, like they used to. "Can read or write? Owns a radio (computer)? Alien or Naturalized? How long married?" All that stuff is interesting.

I was looking some stuff up on my cemetery on line, and came across something on Googlebooks. Really cool. It made me think of a guy who had years ago asked for information on a certain tenant at the cemetery. I not only gave him what he had, I went into Boston to the Public Library and went through the old microfilm to find an article about him. The guy was interested in documenting a sward and gun given to this tenant, as he owned both of them. They were Civil War weapons. The guy was very happy with what I found for him and he even sent me some flowers. So on a lark I looked him up on Facebook, and there he was. I sent him a message, and it turns out he's since sold the gun and sward. The shame of it is that they were separated. I would think that anyone who bought them would want to keep them together, but apparently not. Oh well.

We watched the Oscars last night, even let the boy stay up and watch them with us. (yes, he actually did get up for school on time). I don't know who puts this show together, but they are idiots. I like the funny intro, although I didn't think that Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin were really that funny. They had a few good lines, but they seemed stiff. The opening number with Neil Patrick Harris was a total dud. They have limited time, and yet they insist on putting on that bunk? Just show some film clips or something, or a montage. I'm also really sick of the interpretative dance stuff. Again, cant we show film clips while the music plays? It really makes more sense to me. And I think it actually goes with the music, where as these dance moves dont.
This year I was at least happy to see that when they did the obits, they actually stayed focused on the people they were supposed to be paying tribute to, instead of the singer who was playing the accompanying music. And I think they did this last year, and it really needs to stop, is that foolishness of having top actors come out and sing the praises of the nominees for best actor and actress. Talk about a waste of time. And honestly, they wouldn't BE THERE if they weren't good actors. You don't freaking need to stroke their egos any more.
They had a montage of horror movies. I'm not sure why. But someone please save Bella from herself. I'm not sure she's going to make it to the end of the Twilight series.

Spring has sprung. My crocuses are in full bloom, a carpet of them blooming beside the house, and today there were even a few honey bees out and about.

Lily went home yesterday. We are once again Dog Free. It's nice to have my couch back.

I think I was going to do more, but my nose is driving me nuts and it's time to hit the Nyquil. I'm sure I have more I'm forgetting. Perhaps tomorrow I can think better.

Towards Salvation

Sun, 07 Mar 2010 02:17:56 GMT

I took a bunch of stuff to the Salvation Army today. I've been segregating stuff in the cellar for while and the weather was nice and I need the space desperately. While I was sorting I uncovered a box of craft stuff I hadn't opened in at least 5 years and I'm thinking "if I haven't used it in that long, I never will". It was a lot of cheap ribbon that I had bought to make these angel things and I never will use it. That and pom poms. So out it went. I don't know what the Army does with it, if they will throw it out? If I had a container to spare I would put it all together and some craft nut or kids would have enjoyed it, but as it was I kind of think it may be tossed. Well, I tried.
I got rid of a toaster oven I had picked up for free, thinking I would use it for sculpy projects, but I never did. Gone. I still have tons more to go through, but at least its' a bit better. I even found some fake birds that I was going to put on some wreaths for gifts but never did, so I got a wreath for my own door and will put them on it for me. Why not?

I took a quick peek in the store to see if they happened to have a hurricane lamp for Himself's room. They didn't, but I did notice that for people who get things for free, they sure do charge a lot. Most of the furniture was at least $50.00. Some of it was junk. It just seemed very overpriced.

After that I went to three different stores, and at each one of them I was asked to donate when I went to pay. Autism, Cancer, and Pet issues. Excuse me? What is this, national donation month? Or is this the new trend. I don't mind sometimes donating, but I read something that once you do, if you pay by credit card, the people you donated to have access to who you are, and will then use your name to beg from you or more likely sell it to others who will beg from you. It also gives the store whatever tax right off (I assume) instead of you. I don't think you can claim it on your taxes since you have no signed receipt of the donation.

Which reminds me I have to get my tax stuff together and my fathers stuff. I have to go through his medical bills so they can be added up and itemized. Perhaps he will have spent enough to warrant it.

I went to Bunko last night, but didn't win. Again we only played one round. I don't know why we don't just all get together and forget the bunko. No one really pays attention to the game, they just want to chat and drink.

My neighbor's mother has about two weeks to live. She's had liver cancer for a few years not and is going down hill fast now. At least she got the extra few years, and she had a good quality of life through it till the end. She was working up until a short while ago. Her family was going to try to have an early 50'th wedding celebration, but she isn't going to make it for that.

Harry is still hanging on. Go figure. His leg looks like it swallowed a tennis ball, or maybe a soft ball now, but we keep waiting to see if he is in pain, and Ryther really doesn't want to shorten his life unless he is in pain, and he really seems to be pretty normal other than the elephantiasis of the leg. He doesn't yelp when he jumps down or up, although it is hard for him to get up sometimes because he's dragging a useless leg. The only thing it serves him for now is balance, like a peg leg or cane. He eats like a horse still, he demands his food. He goes up and down the stairs when he doesn't have to. No bathroom issues, he even went outside a few times, which of course I have to keep an eye on him because he can't run or jump if something came at him, but he just wants to get out and smell the smells. I'm thinking eventually this is going to spread internally, but so far, he seems okay. Not sure how long this is going to go on for. We just keep an eye on him and try to make sure he's doing okay, no panting or racing breath or anything, and playful even. Just every so often it sounds like Capt. Ahab walking the deck. Woosh thump, woosh thump, woosh thump.

checks in the mail

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 02:40:03 GMT

I get monthly checks for the cemetery. Interest on CD's. Today, not for the first time, I noticed one bank, my primary bank, seals it's envelopes with tape. And upon opening them, I see that they only seal them with tape, they do not lick or otherwise moisten the seal. Which means that someone at my bank is, by hand, putting tape on every single CD check sent out, rather than getting a machine, or a sponge, to do it. Yet while a human has to handle every one of those checks, they cant seem to find the time to put all the checks in one envelope. I find this really interesting, because three other banks also send out the exact same check. They must all use the same company. But at least one of the other banks combines the checks into one envelope. It's all very interesting.. .to me.

I have to recommend, if I have not already, Whole Foods organic chocolate truffles. They are so goddamn good. Like chocolate moose in solid form. Melts in your mouth. Ryther got me Godiva truffles for Valentines day, and while I usually put those near the top, for some reason, this batch was very disappointing. They had a 'plastic' quality to them. Even the best ones, the dark chocolate with the dark chocolate center was just 'eh'. I wonder if they were stale, or if Godiva is just going down the tubes. I think from now on I'm just going to request WF's brand. Not the fancy box, but I'm not eating the box now am I?

There is an art show coming up that I can enter my Selkie in. I need a pedestal though. I think I'm going to build one, or try, this weekend. I also want to get a piece of granite for it to sit on. My mother in law told me of a granite counter place she said will let you take chunks of junk granite. I might go there tomorrow and ask. And I still need to put in the whiskers.

De Bark is worse than De Bite

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 02:19:33 GMT

I was watching the news tonight and they reported that the House had voted for an anti-debarking bill. It would make debarking a dog illegal except for when it was medically necessary. The issue reminds me of anti-abortion legislation. "Each dog barks in his own yard." Kipling.
I've been the victim of an incessant barking dog. I'm sure I've written about it. After a few years of listening to hour upon hour of barking, day after day, year after year, the neighbors finally either got enough death threats, or got a suite from the town, and did something about it. They muzzled the dog. Now, for the most part, it doesn't go outside unless it's muzzled. And it still barks. And barks. And barks. But it's muffled. It doesn't carry like the other sound did. And in the summer, when it's hot, I wonder how it affects the dog's ability to pant or drink. Is it cruel?
I've gone to various sites looking for information about debarking. You go from one extreme to another. Either it's the most cruel thing on the planet, making dogs unable to vocalize and eat and drink, to a simple procedure done under anesthesia that heals quickly so a dog can get back to it's normal life, barking it's head off with no one hearing much at all.
One thing I have noticed is that it seems like what is really at issue is bad breeders. Breeders who debark dogs so they can either have a lot of them without bothering people,or breeders who are doing illegal vet work on their own, or paying a chop shop vet to do it for them. Most of the people who are in the clips who have had bad experiences with the procedure got their dogs from breeders who were apparently quite disreputable. One woman claimed she bought a dog, then called the next day when she heard it bark and thought something was wrong. Now, seriously, what honest breeder would not disclose that the dog you are buying was debarked? Another dog had bad hips, and was promptly debarked and put in a cage, then sold as a pet. Again, a bad breeder, not interested in the dog, or the next owner it seems who might not want a debarked dog.
I certainly wouldn't want to have to debark my dog (if I had one) nor would I want to declaw my cat. But if the situation warranted it, and I couldn't find another alternative, I would rather have the option than be given the only other option of killing the dog or cat.
Very much like the abortion debate. Unless you are the person dealing with the situation, you really don't know if it's the right decision, so MYOB.
But it really seems to me like dog breeders and even veterinarians are what needs to be looked into, because like bad doctors, there should be reports of vets who are doing bad work if that is the case, and if it's breeders doing vet work, well, that's illegal too.

Dogs smell funny.

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 03:15:48 GMT

Yesterday I came home to 'cat missed catbox' smell permeating the house. Today I came home to 'oh my god that dog stinks' smell. How can one dog ooze so much foul odor? So I took her bedding out of her 'pup tent' and hung it on the line to hopefully freshen a bit, and I decided to give her a bath. Or rather a shower. She didn't like the idea of that, but she passively stood through it. And when I was done, all I seemed to have gotten for my trouble was a dog that smelled like wet dog. I just cant win.

I got a message on the answering machine today from the eyeglass place. Apparently they broke my glasses while putting them together, so it will be another week. Their glasses people, what's the big deal? Ship it to China, maybe they still know how to make things out of glass.

Got the new master cylinder in the truck. I hope its all set now. He said to keep an eye out for leaks, just in case that wasn't it. He didn't charge me either, because even though it's been over a year and that was the warranty, there cant be more than 100 miles on the truck in that year, if that.

Ryther and I watched the Genealogy show on PBS (computer) last night. It was really interesting in parts. I esp. liked the part where they went to China and found Yo Yo Ma's genealogy. It survived the Cultural Revolution somehow. He was really pretty funny, Yo Yo.

The bugs are out.

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 03:05:40 GMT

Yes, that's right, bugs. It's only 40 during the day, but still they are waking up. I almost ate one today, that's how I know.

We seem to have chipmunks setting up shop out back in the stone wall. I guess it's because our resident cats no longer go out. That will change with the kittens come along. Yes, there should be kittens at some point, after we rid ourselves of these old fogie cats, who are thinking outside the box! Bad kitty! Actually, we do want to try to get some young cats or kittens, preferably from the same batch who will hopefully get along. Like I've said, I'm tired of cats that dont' get along. Of course, the woman down the street got brothers, really wonderful cats, and of course the best of them, the really friendly one, got eaten by coyotes. Kind of makes sense, it's the hunter brother who survived. Again, it doesn't pay to be nice. Even for cats.

My brother finally found the piece of the transmission that was warn. He gave me the gears to bring to my favorite parts store to see if I could get it. I brought the parts book, but it doesn't have a breakdown of the transmission. The parts guy thought that that might mean that Simplicity doesn't sell anything but the whole transmission. Which would be @ $700.00. But he consulted with some other guys, and I left the part with him. He called later saying that they do sell a kit, for $60.00. Well, for that I'll take a chance. Its either that or a new mower, and it might end up being a new mower in the end anyway, at the rate things keep breaking on this old geezer of a machine. And I haven't even touched the wheel bearings on the other mower.

The truck gets to go to the shop tomorrow for another master cylinder. That should go another year and a half. :-(

Ok, got to check out the genealogy thing on PBS that Mrknowitall reminded me of. It is on line.

Youthanasia

Tue, 02 Mar 2010 02:16:43 GMT

Quite frankly, I say 'god bless them' if they are giving them too much morphine. I've seen it do it's magic, and if you have to die, why not die peacefully? Why torture a child?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100302/ap_on_he_me/us_med_euthanasia_children

Parents say doctors hastened death for dying kids

By LINDSEY TANNER, AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner, Ap Medical Writer – 58 mins ago

CHICAGO – It's a situation too agonizing to contemplate — a child dying and in pain. Now a small but provocative study suggests that doctors may be giving fatal morphine doses to a few children dying of cancer, to end their suffering at their parents' request.

A handful of parents told researchers that they had asked doctors to hasten their children's deaths — and that doctors complied, using high doses of the powerful painkiller.

The lead author of the study and several other physicians said they doubt doctors are engaged in active mercy killing. Instead, they speculate the parents interviewed for the study mistakenly believed that doctors had followed their wishes.

Dwindleing bloggers

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 02:46:50 GMT

Of the @ 30 people on my friends list, @ 20 were regular bloggers. I estimate than no more than 7 are now blogging with any regularity. :(

Deerly Departed

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 19:20:44 GMT

I was walking Lily today in some conservation land. This is the same place she snagged a mouse last year. It's fun for her, lots of exciting smells. So as she's poking along smelling ever little thing, I see something that looks like feathers on the ground. I figure it's maybe from a turkey, but when I drag her up close to see it, it's fur. Lots of fur. So I look around and not too far off, is a carcass of something big. I go over and it's what's left of an adult deer. Apparently the coyotes had a really good time last night. I of course had to run (drive) home (dragging the dog with me) so I could get my camera. I would love to have a deer skull, but I really don't think it would go over too well to carry an ax onto public property and walk out with a head. Ya know?
This was really fascinating (for me). I've never found a 'body' before. I'm putting the pictures under a cut, for those who might be faint of heart. Although there were no guts left. Actually, there isn't much left but fur and bones.

Raining cats and dogs

Fri, 26 Feb 2010 02:52:04 GMT

Its pouring out, the wind is whipping.
Tomorrow I have to help my MIL move sculptures. Well, I don't "Have" to, I was asked, and I don't mind. Beats being wet.
I dug my cremation hole today and picked up a couple of boards from yesterday, before it started raining again. Everything is soaked here. I dread any call on a funeral right now. And it looks like the weather is going to be like this for at least another 4 days. I'd prefer it if it got cold and snowed. I can at least shovel snow and drive on frozen ground. Mud is something totally other. Blech.

I took my backhoe test today. Not sure how I did. There were questions that I had no idea how to answer. One was about whether a modern backhoe had one or two brakes. I have no clue, I've never driven a modern backhoe. Ours is 20 years old. And all the studying I did trying to memorize the hand signals, which no one uses, was for nothing. I was of course the only female in the room. There were 40 questions to answer, so I can get 12 wrong and still get 70% I figure, so I hope I will make it. At least I found the place okay.

Not much to write about tonight. I had yet another Moose dream last night. This one was about them selling their house, only it was a barn, and they were selling all the stuff in it. I keep meaning to check out Zillow to see if it's on the market.

So where was I?

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 02:36:17 GMT

I have a stiff neck. Tomorrow I have to take the backhoe exam. I have no idea what to expect. It would be really nice if they had a booklet you could study. I'm not sure what they are going to expect me to know. Ho hum.

I put the dog out back yesterday and the day before for some sunshine and fresh air. She ate the birdseed that was on the ground. Of course I didn't realize how much of it she was eating. This is just shells mind you. Two huge poops of 90% sunflower seed shells. Gross!!!

On the subject, I cant tell you how many toilets I had to wipe down over the course of our vacation. I've mentioned this before as a pet peeve of mine. Women, sit your asses down on the seat. Hell, use the damn paper seat covers. But don't piss on the seat so I have to wipe your pee before I can sit down.

We had some major bus confusion while at Disney. First day we took the river boat to DTD and couldn't get a bus to the parks before noon. Another day we took the bus home, but got off at the wrong compass direction bus stop. I didn't ever realize there was more than one per area. I wish they had a bus schedule to go along with all the park pamphlets.

I loved our towels. I expected they would be all cotton, but they weren't. They were 90% cotton I think. They felt wonderful and were super absorbent. I did not take any home, but I should have written the brand down.

I have to again marvel at the decorations of the buildings and things, esp. in Animal Kingdom. I was just blown away by the detail in the woodwork and such. I also want to know how they get concrete to be so smooth? Is there an additive? It's like it's been polished almost to a shine in places.

I had a Moose dream while I was in Disney, another confrontational one. This time Mr. Moose agreed with my assessment, but was kind of like "welcome to my nightmare" about it. While I don't really remember details now, at the time it was a very vivid dream. I think that's the fourth one I've had where I've had it out with her. As they say, only in your dreams. Although I did take one of her 'how well do you know me' quizzes on FB, and the only question I got wrong was one I got wrong intentionally. It was about what birth defect was her child born with. Instead of the expected answer of 'deaf' I put down blind, knowing damn right well he wasn't born blind, but also knowing damn right well he wasn't born deaf either.

We watched Slumdog Millionaire over the weekend. What a great movie. So totally not what I expected. I'm thinking it's going to be a dancing love story, and it's not at all that. Very serious, very sad and very 'Song of Kali' if you've ever read that Dan Simmons book. India, another country like Mexico I have no wish to go to.

If you have a moment...

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 01:24:32 GMT

I highly recommend my friend's blog entry about the cows. It's funny. No, really, it's funny. He's a funny guy.

True story, I swear! http://glenoterica.blogspot.com/

Stuck in the mud.

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 21:02:34 GMT

We had a funeral today, and I got to train the vault man. That's not my job. And I'm pissy and venting about it.

The job today was deep into the cemetery, over a lot of 'grass' that because of the rain and frost and season, was potential mud. I chose to leave a load of dirt beside the grave rather than try to drive into the area today to dump a load of dirt in the hole. When the vault arrived this morning, I suggested he bring the vault in on the hill joy, a motorized box carrier. Normally I'd let him and myself drive in, but I know that one ride over the grass would turn everything to soup. So I had to go get Biv, and when we got back we went down to help him. It was 8:30 when he started. By the time we got down there, he had buried the wheels of the hill joy in the mud. After multiple attempts to get a board under the hill joy, I finally told him to set up the tripod and lift the vault. We were able to finally get the hill joy onto a sheet of plywood. We then went end over end moving plywood to keep the thing above ground. That was fine.

So then we get to the grave, and I tell Biv to grab one of the long oak boards to put on the grave so we could roll the vault on. There were side boards, but this was the middle board. But the guy told her he didn't need it, it was just for getting the hill joy on and off the truck. I asked him again if he needed it, and he said no. So he's got the thing ready to go on the grave, a wide open hole with nothing to catch the vault. I told him to stop, I've seen this done a million times YOU WANT THE OTHER BOARD! Went down and got it and put it on. Then I had to get the roller, because he didn't have it set up. He gets the vault kind of on, but not far enough. No amount of pushing is going to move it up hill. So he's going to use the tripod to pull it up the hill. Which is all well and good, but it won't work because there is nothing to hold the tripod down. He tries, tripod starts to go over. I tell him to move the tripod over the vault more, we'll lift it and move it a bit onto the boards, and then he can lower it down and move the tripod to center over the hole and we can lift it again. Which he does, which works.

Now, the funny thing is I know I missed some trick, that we probably shouldn't have had to move the tripod, but I, not being a vault man, wasn't sure what it was. I just knew this would work, and it did. Now it's 10:30. Two hours to get a vault in. Funerals at 11. So Biv and I go back to get our stuff (I had to tell him to leave his boards on the grave, that we'd use his. I think this was his first tripod job, or it seemed it). We were also soaked and filthy by now. And I have to say he was more than willing to let us lump boards while he pushed buttons on the hill joy. Anyway. We set up our stuff while he set up the tent. Then I go back to the truck to warm up, and here he is with the hill joy once again stuck in the mud trying to get the cover over to the grave. Did he not realize that he'd need the boards AGAIN to move anything? WTF?

Biv goes over to help him, and I'm sitting in the truck content to let him earn his money, but then Biv waves me over. UG! So here we go moving boards again. He barely made it out of the way before the funeral come in.

After the funeral, the same thing happened with the cover, he had to reposition the tripod to get it in, which at least he remembered to do without being told. That's promising. Oh, and setting up the tent, he didn't quite get that right either. Anyway...
He also left one of his boards which I was going to pick up for him but forgot. I don't suppose it will walk away on it's own. He won't miss it, until he needs it that is.

I called the funeral director this afternoon to let him know what was going on. Because the kicker is this. One of the regular vault men gave one months notice because he got another job, and he wanted to give time to train a replacement. He was fired that day. So instead of the new guy getting a months training, he got two weeks, and was totally unprepared for any kind of challenging hole. All because the owner is too cheap to have an overlap. Better to have some kind of accident on the job, or have a vault stuck in the mud when the funeral shows up than to spend the money.

If it had been another cemetery, the guy would have had to call for help. Because a lot of cemeteries will not help the vault men. It's not their job.

I see said the blind man...

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 03:06:19 GMT

I got an eye exam today, and brought my 5+ year old glasses with me to have the new lenses put in those frames.

The woman who did the exam was the same woman who did my exam 10 years ago, or the last time I was in there for an exam. I did get an exam in between then, but it was by a different guy, the guy worked out of the place where I actually had the glasses made up. He gave me a bad prescription, or whoever made the glasses ground them wrong, I don't know. But I could never wear the glasses as one eye was blurry. I think at first I figured it was my eyes adjusting, but after a few minutes I couldn't stand to wear them. I never took them back, which of course I should have. They just lost a customer, and they went out of business a few years later. I wonder why?

So I've had these useless glasses for a while, and the frames are brand new. While I was dealing with the eyeglass guy, I was reading that they don't recommend you use old frames. All kinds of bad things can happen if you do. Bull shit. They just want to sell you new, expensive frames. I am sure some people abuse their glasses, but to say that all used frames are going to destroy your new glasses, that's just hogwash. I better not get any feedback about these frames since they are essentially brand new. I also had to sign a waver because I wanted glass lenses instead of plastic. I've always had glass, and the only time I've ever broken, or actually flaked, my lenses was because the frames I bought were way too thin and flexed like crazy. And they were new. The glasses I have on now are 10 years old, and they have only one tiny pit in them after all these years. I'll take glass any day. I'm also getting my photo grays again finally. That was something else that other eye guy screwed up.

The funny thing is the eye doctor did some kind of test on my reading vision, but then I never got any prescription for that, which I don't want, but I thought she would give me anyway, since my reading vision is starting to go. Hmm, not sure what that was about. Maybe because I said I didn't want bifocals?

I have a funeral tomorrow. It should be nice and shitty out. I also had to talk to the mechanic today. It looks like the master cylinder for the dump truck is letting go. It's only a year and a half old. Dems da brakes! (bada bing) Because I expect tomorrow to be a mud bath, I left a pile to fill in the grave. I didn't want to have to back the dump truck in on mud and snow. Biv should be thrilled to have to back fill by hand. ;-)

Pins and Pennies

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 04:00:09 GMT

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disney_pin_trading

We watched the Simpson yesterday, which ironically had a sub plot of Lisa Simpson becoming addicted to Olympic pin trading. It's ironic because having just come back from Disney, we have just gone through at least a gimps of pin mania.
The last time I was there, 20 years ago, I didn't notice anything about pins, but apparently collectible pins have been issued for years and years. But the pin trading fad I guess goes back to about 2000, according to Wiki. And what a great gimmick. They make and sell some really cute pins of all kinds, and they range from 7-14 dollars. But you cant just buy ONE pin. You have racks and racks to choose from, and lanyards to put them on. It's just so much fun.... Himself ended up with I think 10, two of which were 'mystery' pins for a buck. His grandmother bought him one, and he bought himself 2 I think. We paid for the others. They really are great souvenirs. Although I checked them out on E-bay when i got back, and you can get all you want for about a buck a pop. But again, it's a once in a lifetime thing, at least for us, so I dont mind.

Then there are the pennies. Disney has penny crushers everywhere. You put in 2 quarters and a penny, and then pick one of three designs to crush into your penny. Collect them all! Or at least some. That must have set us back $10.00 I'd say. And the really fun ones are the ones you crank yourself. I've done this myself in San Fran, and again, they are fun souvenirs. Probably the cheapest ones we found.

I bought myself a Disney baseball hat. It's the one thing I wanted and figured I needed since I didn't have sun glasses and my eyes suffer from the sun. I also got a t-shirt for each of us, and Ryther had to buy a sweat shirt because it was so cold and he didn't bring his jacket. Sadly the one he bought was a bit too small, so until he slims down, it's all mine!

Himself also bought two cap guns, god knows why because we already have two from Disney from 20 years ago that are way better, and made in the USA. But it's his money.

Aside from a few post cards, and stuff for the neighbor who was looking after the cats, we didn't really buy too much junk. I almost bought myself a pin, but couldn't think of where to put it, so I passed. Maybe I'll get one on E-bay.

More Disney

Sun, 21 Feb 2010 23:03:54 GMT

I just wrote to the Florida Forestry service to try to find out what a certain kind of tree was that I saw on the grounds of the park, and acres and acres of on the way to the airport. They looked like dead trees, and in fact they looked like the tree I spotted a few years ago that I thought was a dead cedar tree, until I noticed later in the spring it was green. I'm wondering if they are the same tree.

Some of the wildlife we saw at Disney were very cute but very small gray squirrels. They actually had the body type of a red squirrel, but they didn't have the ear tufts and I think were just small cousins of the grays. We had a large rabbit cross our path. There is lots of underbrush for the small animals, and apparently enough to eat. The animals weren't beggy either, not like park squirrels up here that practically mug you for food. There were also a lot of mallard ducks everywhere we went with water. And grackles were all over the place in the parks.

On one ride at night to Downtown Disney we took the water shuttle. Just as we were getting close to DTD, along the shore all spaced about 20 feet apart were various waterbirds like heron or egrets, just along the bank. They looked fake at first they were so perfectly spaced right on the edge. But they moved just as the boat came by. I wonder what they do there, wait for fish or something? It was really cool, and I wish I had the camera out.

Cirque Du Soleil was just amazing. First off there really wasn't a bad seat in the house. The performers were just incredible. It's a bit of a weird mix, and you cant really watch everything at once, there is so much going on. I didn't even realize the music was live until halfway through.
At one point they had four little Asian girls come out and perform with some kind of large yo-yo's. They were unbelievable. One of the girls yo-yo string caught up in her shoe, and she struggled with it for a few seconds while the other three kept going and then she went to another performer who was able to get it off her shoe but there was a kink in it. He had a second string in a fountain on stage and gave her that. She didn't miss a beat and was right in with the rest in a second, and they went on to do more amazing tricks. I couldn't imagine doing that kind of performance as an adult, let alone as a kid. Way too much pressure in my opinion. I actually wasn't sure if they were kids or small adults at first.
The bike performers were amazing, as were the people who did the trapeze work and hung from ribbons from the ceiling. And all mixed in were these two clowns who did really silly goofy clown stuff. All throughout the performance the floors would rise and fall bringing things up from below. Just incredible.

Where ever we went we would inevitably see 'crying' princesses. Little girls who had just 'had it' and were flipping out. Kind of funny. But honestly, I think kids should be a bit older to really do Disney. It's very stressful.

I enjoyed maid service. And although I was glad to see that they provided a place to recycle bottles and cans, and newspapers in the rooms, I was somewhat disappointing to not see more renewable power in the Disney parks. What a great place for solar cells or hot water solar cells at the least. And wind mills. And water mills. The place we stayed at had a working water wheel, why not harness some of that power to actually make power? Disney's plan for Epcot was originally a real community, with the monorail to get people around. I'm sad the Disney has never really done anything with that plan of a Utopian community, even if it's a Utopian park. Sure it won't be perfect,(because no utopia is) but they could do wonders to lead the way. I think on the way to the airport I saw a power plant that I think was Crystal River 3 nuclear power plant. At least it looks the same on Wiki. I note on Wiki it was built in 1977 and is being inspected for a crack. Ug. Also on the same site are fossil fuel plants to feed the need. Shame they couldn't put some wind farms out there on the water.

More later, got to make dinner.