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Smart brain. Of course Danilaw likes 20th century rock music. First of all, it's a worldbuilding point (which I will not spoiler.) But if he speaks archaic English, however haltingly, it also lets him talk to the people on the generation ship, now doesn't it?
1629 words on Grail today--just over quota, but as soon as ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) batwrangler gets here, I have to go to New Jersey. This is my last commitment for a good long time, though, and I'm looking forward to crawling into my hole and pulling it closed after me until I get a couple of these damned books written and revised.
The more accomplished I become as a writer, and the more confident I am in my skills, the worse my drafts get. In a lot of ways, this thing I am writing looks very much like a really elaborate outline. It's full of bracket notes that say things like [show don't tell] and [make these characters' voices sound different]. I'm choosing to believe that this is because my subconscious has accepted that there will have to be heavy revisions once I figure out what the book is about, and the only way I have ever been able to figure out what the book is about is to work through it.
Sometimes I outline. Sometimes I don't. Sometimes I go back and outline stuff I've already written to see where it's going and get some distance on it. Sometimes I write out of order and sometimes I'm linear. Sometimes I scribble bits of scenes on scrap paper. There are no rules, only tactics that work or do not work.
Lately, my process seems to involve writing all sorts of sketchy things, bits and fragments and scribbles--and then later constructing a narrative out of them. This would terrify me, except I already did this on Chill and Bone & Jewel Creatures, and the final drafts of both books strike me as rather decent work.
Mean things: fears of the Other, barbarians, fretting by the phone.
16640 / 100000 words. 17% done!In the mind:  drained In the ear: Junior Brown - Long Walk Back To San Antone |
pewpew, posting in ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) ratties
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As a new rat owner of only 3 months, I am dealing with my first real rattie illness :( My poor babe, Noodle, has some nasty respiratory issues right now. She woke up yesterday afternoon and sounded like a guinea pig. I rushed her to the vet (one I hadn't seen before) who seemed pretty knowledgeable and sent me home with Doxy/Baytril. She mixed the two together in one container (is that normal?) with some raspberry flavoring which Noodle takes right out of the syringe.
This morning, however, I woke up to some really scary stuff. Noodle was not only chirping, but making clicking noises in addition to a bunch of other weird noises like gurgles. She hopped out of her hammock and seemed to be walking strangely, like staggering. I picked her up and snuggled her, and she seems to be moving better now. I also took her right into the bathroom and steamed it up, which I guess helped, but she is still puffed up in her hammock and making this very consistent whimper sound with every breath. It's breaking my heart. :( Her sister, Toast, has been unwavering in her attentiveness and is there for snuggles and grooming. I don't know if there's much else to do, other than wait for the antibiotics to work? She got her first dose last night at around 6pm.
I've also given her some baby food just to make sure she's getting some food and moisture. I plan on giving her some water with a syringe as well, just in case she is dehydrated.
I'm really worried about her, and I have to go to work soon. Is there anything else I can do? Should I be seeming improvement yet? It's upsetting me that it got worse... :(
Here's a picture of her... She's a bit of a bigger squish now. She loves to sit on my head.
 In the mind:  worried |
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On our way to get Alexis' car this morning we discovered a fresh new bloom of oyster mushrooms!
( Read more... )
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There are two events happening this weekend which may overcome my usual inertia.
Today and Tomorrow is the Allston Open Studios. I've never been, not even in the ten or twelve years that I lived in the neighborhood (and was an art student and such). The current soaking rain is keeping me from heading over there at the moment.
Tomorrow is a benefit for Pinups for Pitbulls. They put out a calendar featuring pretty girls and cute dogs together, and they are selling the latest one at the event. It's happening at a place called Revolution Rock Bar (warning: music plays when link is clicked) which I've never heard of. It calls itself "Boston's Hippest Nightclub for Dancing, DJs, Live music and more," which makes me feel like I'm probably too old and unhip for the place. But hey, it's for educating people about pit bulls and should be full of women dressed in quasi-retro 50's ish burlesque rockabilly sexywear so that oughta be worth leaving the house.
Maybe I'll see you there!
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I took Lola over to see my mom's dogs, Pebbles and Carl.
Akita intensity:
( Lots more under the cut )
And one more of the cage dog:
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I posted a few weeks about this. Many sources listed it as happening on the 8th of November. 4 of us drove up from Maryland to see it and we get there and people tell us they rescheduled it for the 15th. Not wanting to get suckered twice I waited until I could find solid confirmation. Someone found this on the net...
http://www.ucityphila.org/news/release/467
Seems like solid confirmation that it is happening at 7:30am on November 15th. So if anyone wants to see this old girl come down then show up before 7:30am. |
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i thought this was the cutest behbeh i had ever seen, and i wanted to share it |
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This past Thursday was as strange a day as I've ever spent in my life...
After last January's humungous ice storm [see http://ozarque.livejournal.com/573430.html and http://ozarque.livejournal.com/573613.html ], we immediately bought a much bigger and more powerful generator than the little one we'd had before. George put in a lot of advance time doing sub-assemblies so that he could hook it up more quickly, and that was wise of him. But getting it done meant that he had to turn off all the electric power to our house, which in turn meant that Sheba and I would have been without lights, water, heat, and bathroom facilities while he worked.
In a city, we'd just have rented a motel room for the day, but where we live there are only two motels and both of them are permanently rented by local workers. So that was not a possibility. He could have taken us to my daughter's place in Fayetteville, but that would have added four hours of driving to an already-long task. That made no sense. The obvious thing to do was for Sheba and I to spend the day at Michael's mobile home, right there on our property, with all the necessary mod cons. Bathrooms. Furnace. Refrigerator. Running water. And that is what we did.
George started the job at about nine a.m., and finished at two p.m. And Sheba and I were very comfortable. We had our lunch in the refrigerator, I had plenty of stuff to read, plus my PDA with all its games. We took one of Sheba's little beds, and some of her blankets and toys, and bowls of dry dog food and water. All was well.
But it was so very strange. To be in Michael's house, surrounded by a lot of his things, made it so very hard to believe that he is gone forever. So many places where I'd seen him, so many times; I knew it was irrational, but I kept feeling as though I'd look up and he'd be there.
I had worried that Sheba might spend the day hunting for Michael, because his scent was everywhere; that would have been hard for me to watch. It didn't happen. I lay on the couch and read, and she lay curled up beside me the whole time, tucked in under one of her blankets. She wasn't any more interested in exploring and searching than I was, and I was grateful for that.
It was the adult thing to do, and it's wonderful that we now have a generator that will let us run all the electric stuff at our place if we get power outages again this year. It's wonderful that George, who wired our place himself when it was built, knows all about working with electricity and could do the job on his own.
But I am so glad that day is over.
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Nov. 15th, 2009 @ 01:03 am
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Hi all! I'm Kat from Australia, and after watching and learning from posts on this community for so long, I can finally, gleefully make my own intro as a new horse owner! I've ridden english on and off for several years (sadly, mostly off for the last two) and never expected to own any horse of my own, but found the opportunity landed in my lap pretty suddenly. So I'd just like to say hello and show off my beautiful new boy.
This is so far the only picture I have so forgive the blurriness. It's from our second ride together and only my third time in the saddle after a year away from horses, so feel free to give concrit on my riding (always happy to get pointers) but please be gentle. Toki is a 4 year old 15.2hh OTTB with only a short track career and basic re-education behind him but he has the most forgiving, quirky and lovable temperament.
Honestly, he's my childhood dream horse and I couldn't be happier with my little man. He's hopefully going to be my little all-rounder eventually, but for now we're taking it slowly and just getting to know each other. I still can't believe I have a horse!In the mind:  ecstatic |
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Nov. 14th, 2009 @ 10:44 pm
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This is one of the stupidest of stupids I have ever had to hear about! I honestly didn't think this kind of thing went on anymore.. I'm especially mortified to think the person that did this works with me. I'm notorious for taking in lost/abandoned/unwanted animals and re homing them and I cant understand why this person wouldn't have asked me! I would have taken them all in a heartbeat :(. Anyway, on with the horrible story..
My boyfriend and I both work at the same place. I was walking past his department today when I heard some of his staff gasping and talking rather loudly in a sort of shocked and upset manner.. I stopped to ask what the problem was because I'm a nosey bitch. My boyfriend didn't want them to tell me because he knew it would make me incredibly sad.. but after some badgering I got it out of him. Another lady who works for my boyfriend had drowned a litter of kittens earlier in the week due to the fact that she 'didn't want them'. As if that's not bad enough in itself, right? What a fucking horrible monstrous thing to do.. there were only five kittens and I dont think it would have been that hard to find homes for them. I just get the biggest chills when I think about this woman drowning these five kittens... she explained it to my boyfriend in very great detail and seemed to be boasting about it. Fucking sick. Unfortunately, it gets worse..
Apparently she didn't do such a good job of killing one of them because she found it sitting on top of the compost heap she'd buried the kitten corpses in the the next day.. it was breathing and quite alive.. the poor little thing had dug it's way out of the compost heap after only being half drowned!
And now for the fucking stupidest part.. she says there's 'something wrong with it' because it cant walk very far, cant seem to eat and throws its head around alot. Obviously the poor little thing has sustained some sort of brain damage from being half drowned and probably deprived of oxygen.. horrible as it sounds, I wish she had of just 'finished the job' when she found the half alive kitten but instead has given it to her son who is 'quite attached too it'. I cant say for sure, but I imagine that it's in a bit of pain and I don't think it's very ethical to keep an animal that sustained brain damage as extensive as this kittens' sounds alive. Taking it to the vet is out of the question for these people, if you knew them you'd understand.. veterinarian just not something that's in their vocabulary, they don't seem to believe in spending any money at all on their pets. It makes so mad.
Arghh I cant stop thinking about this poor little kitten.. I'm going to try and convince her to let me have it so that I can either take it to be euthanized or see about helping it. I have a feeling it will be dead by tomorrow evening when I see her.. I'd really like the opportunity to give it a peaceful and dignified death or to try and help it depending on how bad it is.. I'll have to see what she says, as much as I'd like too I cant just steal the thing. Actually.. I think I would consider stealing it, but I don't know where she lives anyway! Lol
Some people are so twisted.. urghh. |
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So, I have a pretty large, ambitious project that I've been working on for some time now, and it involves a mask made from some sort of skull, adorned with pheasant feathers all around.
I know what kind of feathers, decorations and all that will go on it, but what I'm having issues with is what kind of skull to use.
I'm picturing something like a deer skull as far as shape is concerned and I don't want anything with big snarly teeth, so no predators, and I am looking for something preferably without antlers.
The problem is size. I need something that is big enough that I can fit my head into the brain cavity and wear it as a mask. I'm not terribly concerned about eyeholes as it will hopefully be worn so that it kind of sticks straight out.
Do any of you know of obtainable skulls that would be suitable for this?
Also, if and when I do find a skull, how should I arrange it so that it sits comfortably on my head? I'm imagining some kind of ties would have to be involved, but I know it can't be fun to have your face inside a pokey old skull. Is there a way for me to maybe line the inside with leather to make it more comfortable and maybe durable?
OR should I just look at making the skull out of paper mache or something? And if so, any tips?
Sorry if any of this is unclear. Hopefully soon I can post sketches!In the mind:  contemplative |
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Is there anyway to make the Grip-tek on Kerrits Full Seats less sticky? I love the pants but I can barely even post in them! My horse is very round and I have to adjust myself and my saddle every so often and I really can't move *at all* when I ride in them. I have the Cargo and the Sit Tight Lights and they cost a fortune... I'd hate to never use them.
ETA: they've been washed a bunch and it hasn't helped.In the ear: Lounge // Modest Mouse |
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Nov. 13th, 2009 @ 11:04 pm
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i picked up 2 girls today from this post.
http://community.livejournal.com/ratties/7483902.html#cutid1
they were about 2 hours from my house and i have a friend who lives over here so we're spending the night with my spare cage which still has my old bra-hammock in it. :P
( pictures )
ps-darkwolf71, i told jordan i would text her the link to this, but i have no signal here so maybe you could pass it on. |
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Alright so I have a big (real big) ol beautiful red coyote skin that I picked up in Denver 2 months ago and I would love to uncrumple his ears and face a bit for a project. I was told that this is done by soaking in water but I was also told that I have to make sure the tan is fresh or else it will fall apart...hhhow exactly do you tell that? the pelt cirtainly isnt old but how fresh is fresh for the purpose of successful soaking?
Help appreciate, thanks! |
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Nov. 13th, 2009 @ 06:21 pm
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I know someone asked about this way back when--but is there any way to clean tanned flesh off of mammal claws that's less tedious than using a sharp exacto blade? Thanks! |
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Mind, the people in question don't own the animals, but the stupid is there, making you glad they *don't* own them...
Me: “Hello, [pet hotel], how may I help you?”
Caller: “Yeah, I have five or six of these stray cats that keep coming in my yard. Can you come take care of them?”
Me: “No sir, you would need animal control to help you with that. Would you like me to give you their number?”
Caller: “But they’re killing my wife’s flowers! Why can’t you just come get them?”
Me: “Sir, we’re a boarding facility, we watch peoples’ pets for them. We don’t take strays.”
(The caller argues for the next ten minutes before finally hanging up. About two minutes later, the phone rings again.)
Me: “Hello, [pet hotel], how may I help you?”
Same caller: “Yeah, I have six cats that I need to board…”
Customer: “Your bird bit my kid.”
Me: “Well, the birds can’t reach their beaks through the cages. Did your son have his finger in the cage?”
Customer: “Yeah. Well, there’s nothing telling you not to.”
Me: “Sometimes they get scared when you poke your fingers into their cages, and the only way they know how to tell you is to nip you.”
Child: “Oh, okay. I bet he was just scared.”
Customer: “You should put up some signs in here telling people your birds bite!”
(I show the customer the signs posted on each and every bird cage asking customers not to poke fingers into the cages as the birds may bite, as well as the additional two on the doors entering the bird room.)
Customer: “Well, that’s stupid! How do you know I can read?”
Mind, the 'me' in this isn't me, it's the person who submitted these. |
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Has someone ever taken real animal ears and worn them with a costume? I've an anime cosplay I'm actually considering doing, and I wanted to go with real tail/ears if I could (I'm all about details... and this should look realistic). I haven't bought anything for it yet, but I wanted to see if it's been done.
So I guess if it has been/can be, this is also an inquiry for said parts.
I haven't seen any posts asking about cosplay uses for animal parts, I hope this is fine. I don't skin/tan/collect myself (not for lack of interest), I don't know how easy mounting ears would be |
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Huh.
I just figured out what the deep thematic structure of Dust is about.
Well, that only took four years.
I feel much better now.In the mind:  cheerful In the ear: Willie Nelson - Always Seem To Get Things Wrong |
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I have just discovered Junior Brown, thanks to Pandora. (I just wish it would stop trying to turn this into the All Allison Krause Channel. SRSLY) I mean, I kind of vaguely knew about his existence, but I didn't know I loved him with a deep and abiding passion. Dude.
I also wrote 2001 words on Grail this afternoon, which is pretty damned good for a girl who spent three and a half hours at the gym this morning.
I also did the stop-in-the-middle-of-a-sentence thing, because, well, I want to write the next bit I have to write, and that will encourage me to get a move on in the morning.
Tomorrow night, on the other hand, I will be here:
November 14, 2009
8:00 PM The Science Fiction Association of Bergen County, Saddle River Valley Cultural Center, 305 West Saddle River, Upper Saddle River, Bergen County, NJ
batwrangler will be my wingman, because she is awesome, and will drive down with me so I don't die on the way home.
13011 / 100000 words. 13% done!
Mean things today: second-guessing your ancestors, jihads and crusades, fear of alien invasion.In the mind:  smug In the ear: Junior Brown -Broke Down South of Dallas |
weeona, posting in ratties
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My big handsome is gone.
He left a big hole and it aches. So much.
Jake was diagnosed with a very arrhythmic heart, related to congestive heart failure, about 6-10 weeks ago. Heart meds gave him some relief and bought us some more time together but in the end he couldn't be held stable. He started to have issues breathing and I didn't want him to pass frantically panting for air he couldn't find. I had him PTS yesterday afternoon. It was peaceful and dignified. A good passing.
Jake was my special guy, my mama's boy. I could wake him out of a dead sleep just by calling for him. He'd come running to put his head and front paws in my palm, lay down and give me kisses. I think he loved me more than any other rat I've ever had. His heart was utterly and totally mine. And I loved him back just as much.
He and Jack would fight over who got to sit in my palm. Oh, they'd shove each other away from me! My two mama's boys, fighting for attention. Jake usually won. He was always a big, strapping fellow so he'd just flop onto Jack and then sloooowly stop supporting his weight... and Jack would get squished.
He was such a gentle boy. Never aggressive, always accepting of new friends and new humans. He was sweet and kind and a truly beautiful soul. He was as beautiful inside as he was outside. He was a special friend.
I miss him terribly.
So does his brother, Eddie.
Enjoy your rest, big guy.
Mommy loves you so so much.In the mind:  sad |
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Okay... next week there will be a listing asking someone to take the 2 Labs they've got.
Poor Dogs!
Shouldn't there be an IQ standard when it comes to having pets?! I wish!
1st of all since when did Labradors come in sizes?
And if they have 2 of them and are asking for free leashes and collars.. wtf?
I'm surprised they didn't ask for food or food bowls too!! ugh!
Did I mention the spelling? hehhehahhaa
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Winter conditions (let's be honest) make us look harder for the beauty and life. We stumbled upon a whole row of witch hazels that we had no idea were there. Since these are blooming in the fall, there's a good chance they are the native plant American Witch-hazel Hamamelis virginiana. (Putting that Sibley book to use right away.)
( Read more... )
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My boss just signed our clinic up for this. Not sure when it will take effect. Anyone use it? How do you like it? |
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Not a pet, but pretty horrific.
I just logged in to see one of my friends tagged in a picture... of a dead pigeon. It was really graphic. In the comments (cut because... it's really nasty):
( Read more... )
I... just... ugh. I hate how people can just assume that wild animals are clearly there for them to torture until they die. What the actual fuck. D: There was one guy in the comments who at least said "you're all sick and I'm deleting you", and my friend had commented to say it was sick. Most of the other comments were just of scene kids going "roffllll~!".
I hate people sometimes.In the mind:  sick |
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I'm in Melbourne, Australia.
I'm looking primarily for cattle heads or capes. I have a side-interest in hooves and horse heads.
Does anyone know any particular slaughterhouses or similar places around that will help me?
Alternately, is there anyone close-by one of the slaughterhouses or knackeries I could bribe to get something for me and help me get it to Mitcham (or into the city, halfway home)?
No love for the Eastern suburbs, very far from anything useful as far as I'm aware.In the mind:  Inquisitive |
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I know everyone on this community collects dead things and you all take photos of them...I always wonder though, what are the laws surrounding animal remnants in your country? Do you know your laws and what you can legally have?
I'm just curious as I'm in Australia and the laws are probably quite different here. It is illegal to have any native wildlife parts unless they were bought as a souvenier with the stamp of approval.
I am lucky enough to be part of a wildlife care group that has taken the time to acquire an education permit for wildlife remnants. The group applied for a permit so that we could prepare specimens to use in our wildlife care workshops to educate carers on our native wildlife, its identification and things like dental morphology and diet.
I'm still careful however in posting photos etc of the work I've done as it would be nasty to have Parks and Wildlife knock on my door in any instance even though a permit can be produced.
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Hopefully this doesn't turn in to a giant fiasco.... but....
As I was cruising the internet while being an insomniac, I stumbled across the concept of Cribbing Rings.
If you're not familiar, here's an article: http://www.holistichorse.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=265:chapman-on-rings&catid=44:dentistry&Itemid=115
My initial reaction was of shock and horror; the process sounds traumatic, it doesn't sound like it's effective if the pain isn't severe enough, and let's face it: A horse that has been a lifelong cribber that cannot be controlled by a collar and muzzle is going to figure out how to crib around those.
Thoughts? Does it work? Does it bleed the gums or have other nasty complications? Granted, my solution to cribbing is to just not buy the horse if it does, but for the sake of discussion, I'd like to hear people's thoughts.
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Nov. 13th, 2009 @ 02:09 am
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I've got 2 rats, Molly and Echo. I picked up Echo from a pet store about 4 months ago, realized that her nervous bitey-ness might mean that she'd benefit from having a socialized playmate, and got Molly, a rescue trained by a breeder.
Molly's about a year and a half old. A day or two after I took her home, I noticed some porphyrin staining around her nose. From my readings, I figured this meant she was stressed by the move, and didn't think much of it because she didn't look sick, had a good appetite, etc. Three months later and she's still often got a bit of porphyrin staining around her nose. She whistles a little when she breathes sometimes, but I've listened to her lungs a number of times, and they sound clear. (I'm new to rats, but I've got many years of experience with rodent lungs.)
She looks healthy overall, eats plenty, and is active. As far as I can tell, her condition hasn't changed at all in the past 3 months. I figure she's probably just got allergies. But it makes me a little nervous that I've read a number of guides that say porphyrin staining is a reason for a vet trip.
What do you guys think?
Thanks for any help. |
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Nov. 13th, 2009 @ 02:20 pm
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 Old Changi Hospital Location: Singapore Abandoned for 12 years Camera: Yashica GSN Film: Rollei Retro 400, shot at ISO 200 |
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1006 words on grail, 783 on some nonfiction. Not too bad, all things considered.
Today's auctorial crisis: Aw damn. After two books, I'm finally going to have to describe this ship from the outside.
My Utopian society is starting to convince me. I wonder what's wrong with it? Other than that it requires lobotomizing the citizens, of course.
I am funnier when I'm punchy. Also, I am funnier than I used to be. I learned this doing readings from BtMB lately. That book takes itself very seriously. It is Portentuous. Despite having been rewritten again and again and again.
This book is not portentuous. Perhaps I have relaxed a bit over the years.
Why I hang around with my writing group: a brief transcript from today's deathmarch support chat:
stillsostrange (12:08:25 AM): Somebody name five demons who stalk the unwary in winter matociquala (12:09:49 AM): famine, thirst, fatigue, cold and Mixed Precip.
11016 / 100000 words. 11% done!In the mind:  tired In the ear: Janis Ian - On the other side |
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I must say, that's a very creative playpen they invented...
http://fortwayne.craigslist.org/pet/1463743644.html
And for the linkaphobic
( One use for that box ) |
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I got a phone call at work the other day. I work at Petco. This is how the conversation went.
Me: "Thanks for calling Petco how can I help you?"
Him: "Yes, I bought a hamster a few days ago and was wondering what your return policy is."
Me: "Well, if there is a problem with the hamster we'll take it back with a receipt within fifteen days of the purchase."
Him: "Ok, well it's been three days, the hamster is dying."
Me: "Well what is wrong with the hamster?"
Him: "It's dying."
Me: "Um, well if you return it we'll send it to the vet and get it checked out and when the hamster is well you can have it back."
Him: "No, I don't want it back. I just want my money back."
Me: "Okay, well what is wrong with the hamster. WHy do you say it is dying?"
Him: "Well I bought him to feed to my scorpion and the scorpion didn't eat it. He really roughed it up a."
Really?! You bought a hamster to feed to you scorpion!?! WHAT!? You thought that was a good idea? Poor hamster. I feel sorry for the little guy and I don't really even like hamsters. Well, except my rescued hamster NomNom.
I want to know who sold him that hamster, because I'm sure he didn't buy a cage or anything. UGH...In the mind:  sympathetic |
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So after months of thinking that my Lilly had a lung infection and having her on Baytril and Doxy didn't seem to improve anything...i decided to seek another vet. I found a vet almost an hour away who sees all sorts of exotics ranging from mice to monkeys.
We had an x-ray of her lungs taken,after noticing that there was some damage to her lungs had, her stay at the vets overnight to stay in a oxygen tank and have a nebulizer treatment done.
the main vet/owner called me back today saying that after treatment he felt that it didn't make a significant difference, with her rapid labored breathing and feet that turn blue when she is not breathing in pure oxygen,he would suggest putting her on a heart medication. So here we are now...i am hoping that she starts to show signs of improvement. He wants me to call back in a week and give him an update.
And then her sister Olivia (who has already had one large tumor removed early this year but another one grew shortly after surgery) was scheduled for a second surgery. After weighing out our options and financial issues...we decided we would go for it. This time having the 2nd tumor (which is almost the size of my fist :() removed along with a newer smaller one on her thigh. I also put her down to be spayed. I want to do everything i can to give her a chance of not having more return. I feel guilty enough letting the second one get to the size it did...but financially i couldn't do anything until now...she is such an amazing girl.
Wish us luck! Olivia's surgery will be on Dec. 2nd (we are going out of town for thanksgiving so we wanted to do it after) |
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This House/Barn is located a little outside of a small town called Mulberry Grove, Illinois...I hope you enjoy...
View from the outside...
( Read more )In the mind:  content |
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I went over to take a picture of the oil-catching boom and only then saw the oil on the river. Why is something so awful so pretty?
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Hey all,
I have only posted here a couple of times, but I am a long time lurker.
My seventeen year-old quarter horse (who thinks shes an Arab) mare colicked this morning. Badly.
She was taken to Purdue Vet hospital and is still in surgery. They are removing about 3 feet of small intestine, which includes her entire illieum (sp?). The chances of her making it home are about 60-70%.
Please send happy thoughts and good karma her way and hope she makes it through this. This is the mare who taught me to ride and show, and is now a trustworthy babysitter for my dad. She is honestly worth her weight in gold and I would really really really hate to lose her like this.
Thanks.In the mind:  melancholy |
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Hey! Let me know if this is out of line, and I will delete the post and post elsewhere, I was just thinking this would be a good crowd!
I am in the Seattle area, if you are as well, or pretty much anywhere in western Washington, Motley Zoo will give your foster dog free training, food, approved vet care, and even (to place the harder dogs) pay for dog walking if your schedule is too busy to walk the dog every day. If you have a home and the love to take a dog in, Please contact me through livejournal or at washingtonsbigblackdogs@gmail.com.
If you are not in Washington, contact your local shelter or the rescue organizations in your area, most places are willing to pay for food and vet care if you are willing to feed, love and socialize another dog.
Worried about getting attached? Foster parents have first grabs when it comes to adopting out a dog. This means when they do find a home (usually 1 week to a month and sometimes much longer than that for old dogs, bully breeds, or other "difficult" dogs), they will ask you if you would like to adopt the dog out or if you would like to keep them, so if they become family, they will not take your dog away!
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The other day, on a whim, I grabbed a book off the recent arrivals shelf of my local library. It was In the Land of Invented Languages by Arika Okrent. The author is a young linguist who made a project out of researching the history of "made up" languages--those languages invented whole cloth in most cases by idealists trying to perfect language itself.
She spends a good amount of the book discussing three of the most successful invented languages: First, Esperanto, an attempt at a universal language using mostly Latin roots, with simple grammar and syntax and pronunciation rules, with vague notions of world peace and harmony as its origins. It lives on today, is pretty easy to learn (I'm taking a half-hearted whack at it), and has a body of literature, and even a William Shatner movie.
Of course, the same can be said for the Klingon language, and Okrent explains how a few gutteral hacking noises were assembled by a scholarly linguist into a working language with hundreds of casual users and a couple dozen conversational speakers. She goes deep, taking the Klingon language aptitude exam and accompanying the Klingons as they embarrass the crap out of her at a restaurant.
And she also hangs out with the speakers of Lojban, a mind-bogglingly complicated set of logical rules that comprises a language that enables incredibly precise and non-ambiguous statements to be made. Of course programmers love it, and I can only imagine its appeal to the Asperger's community. This was a good lead in to the modern "comlang" community of people who spend an awful lot of time making up languages and arguing with others about made up languages. I suspect that many of the people reading this know a lot more about this than I do.
I enjoyed the discussion of what made an invented language a success or a failure, and about what each language actually reveals about language itself. The stories about language inventors of the past, and what lengths they took to promote their creations tell us much about human nature, ingenuity and passion. I love the inescapable conclusion that there is no such http://www.livejournal.com/update.bmlthing as a universal set of symbols: they all reveal individual and cultural influences and biases.
Today I came home to discover an autographed copy of The Sibley Guide to Trees on my front step. A friend who still works at Drumlin Farm sent it to me, an extremely thoughtful gift. (I did telegraph my great desire to own it across Facebook and Livejournal.) I haven't even flipped through it yet, but I have a long weekend to try and soak it up and use it. Alexis, her IM voice dripping with vitamin D deprived scorn, said "does it have a way to identify trees using their leafless silhouettes?" Of course it does, where appropriate. Bark, buds, and twigs are also depicted, so I believe it is a guide that will be useful year round.
The friend who got it for me described talking to Sibley about the book: "He had a great analogy comparing bird field guides of 100 years ago with the still current tree ID guides that start with ‘is it opposite or alternate’. 100 years ago the way to ID a bird was to shoot it and then look at it in your hand. He’s trying to get people to look at trees in a similar way to bird guides now where you ID from distinguishing characteristics of the whole organism – the geist of the tree as it were." Well, hopefully after this weekend I'll have an idea of what that means.
ĝis revido!
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Nov. 12th, 2009 @ 04:25 pm
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Did one more cull of my art supplies and critter bits, thought folks here might be interested in what I have available. Added lots of deer skulls, and some random other stuff. Details over at my journal. Thanks! |
redfox, posting in ratties
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Yay, he's home:) He is a GORGEOUS big boy, good weight, suprisingly good skin/fur/body condition, though he is a bit smelly. Very friendly little guy, came right to me so I could put him in the travel cage, then when we got home, he made time for some scritches and "hi new mommy!" exploring. His family were honestly *very* nice people and seemed upset to give him up, but the seed mix they gave me (which I promptly tossed) and cage were both as bad as we all thought. So into his quarantine cage with a big ol scoop of good food, some comfy hammocks, and some welcome home kisses he goes! Will post some pics in a few days once he gets settled in.
Thank you all bunches for the support, and an extra thank you to snapsh0t for the heads up on our new awesome dude! |
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Faces, fur, and exact size will vary by each mink (or marten). noses can be dusky pink or black.
All will have poseable arms and legs. The Body is stuffed and weighted for a realistic feel.
Each buyer gets to choose the mink they want me to use for their plushie. (I'll have 11+ available next week sometime)
Buyers get to choose in order of who pays first.
The minks are $40 each + $5.00 (Martens will be a tad more since they're bigger)
Will to take payments in chunks (two payments of $20.00)
Also I will consider trading for skulls and oddities.
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I am doing a massive tack cleaning this weekend and I have a western headstall with rawhide reins. The reins are downright icky but I have no idea on how to clean them.
Any ideas on cleaning rawhide?
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Hi, I haven't posted here in about a year, but I have had some problems with my horse. He is a 19 year old Arab/welsh cross who has a great temperament on the ground. He has always been great on the cross ties, letting me brush him and touch him all over. He can be spooky outside but all he does is snort and turn sideways and will spook if you make any sudden movements towards him sometimes. I have owned him for awile so I know him very well and he is very trusting of me. So down to my question. About four or five years ago he got Ehrlichia from a tick bite, ever since then he has had a reaction to tick bites and will get swelling around the bite. Normally the swelling goes down in a few days and I soak a cloth in warm water and hold it on the swelling for a few minutes then put furazone on the bite itself. Last week I pulled four ticks off of him and he ended up with one large lump (they were all in the same area around his girth and chest). This lump was sore and he didn’t want us to touch it. My friend tried to wash it and he kicked her. Ever since he kicked my friend he has been extremely nasty. I hadn’t ridden him since last Tuesday because of where the bites were, but I lunged him on Sunday and he was ok. The bites have since healed so I rode him yesterday. After riding him I left him on the cross ties while I put my saddle away and he almost turned himself around on the cross ties when my dog ran by the outside of the barn and then tried to kick my friend who was standing near her then tried to bite my dog when she walked by him. This is all new behavior for him and I was wondering if you guys could give me advice as to what to do with him. By the way, I live in Rhode Island and the weather has been getting colder so I don’t know if that has anything to do with this. Any advice would be great! Thanks in advance!
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Heads up, rat breeders. Are you dressing your rats in the wrong pants? A recent study showed that certain textiles can decrease the virility of male rats.
"The effect of wearing different types of textiles on sexual activity was studied in 75 rats which were divided into five equal groups: four test groups and one control. Each of the four test groups were dressed in one type of textile pants made of either 100% polyester, 50/50% polyester/cotton mix, 100% cotton or 100% wool. Sexual behaviour was assessed before and after 6 and 12 months of wearing the pants and 6 months after their removal. The rate of intromission to mounting (I/M) was determined. The electrostatic potentials generated on penis and scrotum were also measured by electrostatic kilovoltameter... ...The polyester-containing pants generated electrostatic potentials while the other textiles did not. These potentials seem to induce 'electrostatic fields' in the intrapenile structures, which could explain the decrease in the rats' sexual activity."
http://www.ncbirofl.com/2009/11/static-cling-reduces-rat-virility-how.html
Personally, I think this article is WORTHLESS ... because it doesn't have photos of the cute ratties in their widdle pantsies. Daaaawwww!
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So...kind of an odd request, but does anyone have a link they could post to a good quality video clip showing canter transitions? You know, where the horse is just walking, or trotting, along in the [hunter/dressage/jumper] ring (or Western) and then...picks up the canter, and then canters around for awhile and comes back down to a trot (or walk).
I know, seems like an incredibly simple request, right? You'd think I could find one all by myself. But youtube is flooded with poor quality videos; where the sun is shining, or the riders suck, or the horse is moving directly away from the camera. I'm just looking for *decent* footage of a canter transition.
Thanks.
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