Impact!

I was just channel surfing and came across an old (well, 1997) movie called "Asteroid". It was really cheesy - your basic made-for-TV movie about an asteroid hitting the earth. But the cool part was the impact point - Dallas, TX. I recall watching this movie with friends when the asteroid finally hit Dallas. Everyone cheered when Reunion Tower got pulverized - the best part of the whole movie!!

The Birds

I'm watching Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" right now, and suddenly the grackles have all landed in the trees outside. Hundreds of them, maybe even thousands (it's not uncommon here this time of year). But it's kinda creepy, especially after the scene where the older lady finds the old guy upstairs with his eyes pecked out. I'm keeping an eye on the birds outside.....

Snickers Update

After taking Snickers to the vet, getting her new meds and everything else, she is doing a little better. Not much - there is still considerable pain in her hips, though she tries to carry on. She will never return to her previous condition, and it is merely a matter of time until she is unable to get around at all. That would mean considering unthinkable options.


I dread the day.

Watch Out For Those Overturned Cars

According to The Paris News, the fine people at Waste Management here in Paris are adding another level of security to this city. Trash pickup employees are being trained to spot "unusual situations" they might encounter on their daily routes.

"Waste Watch is a program that trains waste management employees what to look for and how to report unusual situations they come across during their work routes. Simple things such as seeing four newspapers lying in a front yard, a warehouse lit up at the wrong time or an overturned car on a deserted road could be cause for concern." (Italics are mine)

From the article in The Paris News

Yes, I would think an overturned car could be cause for concern. File this one under M.O.O., or Master Of the Obvious. (Hello, Jessica!)

Synesthesia Challenge!

In response to my sister's post, here is my result of the highly professional and diagnostic synesthesia quiz:


73%

I believe that's the same score she got - must run in the family, ha ha.

Alan Keyes for President??

I took a survey at selectsmart.com that measures one's political standings against the presidential candidates, then shows you how they all rate against your theoretically ideal candidate. And the results are in. The percentage listed is basically how close each candidate agrees with you.

1. Theoretical Ideal Candidate (100%)
2. Alan Keyes (80%)
3. Stephen Colbert (campaign halted) (72%)
4. Duncan Hunter (71%)
5. Tom Tancredo (withdrawn, endorsed Romney) (69%)
6. Mitt Romney (68%)
7. Kent McManigal (campaign suspended) (66%)
8. Chuck Hagel (not running) (65%)
9. Sam Brownback (withdrawn, endorsed McCain) (62%)
10. Newt Gingrich (says he will not run) (62%)
11. Ron Paul (60%)
12. John McCain (59%)
13. Fred Thompson (55%)
14. Jim Gilmore (withdrawn) (52%)
15. Tommy Thompson (withdrawn, endorsed Giuliani) (48%)
16. Mike Huckabee (44%)
17. Rudolph Giuliani (44%)
18. Christopher Dodd (withdrawn) (38%)
19. Michael Bloomberg (says he will not run) (37%)
20. Al Gore (not announced) (31%)
21. Barack Obama (30%)
22. Dennis Kucinich (30%)
23. Bill Richardson (withdrawn) (30%)
24. Mike Gravel (30%)
25. Joseph Biden (withdrawn) (29%)
26. Hillary Clinton (29%)
27. Wesley Clark (not running, endorsed Clinton) (27%)
28. John Edwards (24%)
29. Alan Augustson (campaign suspended) (23%)
30. Elaine Brown (16%)


Next up - the synethesia survey!!

Snickers Update

I took Snickers to the vet Thursday. She wasn't eating (which is a huge red flag, lol) or drinking much, and she was acting very strangely. Upon lying down, she wouldn't stay there very long, and would sit back up. She didn't do her normal happy-to-see-you dance when you go open the door, either. At lunch, Thursday, when I went to check on her, she got up, wagged her bum a little (no tail to wag, of course) and that was it. So I called work to let them know I wasn't coming back, and rushed Snickers to the vet.
Dr. Ballard listened as I ran through my list of symptoms (I wrote them down so I wouldn't forget something). I was thinking she was sick, from eating something she shouldn't have, or something else. Dr. Ballard had me take her outside and walk her, so she could see how Snickers moved. She was thinking something totally different than I was. After we came back in, they x-rayed Snickers, and the results came back: severe hip dysplasia. Her hip joints are incredibly inflamed and deformed. Dr. Ballard said she didn't think a dog with joints that bad would be capable of walking at all, so apparently Snickers has been masking the pain until it got unbearable - tough little girl. Anyway, the pain dampened her appetite, and also made it hard for her to eat and drink (bending her head down hurts, apparently). So she upped her meds (Previcox) to 1 tablet a day, and added a glucosamine supplement. So far, it seems to be helping a little - but Snickers is still not up to her normal self. Dr. Ballard said the degeneration will only continue - in a year or two, her mobility might be gone completely. Unwelcome news, to say the least. Do they make doggie wheelchairs?

Note: I would have inserted a gratuitous Snickers pic here, but Flickr is having a massage (a Flickr term for "We're working on the database right now") so that site is down. Perhaps later I'll edit and add a photo.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to everyone in the Blogosphere! This is posted by request of my sister.

I'm Back

After a two week hiatus, I'm back on the blogosphere, somewhere. Lot's of stuff has been happening, most of which involves Dale and his kidney transplant, and shuttling their kids back and forth from Paris to Baylor. But all is going well for them now - they are back home, which means no more road trips to Dallas (sniff).

Speaking of road trips, I had a nice one earlier this week. Well, it was for a bad reason (a death in the family) but I love road trips anyway, so I made the best of things, even though there was some inital, ahem, reticence on my part to go. (Reticence being the nicest word for what I was really feeling). The drive down to Sinton (30 miles from Corpus Christi, TX) was nice, as was the return trip, even though we got in at nearly 1 AM Wednesday morning. The funniest part of the whole trip was finding out from the guy at the Motel 6's front desk that they didn't have wireless internet (!!!!!!). He then suggested I go to the Best Western Parking lot next door and use theirs - he did it all the time, apparently.

And that's really everything worth posting - wow, my life is boring. I need a good road trip or something, not that it's likely anytime soon. Oh well...

Doggie Ransom

I read about this today (just take a peek really quick - I'll wait.)

Okay, finished? So basically, someone is holding this guy's dog Edna ransom. The dognapper appears to be a kid.

First off, although I know as Christians we are supposed to show mercy and forgiveness, if someone dognapped Snickers, then threatened to hurt her unless I paid up...well, there would be no punishment sufficient for them, whether the criminal was merely a kid or not. People who would willfully torture and hurt dogs for fun (or profit) should be shot on sight, with no due process or anything of that nature. I know that's a rather extreme position, but oh well - if it was Snickers being tortured by someone while I listened on the phone (as the dognapper threatened to do in the news article) then I would cheerfully shoot them with a gun, if I had one. Again, it's an extreme position, but if anyone ever hurt Snickers, they would pay, and pay dearly.