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Jul. 6th, 2009 @ 10:39 am
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Gah, for one glorious day I thought my computer was fixed. Then it wasn't. I have some rather excellent photos that I took at the Inavale Horse Trials that are stuck on my backup harddrive because I insist on shooting in RAW format which can only be viewed/edited in photoshop which was only on my computer... blah blah blah.
In other news, I have a request for everyone who utilizes the English language. Please no longer refer to anything you have to say as "not PC". This is simply code for "something I'm about to say is completely douche-baggish" OR "Somebody, somewhere might possibly have a different opinion than I do, and I guess disagreeing with someone isn't, um, nice or something? And someone might be mad at me if I disagree with them?"
I have yet to see the term used correctly. Ever. No really, I mean EVAR. I mean, really, prefacing something totally jerkwad with "tee hee, this is totally not PC, but..."
does not get you off the hook. Also, politically correct has nothing to do with having a different opinion than someone else.
So please, no more using this term. No one seems to know what it means anymore, anyway.
Thank you for your attention.
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May. 29th, 2009 @ 10:35 am
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As I was lying in bed last night, unable to sleep because it was so hot, I counted the days and realized that only eight days ago was the last frost. Dear Oregon weather: please take your lithium. Thank you.
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This is Sissy. This picture was taken in February while I was volunteering at Heartland Humane Society. She's rambunctious, loves people, and likes to play fetch. Since this picture was taken, she was adopted, then sold on Craigslist*, then, about a week ago, brought back to the shelter a bit of a nervous wreck. She was one of the demo dogs we used this weekend to practice Open Paw training, and hopefully it will help her stop being a ping-pong dog.
Open Paw is a non-profit founded and run by dog trainers. The co-founder and president Kelly Gorman Dunbar flew here for the weekend to kick start the program at Heartland and lead the training exercises for volunteers and staff. (The local paper ran a story on it today).
Essentially it's about integrating basic obedience training to a shelter's every day operations to help improve the animals chances of being adopted and STAYING adopted. Once fully implemented the staff, volunteers, and even the visiting public take part in providing (relatively) consistent basic training for the animals.
My favorite part is the feeding program. It's so simple and intuitive, why didn't anyone think of this before? Instead of being fed two meals a day in their kennels, the dogs' bowls are hung on the outside of their doors and throughout the day, visitors, staff and volunteers hand feed. It means a constant positive association with people, and can be used as reward training for, say, not barking, or not jumping up.
( Read more... )
*I have no idea if her original adopters are jerks or just ignorant.
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Watch out for the double merle.
The large, goofy black dog club.
I DRINKS WIFF MY FEETS!!!
Assume the Pre-BOING position
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Maddy is chow/corgi with a dash of dachshund.
I'm thinking a good name for this new and innovative designer breed is "chorgihund".
Yes.
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May. 2nd, 2009 @ 09:57 am
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Is it just me, or is reptile breeding sort of a pyramid scheme?
I was going through some photos of an exotic pet expo I went to a couple years ago.
Are people really paying $1300 for a pet when they could get the same animal with wild-type/normal coloration (which is quite exotic-looking in the first place) for half to a third of that price? I don't think so, not unless they want it for breeding. Most of the time I think you have breeders breeding exotic morphs for other breeders. What makes a rare color morph more expensive, anyway? It's worth more for breeding purposes!
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May. 1st, 2009 @ 11:49 am
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This morning I got up early and went for a run. I came back, showered, fed the dog some elk for breakfast, and made myself scrambled eggs from local, free-range chicken eggs and fresh parsley from my garden. The house was sparkling clean from yesterday pre-guest cleaning, and I actually sat at the kitchen table to eat.
It felt so... civilized... |
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I know how to call the rain.
It's simple: I leave the house with neither hat nor coat nor umbrella, and plans to have a long walk outside from bus stop to bus stop.
Drought-ridden lands, fear no more. I will come visit you sans practical water-resistant accoutrements, and all shall be well once more. |
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Step one: receive as a gift a broken 4 drawer "oak" filing cabinet from a relative who had paid way too much money for it a few years earlier. (Oak is in quotes because I discovered that,
except for the drawer fronts, and the bracing, it's all oak veneer over particle board. Do your homework before dropping gobs of money on furniture, people.)
Step two: try to use this filing cabinet for it's intended use for about a year, get really frustrated that the drawers don't roll on their tracks anymore, take it mostly apart and discover it's beyond repair.
Step three: Take it apart the rest of the way. Remove all hardware, kick out the back (essentially veneered cardboard. TIP: wear shoes for this). Turn it upside down. Peel off the plastic things they stick on the bottom to keep from scuffing the floor. Remove the drawers to the garage where they will eventually be taken apart for scrap wood.
It was cheaply made, but amazingly still fairly sturdy. I put in a few extra nails here and there, but otherwise left it.
Step four: Obtain materials. I had quite a few useful things lying around in the garage, but I admit, I went straight to Home Depot for everything else. Did not pass go, did not bargain shop at all. In fact, I splurged on a few things like coated wire, pretty brass hinges, and decorative molding. This could have been a cheaper project had I not been lazy.
8 Corner braces: $11.16
4 hinges + screws: $5.88
4 wheels: $13.92
3 rolls of coated hardware cloth: $29.94
15' of molding: $13.50
24"x24" piece of plywood: $5.47
Building the doors took the most time. I built a frame from pieces of plywood ("built" = putting a few staples on each corner) and then stapled wire to it and glued the decorative molding on top. I then put in a few finishing nails on the front and corner brackets on the back.  
Screwed in some chunks of wood to the cabinet body to act as shelf brackets. I decided to have three shelves that matched up to the already existing dividers where the drawers used to be. It worked out perfectly. (Funny story: these were scraps of some kind of hardwood came from inside a couch I took apart last year - yet another over-priced piece of furniture that was cheaply made.)
Stapled more wire on the entire backside and top. (I staple guns, btw). This lets in more light and air and provides a way to hang hammocks and toys.
Attached the doors and then the latches (two for each door for added security). And put the wheels on the bottom (I am so glad I added these wheels. being able to easily move this thing around has already been wonderful - I move it into the office so I can decorate it or make hammocks and toys while me and Tom watch movies and I have a feeling in the summer I'll be wheeling it in and out of the bedroom a lot so they can have AC during the hot months).
Then it was just a matter of cutting the shelves and customizing them. I had a bunch of laminated particle board from an old desk and it wasn't too much of a mess to cut it with the saw. I sealed the rough edges with duct tape. I love that the shelves are infinitely customizable. For now, I just cut them a little short so the rats can use the back of the cage as a ladder to travel between levels and drilled a few holes to hang hammocks from, but in the future I can foresee more elaborate ladders and holes and tubs and I envision incorporating tree branches to use as ladders... all kinds of fun.
Ta dah!
With the wheels it's almost 5 feet high with with 11.5 square feet of room inside for the ratties to run around. The internet tells me a comparably-sized new cage would be well over $100, so I feel that I still came out on top, even with my lame non-bargain shopping. I also
feel it's reasonably attractive for a cage (and much more attractive than my last home-made cage). I'm quite happy with it. |
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Kaida loves napping on the snake's aquarium lid. I guess because it's warm and springy like a firm mattress. She knows it's not allowed - I have emptied many a squirt bottle for this behavior. She's already broken one lid. I thought the problem was solved by placing the aquarium high up on a shelf with little room for cats to crawl on top. I was wrong. She will always find a way.
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Apr. 6th, 2009 @ 02:17 pm
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The weekend was one for firsts-of-the-year.
The first turkey vulture sighting, first 70 + degree day, first of the garden plants in the ground, the years first sun-induced coma:
I had to work Saturday, so I've had all day today to garden, and I feel quite productive. Yesterday I went to the parents' and got three large buckets of well-aged horse-poo. I found a really good spot in the manure pile this year - it's black, crumbly, and full of worms. Beautiful.
From Poe's butt to my dinner table. Mmmm...
( blah blah blah ... GARDENING ... )
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