Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Dixie's Latest Conquest
So yesterday Dixie decided to stalk and take out some sort of creature in our back yard. I am not sure what it is, but it was fairly large and had some fight in it.
She had been whining about going out several times during the course of the morning. Right after non, she went out and was just standing on the patio gazing intently towards the back fence. I thought she was having one of her Alzheimer's moments where she goes outside then apparently forgets why she wanted to go out.... Kind of like me going to the grocery store without a list. Then I looked up and saw something waddling across the yard at the base of the fence. Dixie spotted it the same time as me, and she took off like I haven't seen her run in a couple of years. I yelled after her, then assumed that whatever it was would get under the chain-link fence between our yard and the Hamiltons. Once I saw her pounce and start growling and shaking her head back and forth violently, I knew that wasn't going to be the case. It was kind of gruesome, as she was very single-minded and focused on apparently killing the poor beast. That took a couple of minutes, and then she came out from behind the tree in the corner of the yard with the carcass drooping in her mouth. I finally got her to put it down and come to me. She was covered in blood, and looked like she had two big burises under her eyes on the side of her muzzle... I could not tell whether the blood was from her or the animal but I feared the worst and started thinking about how to protect the interior of my car if I had to take her to the vet...
Well, long story short, I got her into the bath tub and all of the blood washed off, although the sides of the tub and shower looked like the shower scene from Psycho as she shook herself off several times during the ordeal. The bad part for her was that I would not let her back outside until Rob came home from school 2 hours later to help me dispose of the remains!
She had been whining about going out several times during the course of the morning. Right after non, she went out and was just standing on the patio gazing intently towards the back fence. I thought she was having one of her Alzheimer's moments where she goes outside then apparently forgets why she wanted to go out.... Kind of like me going to the grocery store without a list. Then I looked up and saw something waddling across the yard at the base of the fence. Dixie spotted it the same time as me, and she took off like I haven't seen her run in a couple of years. I yelled after her, then assumed that whatever it was would get under the chain-link fence between our yard and the Hamiltons. Once I saw her pounce and start growling and shaking her head back and forth violently, I knew that wasn't going to be the case. It was kind of gruesome, as she was very single-minded and focused on apparently killing the poor beast. That took a couple of minutes, and then she came out from behind the tree in the corner of the yard with the carcass drooping in her mouth. I finally got her to put it down and come to me. She was covered in blood, and looked like she had two big burises under her eyes on the side of her muzzle... I could not tell whether the blood was from her or the animal but I feared the worst and started thinking about how to protect the interior of my car if I had to take her to the vet...
Well, long story short, I got her into the bath tub and all of the blood washed off, although the sides of the tub and shower looked like the shower scene from Psycho as she shook herself off several times during the ordeal. The bad part for her was that I would not let her back outside until Rob came home from school 2 hours later to help me dispose of the remains!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Olympics Wrap-Up
Well, the Vancouver Olympics are wrapping up tonight, the last event was the men's hockey, won by Canada, 3-2. The US got the silver.
I have to say that I really enjoyed the Olympics overall. I prefer the winter games to the summer, almost every event in the winter is cool, even the curling and the biathlon (x-country skiing and shooting). The venues were nice, and the scenery in and around Vancouver was tremendous. I suspect there will be a dramatic increase in the tourism to that area over the next couple of years.... I know I would like to visit there!
The medal count ended up with the US #1, with 37, followed by Germany with 30 and Canada with a respectable 26, after a slow start - and a lot of pressure! And the Canadians ended up with the most gold medal, with 14. So, good for them. They put on a great show and deserved all of the success that they had, especially since they didn't beat the US in medal count!
The first week, I watched almost everything, but by the time the second Tuesday rolled around, I have to say that my interest was waning a bit. Too much Bob Costas will do that to you, I guess. And the coverage was a bit irritating, too, as it was impossible to not see what happened suring the day before NBC showed it at night. If you spend any time on-line or watch any TV, it's hard not to see what's going on..... And of course, the sappy segments are a bit much. But the athletes are very impressive, many of them not just one-trick ponies but real people with real lives outside their sports and ready to make contributions to society once their competition days are over (Shaun White excepted - enough with him, already).
Don't know who will have the next winter Olympics (ok, I looked it up, Sochi in Russia. So we'll be ready for the Putin Games, I guess...) but they will have a hard time outdoing our friends to the north. Congrats, eh!
I have to say that I really enjoyed the Olympics overall. I prefer the winter games to the summer, almost every event in the winter is cool, even the curling and the biathlon (x-country skiing and shooting). The venues were nice, and the scenery in and around Vancouver was tremendous. I suspect there will be a dramatic increase in the tourism to that area over the next couple of years.... I know I would like to visit there!
The medal count ended up with the US #1, with 37, followed by Germany with 30 and Canada with a respectable 26, after a slow start - and a lot of pressure! And the Canadians ended up with the most gold medal, with 14. So, good for them. They put on a great show and deserved all of the success that they had, especially since they didn't beat the US in medal count!
The first week, I watched almost everything, but by the time the second Tuesday rolled around, I have to say that my interest was waning a bit. Too much Bob Costas will do that to you, I guess. And the coverage was a bit irritating, too, as it was impossible to not see what happened suring the day before NBC showed it at night. If you spend any time on-line or watch any TV, it's hard not to see what's going on..... And of course, the sappy segments are a bit much. But the athletes are very impressive, many of them not just one-trick ponies but real people with real lives outside their sports and ready to make contributions to society once their competition days are over (Shaun White excepted - enough with him, already).
Don't know who will have the next winter Olympics (ok, I looked it up, Sochi in Russia. So we'll be ready for the Putin Games, I guess...) but they will have a hard time outdoing our friends to the north. Congrats, eh!
Friday, February 19, 2010
'70's Cultural Icons - Clothing Edition
For some reason, last night I started randomly searching in Google for various '70's clothing items, and came up with some great stuff....
Earth shoes - these are probably the reason that I have back issues today! If man was mean to walk with our heel lower than our toes, we would have been born with our heels in a hole....
Frye boots - oh yeah, these were the coolest things ever, and the switching back from these to Earth shoes probably contributed to my achy back!
A popular fabric back in the day, Qiana, was also an effective way of losing weight, as it would trap any and all sweat against your body....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qiana
Nike Cortez - the first sneaker they made, I had a pair when they came out in the early '70's. Funny to see them back in stores now.....
And, of course, bell bottoms! I had a pair of hip-hugger, denim bell bottoms that were my favorite pants for decades... ummm, years......
Platform shoes, anyone? I had a pair of plain brown ones very similar to these. Worked perfectly with the bell bottom jeans!
Seems to me I wore a powder blue tux to my Senior HS Prom, probably not unlike this one...
Ahhh, good times for sure.....
Earth shoes - these are probably the reason that I have back issues today! If man was mean to walk with our heel lower than our toes, we would have been born with our heels in a hole....
Frye boots - oh yeah, these were the coolest things ever, and the switching back from these to Earth shoes probably contributed to my achy back!
A popular fabric back in the day, Qiana, was also an effective way of losing weight, as it would trap any and all sweat against your body....
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qiana
Nike Cortez - the first sneaker they made, I had a pair when they came out in the early '70's. Funny to see them back in stores now.....
And, of course, bell bottoms! I had a pair of hip-hugger, denim bell bottoms that were my favorite pants for decades... ummm, years......
Platform shoes, anyone? I had a pair of plain brown ones very similar to these. Worked perfectly with the bell bottom jeans!
Seems to me I wore a powder blue tux to my Senior HS Prom, probably not unlike this one...
Ahhh, good times for sure.....
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Lost is Found!
Well, last night was the premiere for Season 6 of Lost - the final season. I had missed the last 2 episodes of last season so I watched them prior to the show on hulu.com (a great web site if you've missed episodes of your favorite TV shows!). So I was caught up when the show started, and didn't have to watch the 'clip show' that was on prior.
Knowing it's the last season brings mixed feelings. I've been pretty into the show over the years, after watching the first season in reruns over the summer after it debuted. I love the characters and there is certainly a lot of sci-fi feel to it, like The X-Files..... Some people see religious overtones (Kathleen is always looking for Bible references and has found a number of them in character names and places). Personally, I don't try to read too much into it, I prefer it simply as a human interest/action drama, with a lot of interesting characters and humorous situations. While there may be some 'good vs evil' aspect to it, especially now with the introduction of the cynical 'Man in Black' and Jacob, the more positive, 'free-will' guy generally being seen in a white shirt, I still think people read too much into it. Is the island purgatory? Is it a good vs evil clash? A morality play? Who knows. It's just fun and addictive.
Knowing it's the last season brings mixed feelings. I've been pretty into the show over the years, after watching the first season in reruns over the summer after it debuted. I love the characters and there is certainly a lot of sci-fi feel to it, like The X-Files..... Some people see religious overtones (Kathleen is always looking for Bible references and has found a number of them in character names and places). Personally, I don't try to read too much into it, I prefer it simply as a human interest/action drama, with a lot of interesting characters and humorous situations. While there may be some 'good vs evil' aspect to it, especially now with the introduction of the cynical 'Man in Black' and Jacob, the more positive, 'free-will' guy generally being seen in a white shirt, I still think people read too much into it. Is the island purgatory? Is it a good vs evil clash? A morality play? Who knows. It's just fun and addictive.
Friday, January 22, 2010
My Name Is Dan and I Am A Jets Fan...
And no, that's not intended to sound like the beginning of an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting....! I just wanted to reaffirm my membership in Jets Nation prior to the AFC Championship game this Sunday! As a rabid Red Sox, Celtics and (when I care about hockey) Bruins fan, I am somewhat of an odd duck in rooting for the Jets (and New York Football Giants as well). The Jets are pretty much anathema to a real New Englander. But I haven't been a Patriots fan since Steve Grogan retired, and the latest Bill Bellichick era has really turned me off to them. And not just because of the cheating ;-) (Had to get that in there!)
There is actually a lot of similarity between being a Jets fan and being a Red Sox fan (at least, prior to 2004). Like most Jets fans, I always have doubts and expect the 'same old Jets' will show up, and it's the same thing with the Sox, although certainly to a much lesser extant since 2004 and 2007. And the Jets have had the same flashes of good play, just like the Sox in '86, '88, etc. But something has always gone wrong (see Testaverde, Vinny, 1999, when the Jets were expected to contend for the championship).
So I will be watching the game on Sunday, with my Jets hoodie and Jets hat and green turtle neck!
J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS!
There is actually a lot of similarity between being a Jets fan and being a Red Sox fan (at least, prior to 2004). Like most Jets fans, I always have doubts and expect the 'same old Jets' will show up, and it's the same thing with the Sox, although certainly to a much lesser extant since 2004 and 2007. And the Jets have had the same flashes of good play, just like the Sox in '86, '88, etc. But something has always gone wrong (see Testaverde, Vinny, 1999, when the Jets were expected to contend for the championship).
So I will be watching the game on Sunday, with my Jets hoodie and Jets hat and green turtle neck!
J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
MA Senate Election
So the big election in Massachusetts is over, and the Democrats have again been shown (for the third time in as many months - see also governor elections in VA and NJ) that they have completely lost touch with the people. And President Obama has put his political capitol on the line in all three races, and lost each one. If that's not a repudiation of his policies, in sections of the country that SHOULD support them, I don't know what is. The Democrats can blame Martha Coakley for a lackluster campaign, but I think they all - all the way up to the White House, which coordinated this campaign - felt it was a slam dunk once the primaries were over. So by blaming Coakley, they are really blaming themselves for complacency in the face of massive dissatisfaction - with the economy, with the bloated health care bills now being negotiated behind closed doors, with the costs of these bailouts for various industries but not Main Street, and mainly by the arrogance shown by the Democrats in the last year. Unfortunately, I doubt there will be major changes (except, of course, those brought on by the fact that the Democrats no longer have a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate) in their approach and, most importantly, attitude. While I'm not a big fan of the tea-partiers, I do think that some sort of protest in that vein certainly reflects the larger sentiments of the population, if not so verbose or radical.
At the same time, the Republicans should not necessarily take this as a validation of their party or ideals. Brown ran more as an independent than a Republican, and frankly, the Republicans have been complaining about many of the same tactics used by the Democrats, they they have used in the past, and would use again if in the same position the Democrats are today. So, the Republicans should not be crowing about this election either, but take a sober look at where they are as a party (too far right, IMHO) and correct course.
I'm interested to see how Brown fares in 2012, when he is up for re-election on the regular cycle. Only thing I am sure of is that Martha Coakley won't be his opponent!
I am going to try to post at least 4 times a week, from this point on. I need to start writing more, and think I can come up with enough topics on which to comment!
At the same time, the Republicans should not necessarily take this as a validation of their party or ideals. Brown ran more as an independent than a Republican, and frankly, the Republicans have been complaining about many of the same tactics used by the Democrats, they they have used in the past, and would use again if in the same position the Democrats are today. So, the Republicans should not be crowing about this election either, but take a sober look at where they are as a party (too far right, IMHO) and correct course.
I'm interested to see how Brown fares in 2012, when he is up for re-election on the regular cycle. Only thing I am sure of is that Martha Coakley won't be his opponent!
I am going to try to post at least 4 times a week, from this point on. I need to start writing more, and think I can come up with enough topics on which to comment!
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