Are you a Best Buy customer

Or do you use the Geek Squad to service your computer? Do you think your information is private when you have a Geek Squad member working on your machine? Think again!

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Everett again

And here he is grown up. He can be a bane for lure operators...


Photo by Dan @ Shot On Site

A dog pic

It's kind of slow in my world today, so I wanted to share a picture...
The little guy in the bucket is Everett.

Everyone is talking corn

Matt laments the use of corn sweetener in our food while Tam focuses on the subsidies associated with Ethanol production. Kudos to both!!

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The next...

Reader will be #1000! It's really picked up in the past few months. I really appreciate anyone who takes time to read this little blog. I know that the content is all over the map, but if you know me, you know I am all over the map.

Thanks everyone!!!!

Ethanol

I've had a little interest in alternative fuels for years, ever since I used to travel with my father to the South Georgia corn fields and the many back woods distilleries stills that were producing "ethanol" back in the '70's. I barely remember, but he had contacts with farmers who would produce corn mash for, ummm, medicinal purposes...yeah, that's it... He'd get a bit of this to take back to Tech so they could work on figuring out an alternative to gasoline.

Ethanol has promise, but we're beginning to figure out that the costs with production might prohibit the wide-spread adoption of ethanol as "the answer" to our fuel woes. Using corn to produce ethanol is already causing issues with animal feed prices, leading to higher grocery prices in general. Here's a nice alternative to using corn to produce ethanol.

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Our pets

Tomorrow morning I have to go and say goodbye to a greyhound that I've known since 1998. Robin and I got Kookie back in September of 1998. He came to us strictly as a re-hab case, we were to help him mend and then he'd be placed back in his previous home. After seeing his condition and helping him regain his help, there was no question that Kookie was going to stay. He coursed for just a little while in 1999 and 2000. Kookie won Open stake at the 1999 II in Virginia, but we forfeited breed because he tore a shoulder muscle. After re-habbing this injury, Kookie tried again, only to break a toe. His coursing career ended with 89 points towards his FCh.

Robin and Kookie have been fortunate to have each other through the years. He has always been a fabulous pet and a very personable dog.

Kookie has not been feeling well for a while, not eating well, having to get up in the middle of the night, back legs not working well. Robin took him in yesterday and had x-rays done. The vet found a large mass in his abdomen. We are staunch believers that animals should never have to go through hell so that they might live for us just a few weeks or months. With that in mind, Robin has made the decision that we'll have to let Kookie go tomorrow.

Godspeed, Kookie.

Edit: Got a call this afternoon from Robin. Kookie was much worse today than yesterday. She went ahead and took him in. He's with his brothers and sister now.

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Our pets

Tomorrow morning I have to go and say goodbye to a greyhound that I've known since 1998. Robin and I got Kookie back in September of 1998. He came to us strictly as a re-hab case, we were to help him mend and then he'd be placed back in his previous home. After seeing his condition and helping him regain his help, there was no question that Kookie was going to stay. He coursed for just a little while in 1999 and 2000. Kookie won Open stake at the 1999 II in Virginia, but we forfeited breed because he tore a shoulder muscle. After re-habbing this injury, Kookie tried again, only to break a toe. His coursing career ended with 89 points towards his FCh.

Robin and Kookie have been fortunate to have each other through the years. He has always been a fabulous pet and a very personable dog.

Kookie has not been feeling well for a while, not eating well, having to get up in the middle of the night, back legs not working well. Robin took him in yesterday and had x-rays done. The vet found a large mass in his abdomen. We are staunch believers that animals should never have to go through hell so that they might live for us just a few weeks or months. With that in mind, Robin has made the decision that we'll have to let Kookie go tomorrow.

Godspeed, Kookie.

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Good news for all pet owners

Even if you don't live in California, the spay/neuter bill could have had an impact on all pet owners. Good news came out today, the bill died in the CA senate.

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Foreclosures are down.

Following up on a post from a couple of days ago, according to this article, foreclosures dropped a whopping 7% in June. Don't get too excited though, foreclosure rates are still up 87% over June 2006.

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Moving day

I'm going to try to move the blog to my website where I can make sure that the content will always be with me. We might experience some hiccups, but hopefully it'll go smoothly.

Edit: It's not going well at all. Well, it did until I tried to post. Then I was like, wtf? Where the hell is the post??? Can't have that, now can we?

Edit #2: Meh. Not a happy camper am I. The reason I wanted to move the blog over to my website was to make it easier to upload photos. That's a goal of mine is to begin to record more of our life in pics. Anyways, no love. So far. I'm going to keep digging to see what I can uncover. Anyone know if Blogger even lets you house your blog content on a website now? I know they used to.

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Did you sign up for a subprime loan?

Subprime Meltdown: Doomsday Coming in October For The Subprime Mortgage Industry - Consumerist

My grandfather was a director for Delta Community Credit Union (formally Delta Employee Credit Union) for some 50 years. We were just talking about this subject the other day. I've been seeing signs of problems due to subprime loans for a while. According to Realtytrac.com, Georgia has the highest rate of foreclosures as of early 2007. Henry County is pushing 1 foreclosure for every 154 households. That's just amazing!

When I was a kid I never heard of a foreclosure. It just wasn't part of the world. Now it's so pervasive that in my neighborhood of $200k-$1+million homes, we're having repeated foreclosures, and a lot of them.

This could be a good turn around though. From what I can tell, the people being foreclosed upon are those who are a little less than desirable when looking at property values. Perhaps some of these homes will be bought up by responsible owners.

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Tools of the trade

Y'all remember back when I talked about using Google Reader to consolidate all the blog feeds into one easy interface? I'm still using it and loving it as much as ever. Sure makes it easy to hit all my favorite blogs as quickly as possible.

I was checking out the latest add-ons for Firefox this morning and ran across ScribeFire. It's a nice editor that is tied in to Firefox so that I can make notes while I'm reading or copy and paste without really changing windows. So far I'm finding that I like it, but I'm not ready to totally endorse it. I tried a MS product a while back and did abandon it almost immediately. I'll report back.

Thanks to Babs for the link to Feedburner. I don't get near the traffic that she and some other blogs get, but I appreciate seeing who read the blog!

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QOTD #2

"We seem to be in the middle of the ADHD Age, and our tools and toys reflect that." - the munchkin wrangler

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QOTD #1 (Quote of the day #1)

From Tam, speaking of the wonderful, hometown AJC: "Pravda on the Chattahoochee". Never heard it put that perfectly!

My holiday

I've lived in my house now for almost six years. R and the kids have been here for a little over four years. In that time, we've totally repainted the interior of the house. When you come into a foreclosure that hasn't been updated since it was built in 1979, you have to get rid of the crappy beige and taupe paint that covers everything. Unfortunately, I didn't do before and afters of the interior of the house, but rest assured, it's a lot more livable thanks to a woman's touch! Now it's past time to repair and paint the exterior of the house. We've pretty much settled on colors for the house, trim, doors and windows and deck, so I'm getting started. Here's the deck, after pressure washing but before painting...

And after starting to paint...

The deck is about the same square footage as the house, close to 2,000, so it's going to take a bit more paint and time!

This n' that

Sweeney has broken his tail. It actually happened last Tuesday, but I've gotten lazy and haven't blogged much. We have no idea how it happened, R sat on the couch with him Tuesday night, he was on his back, 4 in the air and his tail just waving like a flag. He's not in any pain, never has even shown any discomfort. R is working hard to get it to heal straight.

A guy died here on campus the other day, in the testing center directly across the hall from my office. Very surreal. I'm working on getting our department a group rate at The Red Cross for CPR/First Aid certification. I had to honestly admit that I was afraid to perform CPR on the gentleman for fear that I would hurt him. It's literally been 21 years since I had CPR training. Evidently it didn't matter, but I really do not want to be in that position again.

Just read Matt's blog entry over here. I'm ordering Merle's Door and I'll report.

I haven't been blogging much lately not so much because I'm lazy (see above), but because I've just been busy. We're consolidating a bunch of physical servers here. I'm working on that, but we're missing some key software. We'll have to wait til next FY before we can get that. E (9 yr old step-daughter) is taking riding lessons and has been at riding day camp all week. Running back and forth to these lessons is time consuming. Worth it, but time consuming. We've also been going to the pool as often as possible in the afternoon.

For some reason, R and I have decided that this is the summer for home repair/improvement, even though the bank account is as empty as ever! As background, I bought the house we're in as a foreclosure in 2001. It had been empty for a little over a year. It was in pretty good condition, but beginning to show its age as well as the signs of a years neglect. A couple of years ago I replaced the fascia on the back of the house because the gutters had leaked, allowing the wood to rot. Now I need to replace more fascia on the kitchen side and along the front of the garage. The deck is in need of a couple of coats of paint too. So why not go ahead and tackle painting the house while we're at it!! I spent four hours almost finishing pressure washing the deck last night, contrary to our local water restrictions. I'll make sure to take some pictures of the process of painting the house. It really does need a color update! Hell, it needs a roof and HVAC too, but that's really not in the budget right now!

The dogs are doing well, Sweeney's tail not withstanding. It's too damned hot right now to run them, but they'll be ready come fall.

Finally, I have to post about my friends the Alleys. I love the folks like they're my family. David and Beth, Jennifer, Daniel, Jessi and Christian are about some of the best folks you'll ever, ever meet. They've been through a lot and could really use your thoughts, prayers, whatever. Jenn had a multiple organ transplant a couple of years ago and has just passed an annual physical with flying colors! Congratulations to her. Beth had to have a grapefruit size brain tumor removed late last year and is recovering, but is having a hard time with the surgery site healing. Jenn's doctor in Pittsburgh put Beth in touch with a couple of doctors who are working with her to get this rectified. Unfortunately, for the time being, Beth and David are going to have to stay in Pittsburgh. Please take time to read their story here.

I'll try to do better about posting. If I don't, I hope everyone has a great Fourth of July!

Maybe I'll start buying fuel at Exxon

The silly dictator Chavez down in Venezuela is at it again, demanding that oil companies doing business with pulling the oil out for his "government" submit to being "junior partners". There are a couple of companies willing to stand up for their shareholders and principle.

The joys of driving a Jeep

I've posted a couple of times now about either getting wet or narrowly being missed by showers while driving the Jeep. I left the house this morning knowing that there was a good (60% or 90%, depending on who you listened to) chance that I'd get rained on. Here's what the radar looked like when I left work:

The point of the arrow is where work is. The cross is close to home. See the little clear area? I was able to pretty much thread that and stay dry for the drive home. Didn't get wet until I turned onto our road and only a little bit at that! Lucky lucky!

My first MeMe or to Dan, meme... (edited)

It looks like fun... I saw this on Tam's, Babs, RN among others...


WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Yeah...Well, my middle name anyway. There was this bootlegger way back in the day that my Great-Grandfather thought a lot of. So, my Grandfather, my Father and I got his last name as our middle names. It ends with me.

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? A few weeks ago I was telling my step-daughter how proud of her I was.

DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Not really. I'm told it's not legible, but I don't have any problem

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Roast Beef

DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Three "steps". They're great!

IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Probably not. I can be quite the asshole. Actually, maybe... I'm more just straightforward than an asshole. Some people just can't handle that.

DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Not much.

DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yeah.

WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Nah. A lot better ways to get from here to down there.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? I didn't eat cereal for years, til I got remarried. Now, with the kids eating cereal a lot, I've started to again. Pretty much anything w/ Honey in the name. -Bunches of O's, -Nut Cheerios, -Nut Chex.

DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Depends. Most of the time I wear slip-on somethings, boots, sandals, whatever.

DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Compared to a lot of 40 year olds, yeah, I guess. I cut trees as a side job and you sort of have to be.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Ben and Jerry's Chunky Monkey

WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Attitude. Just be yourself and not some blow-hard.

RED OR PINK? Nope. Earth tones

WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I love being fit, but damn it's hard to have the self control.

WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My Grandmother and my Father. I didn't get to know my Father well enough. My Grandmother was my best friend for many, many years.

WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Khaki cargo shorts and white New Balance.

WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Mmmmm. Slim Fast.

WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? White Stripes "Icky Thump".

IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Something green, I guess.

FAVORITE SMELLS? Cut grass, pine trees, a cool North Georgia trout stream early in the morning in the Spring, Greyhound feet.

WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My step-daughter. She asked for her mom... :)

FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? College Football, and I have to agree w/ Tam... Baseball, but it's a game, not a sport.

HAIR COLOR[S]? Brown, with a small streak of white and some smatterings of gray.

EYE COLOR? Brown

DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No contacts, no glasses.

FAVORITE FOOD? A nice New York Strip, seared and rare.

SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Not a big fan of pure horror, but suspense works for me. I like almost any kind of movie.

LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Pirates of the Caribbean, At World's End.

WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Yellow/Navy striped golf shirt.

SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer. I'm getting tired of being cold in the Winter. And it doesn't get that cold where we are.

HUGS OR KISSES? Yes, please.

FAVORITE DESSERT? Cheesecake w/ good strong, black coffee.

MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? No one. Well, Dan might.

LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Anyone.

WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Tom Clancy's The Sum of all Fears.

WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Optical mouse don't need no steenkin mouse pad.

WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? The Riches.

FAVORITE SOUND[S]? The sound of my wife's voice.

ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Rolling Stones.

WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Tropic Star Lodge, Pinas Bay, Panama

DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? I can take stuff apart, fix it, and put it back together. I learned 2/3 of that from my dad and developed the last part myself!!! :)

WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Georgia Baptist Hospital. But I think I was switched at birth.

WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK? Yeah, anyone.

This is cool

Yeah, geeky, but cool. It's been since the 1880's since the standard for the kilogram was last set. Now scientists are going to get a little more precise in the standard. Thanks to /..

Say it ain't so

I've never been a big boxing fan. Sure, I'd be happy to get together with the guys and toss back a few while watching the big heavyweight fights back in the day, but that was more socializing than fandom. My uncle, however, has always been a boxing fan. I remember as a teenager going to my cousins and listening to his analysis of the latest fights. One of his favorites, thus one fighter that I was exposed to and semi followed some of his career was Hector "Macho" Camacho. Seems he got himself in a bit of a pickle. Too bad. He was a hell of a fighter once.

Justice...

Genarlow Wilson freed.

I don't get what was so hard about this case.

[Edit: 8:10 pm EDT]
What in the hell is my state guvment thinking? Now they're going to spend the taxpayers hard earned money to fight the judges decision to free Wilson? Must be why Sonny vetoed the property tax "rebate" earlier this year.

AB1643 - California Health Pets Act

SayUncle and Squeaky Wheel Seeks Grease have both picked up on the fact that AB1634 passed the California General Assembly last week. Both blogs are focusing on the fact that if you are a breeder of pure-breds, you are exempt from this bill. Truth is, in order to be exempt you have to be licensed breeder, subjecting yourself to the whims of local and state legislation and regulation. Ok, so you're saying 'So what?'. What if you're a hobby breeder, raising show dogs or as we do, raise performance hounds in order to preserve function? In Sacramento, an intact dog or cat will cost you $150 for a license. Most of these hobby breeders aren't making any money, just doing it to try to preserve and hone function. The vast majority come off the hip for vaccinations, feed, exams, to the tune of thousands. We're supposed to shell out more money for an already losing proposition?

So, just to be fair, this isn't class warfare. It's not pure-bred v. mutt. What it comes down to is we all need to stick together to fight more government intrusion in our lives!

Dept of I shouldn't, but I just can't help it

Spotted in today's AJC:



I just couldn't resist!

Look

Over there.

I've updated the blogroll and links section to include blogs I'm now reading.

Thank you

June 6, 1944.

Cool weather gizmo

I've used weather.com for years, like most people I'm sure. I switched for a while to using weather underground and still use it occasionally. The Weather Channel now uses MS Virtual Earth satellite photos for their mapping. You can see down to street level what the weather is doing (or not). BTW, the rain didn't reach the ground and the Jeep is dry so far! :)

Pass this around

I got the link to this here. I've seen eBay auctions and heard plenty of tales of empty boxes being "mis-represented" as actual merchandise (ie "Apple Ipod-30G-box"), but I never imagined that a brick and mortar could get away with it. Luckily, I don't have to boycott CompUSA since they've closed them all in our area.

Technorati Tags: rip-off

Other than that

Last night, we went to see Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. It was a great movie, full of spectacular effects, but a little confusing at times. I was pretty much able to keep track of what was going on, but the crossing, double-crossing, triple-crossing and even quadruple-crossing got a little convoluted. Overall, it was a fun movie, not quite as fun as the original, better than the second I think.

This morning I got to sleep until about 8:00. Quite a difference from the past three nights when dogs and kids have gotten us up and kept us from getting a real good nights sleep. After getting up, I had a cup of coffee, caught up on a few e-mails and read some blog stuff. I found a link from some post to Windows Live Writer Beta which I'm trying out for blogging. So far, I kind of like it.

Went running this morning too for the first time in about a week and a half. The last time I ran I got this sharp pain in my hip. I went out a couple of days later to give it a shot but the pain was making me alter my stride so that I was actually pulling my back. So, I've rested for a few days and was able to make the full run this morning. The hip feels better so I guess I'll get back on a regular schedule.

Not at the II

I'm sitting at home on Saturday morning, the first day of the II. I can't believe that we're missing our second II in a row. Last year was all about kids and injury. Sweeney was coming off his ligament repair surgery and wasn't ready for 2 days of competition and the kids get out of school right before the II weekend. This year, it's money money money and kids :) . Once again, kids got out of school Friday, so it makes it hard to get away. Gas prices being upwards of $3.00/gallon would make the driving portion almost $350! I drove a motorhome from Cartersville to Taos, New Mexico then up to Colorado Springs and back for around $400 a few years ago. That's the impact of gas prices!

Another factor in not making the trip is the fields. The fields are small. We would not have run our fast Greyhound on that field at all. Whippets might have done well, but there are visual barriers all the way around the field. We just didn't think that we'd get optimum performance out of our Whippets.

Hopefully we'll get a good location, during a good part of the year. I doubt we'll miss another II. The dogs are getting older and next year will be on the east coast. There's a group in Region 8 who have secured what I hear is a very nice field in Leesburg, Virginia for  the 2008 II. The sticking point now is the date since the field is available not only on the first weekend of June, but also during cooler parts of the year.  Although I'm not too bothered/worried about it since my dogs are acclimated and run well in the heat, Virginia can be quite hot in June. So, I guess we'll have to wait a bit to find out where the 2008 II is.

Good luck to everyone in Minnesota this weekend. Wish I was up there with you!!

Maybe Dan will post another update tonight.

A dog post

Most of you dear readers (all three or four of you) are dog people and read this because you know us through coursing. I've got some interesting information that I want to get out and get some feedback on. According to a well placed source, the ASFA BOD is considering a proposal from some Region 8 clubs to host the 2008 International Invitational in Leesburg, Virginia. They propose to host this on the normal first weekend in June. The alternative at this time is for the ASFA BOD to step in and run the II for 2008.

Unknown and unconsidered to most of the fancy, sources say that the field that Region 8 is proposing to use is available at other times during the year, specifically cooler parts of the year. Now, I personally did not have a problem running the dogs we have at both Leesburg in 1999 or in Remington in 2005. The weather was hot and humid, but not unbearably so. I do think that if the opportunity exists to run in cooler weather, I would much prefer to do so. If not for reservations about the field and gas prices, we'd be at the II in Minnesota this weekend. I am confident that the weather will be ideal for running dogs.

So the question comes down to this. If an alternate, possibly (probably?) cooler weekend were available, would you rather ASFA keep the II on the first weekend in June, or would you like to see it in a cooler part of the year? Comment here or email me at todd at toddbirchfield dot com and let me know!

Who Gives a F***!? - or, What's wrong with mainstream media

A prostitute lists out the "Sexiest Athletes". This makes the front page of the Atlanta Urinal and Constipation dot com.

What about immigration? What about sanctions on the Sudan? Nope. We get a list by a whore.

Memorial Day

Remember what the day is about. Remember those who have fought and died for the freedoms we cherish.

A little over a week ago, I posted about my Grandfather. Here's a link about the China Burma India Theater. I need to sit down and interview him.

Tam on the Braves

She says it best!

Keep your dirty steekin hands of my internet!!!!

This via /. .

Washington just can't keep their hands out of the cookie jar, can they?

Watch where you wi-fi

This story is a good reminder to be careful about how you decide to access the internet. I've heard of people getting busted for piggy-backing on their neighbors wi-fi, but never heard this about free internet. Maybe he should have bought a cup of coffee!

Ethanol is The Answer?

You hear a lot about alternative energies these days. Hybrid cars, Hydrogen fuel cells, bio-diesel and ethanol are all darlings of the media and politicians. John Stossel debunks some of the myths about ethanol.

h/t to Boortz

California trying to impose Mandatory Spay/Neuter

Sounds good? Another infringement on your rights! Please oppose this crappy bill, especially if you're in California.

This short video was put together by George Bell. Thanks to Dan Gauss for the heads up.

What we're breathing

The wildfires in S. Georgia/N. Florida are 90% contained. I think 100% of the smoke is blowing into the Atlanta area...
That ^ was taken at about 7:00 am edt. Below were taken @ 10:20 am edt.

ZOMG!!!

Camille. Andrew. Katrina. We all know how bad these storms were. The names will go down in history and will never be used again. What happens when both your first and last names are used back-to-back in the same year to name hurricanes? What are the odds of this happening?

I've known Karen and Mike for quite a few years. When I met them, Karen was the perfect storm, red-headed, full of bluster and a whirlwind of activity. Her kennel name is Winds. She's always been in the center of controversy since she has bred some of the finest lure coursing and amateur racing Greyhounds in the United States. Now she's being honored... (thanks Wanda Mae!)

Presenting the 2007 Atlantic Hurricane Season:

Dealing with trouble

Along this vein, this story will cheer those of you who have lost faith in parental units everywhere!

h/t to Boortz!

Vacation

Last year, I lost quite a few days of vacation since I maxed out what I could roll over. So last Friday I took the day off work, intending to do nothing more than run errands for R, read and generally just lay around. Instead, I called my grandfather up and we got together in the early afternoon at Spivey for a round of golf. For those of you who don't know, my grandfather is a better than par golfer. At 86 years old. At least twice a week. He plays from the front tees now instead of the backs, but still... He can out drive me by a long shot. He hits straight and long, and most importantly, accurate. Every time. Not bad for a man who didn't take up the game until he was in his 40's, and then only so that my father couldn't have a sport in which he could beat him.

It's a pleasure to be schooled on the golf course by my grandfather. I don't spend enough time with him, what with kids, dogs, jobs, etc. I'm doing better than I have in the recent past though and try to do as much with him as possible.

It's more than just being out on the golf course, a worthy destination in itself. Being with a man who has so much experience in life, and so much still to teach. Not just golf, but life. Makes me think of the quote by George Bernard Shaw, "Youth is wasted on the young." I wish as a younger man I had the wisdom to really listen to what he said. I gleaned a lot, but I also have to admit that I resented his attempts to step in as a fatherly figure in my life.

My grandfather is a great man. He's one of the Greatest Generation. He lived through the depression in very rural Alabama, getting out during World War II and spending the war in India. The Army Air Corps gave him training in repairing avionics and instruments. After the war, he came home and gathered up my Grandmother and Father and moved to Atlanta to work for Delta Air Lines for 40 years. After being there for a few years, he was asked to serve on the Delta Employee Credit Union board, a position he held for over 50 years, representing both his department and later retirees.

He raised two kids and helped raise me and my sister after my father died back in 1985. Soon after my father's death, we moved to Lake Jodeco, just a few houses down from my Grandmother and Grandfather. They were gracious enough to keep an eye on us while my mother was flying for Eastern Air Lines in the late '80's. While I'm on the subject, my Grandmother was probably my best friend for many years. Needless to say, my Grandparents were very important in my life. Thankfully my Grandfather still is.

I don't care who you are,

That's funny!

Where the Braves play

The Atlanta Braves have a new owner in Liberty Media Corp. Personally, I don't think that AOHell/TimeWarner did the Braves any real justice until this year when they were looking to sell so they loosened the purse strings a bit. The new owner at least acknowledges that a sports franchise should be run by a sports person... Here's hoping the Braves will be given the tools to succeed for many seasons to come!

Updates

Well, it turned out that a BIOS update I tried to install was probably the cause of my problems on Friday. The HD showed up on schedule Monday and I started the install process. Started getting the same ol' BSOD at the same point I was on Friday when trying to install XP. Strange... So, I do some deeper Googling, and find that not only could that error be the HD, but it could be the RAID drivers. Hmmmm.... So, I go into the BIOS and change the RAID settings, do the install and BAM!, no problem. I'm now the proud owner of XP...again...

The old HD was corrupted still, so the machine wouldn't boot from it. Even when I installed it as a second HD I couldn't see the file structure. Found a program that promised to allow me to view the file structure and retrieve the files off the corrupted HD (I know, I could have booted to Knoppix, but didn't feel like it). TestDisk has a DOS interface that allows you to browse, scan and copy directories and files. It worked for me! I was able to retrieve all the files that I needed off the old HD. Now, if I could figure out a way to convince Dell to let me keep the HD, I'd be pushing 1 TB built in and 300 GB removable USB storage! But then again, what would I ever need that much space for... :)

The best news is that I'm sitting here working on this XPS M1210 now. I've been using my old laptop for quite a few years and it was getting a bit worn out. The OS wasn't quite as stable as it was in it's younger days, and the batteries were showing their age; One had shorted out on my trip to Phoenix a few weeks ago. So, it was time to update and the latest compact, powerful machine from Dell is now mine. I opted for Vista as the OS on this, here's hoping that I don't have the same issues with a native install that I did with the upgrade I did on my desktop. So far, it's working well. I do notice that boot time is extremely long. I'll have to do some research and see if I can figure out what's going on there.

Poor excuse for a day

Showed up to work at 7 this am to find a nice frozen screen on my desktop. Aw hell, Vista is such a piece of crap! Froze up again I figure. Do a hard re-boot and it goes into the endless loop of post, safe mode choice, re-boot, etc, etc. Can't blame this one on MS or Vista. Seems the HD is the piece of crap this time.... At least it's under warranty, I'll have a replacement on Monday. Now to see if I can get all the files off the old HD...

To add to my misery, I have to be here tomorrow for the graduation broadcast. Actually, I could pull off my part from home (more than likely), but as soon as I do, I'll need to be here to push some damn button...

There is one bit of good news. This should be arriving in my office early next week!

I hope Tam sees this

13375p34|<, Just for you (but I'm sure she'll share with anyone else...)

Un-concealed weapons

This reminds me I need to renew my carry permit.

Early IPod

Check out this early version of the IPod...

Happy news for a Star Wars fan

Cool from FoxNews.com:

"And here's a little news: Lucas tells me he will make two more live-action films based in the "Star Wars" era.
'But they won't have members of the Skywalker family as characters," he said. "They will be other people of that milieu.'
The two extra films will also be made for TV and probably be an hour long each. But, like "Clone Wars," Lucas doesn't know where on TV they will land.
Hello, HBO and Showtime. It may be time to pony up."

Hat tip to /.

And a dog brag...Simply...

We went to SEGC on Sunday in Cartersville. The dogs did very well, Sweeney finished his LCM, Everett took BoB and Lobo took 2nd. A good day.

No dog brag time

It's time that I finally brag on something that R and I have been doing since the first of the year. I had just about reached maximum density, and R wasn't real happy with where her body was headed. We decided that we both would work together and try to become not just lighter but healthier. Four and a half months later, we've both made huge strides towards our goals. Actually, R has reached and passed hers already. I've reached and passed my short-term goal of losing 25 lbs while lifting weights. So, I've lost a couple of inches in my waist (damn, I wish I had taken some measurements other than weight at the beginning). I've worn 38" waist pants for many years and haven't seen the south side of 36's since, oh, the late 80's. Now, my jeans and shorts are literally falling off (walking through the Mart of Wals) and my shirts are pretty baggy. Everything has gotten leaner, from my neck all the way to my legs. I've gone from a personal high of 250 down to 220 lbs! This is very close to my post-divorce-diet weight!

I haven't been under 200 since I put on the Freshman forty in 1985/86. My long-term goal is to get below 200 lbs for at least a little while and then hold around 205'ish. I figure if I can do that, I'll have restored at least a few days on to my life expectancy!

I've been on a pretty serious exercise regimen as well. I hit the gym for weight lifting at least 3 days a week, usually four. I'm not quite benching my all-time high, but I'm getting there. I'm doing cardio usually three times a week, right now I'm up to running between 17 and 21 minutes.

The hardest part about losing weight has been changing my eating habits. I love to eat, love good, rich food. I never really thought I ate too much, I didn't snack all the time or eat huge portions. R went on-line and signed up for Weight Watchers. She did a damn good job keeping up with the points while I rode her coattails. We figured out what we needed to cut out (mostly anything white) and what we needed to keep/increase (!). We've pretty much gone whole grain when we have to go "grain" at all, we've increased our veggie/fruit portions and we're maintaining a healthy balance of proteins (fish, chicken, some pork and some beef). The hardest part for me is limiting beer. I love me some good beer, but good beer packs on the lbs. So, I try hard to keep the consumption of said treat to a minimum. Mostly I succeed, but with Summer around the corner, it'll get harder and harder to resist!

Where does the next six months lead? Hopefully fulfilling my goal of getting below 200 lbs. I know that I'm going to keep up with my running since I feel so damn good when I finish (although it's hard as hell to get going). I plan on running the Peachtree Road Race again in 2008 (last time was 26 years ago). I better work on getting some side jobs so that I can buy a new wardrobe.

What I'm really looking forward to is having people not recognize me! Oh, and hopefully you won't ask if I'm sick!

Playing (race) cards

Hopefully, you won't need a login for this, but Jesse Jackson is in the news today, lamenting the fact that The Atlanta Braves aren't doing enough to promote black players. So, the Braves made the concession to actually meet with Rainbow Coalition members. Now that they've made that gesture, can we get on with playing ball?

Oh, aren't there other colors than black in a "rainbow"?

It really sucks to be him...

Robbers Glue Victim to Exercise Cycle

Maybe he should have been packing fingernail polish remover!

Something techie

So, being a geek, I sure am behind the times. I spend a little bit of time each week reading blogs, typically clicking links from my blog to what I want to read. This can be time consuming and fruitless at times. If a blog hasn't been updated, I have clicked through for no reason. RSS readers have been around for a long time, I know. I just never really found one that I liked. That is, until I tried Google Reader from Google labs. It's cool, easy to manage and makes blog reading easy. It's allowed me to add more blogs and feeds and read in a much more efficient manor. Try it out!

Truth or Agenda?

Gunfire kills 4-year-old boy

Tragedy, really, but what really killed the boy??

Earth Day

Didn't even realize until today that yesterday was Earth Day. Ends up I celebrated in my favorite way, by cutting down some trees.*

*I don't advocate cutting trees for the hell of it, but if they're threatening property or are diseased/dead, no problem.

Mass murder v/and suicide

Flippant? Why, yes! Opt for the suicide and leave the rest of us out of your misery.

What's going on

Non-ASFA folks might want to just keep on moving... Last weekend I was in Phoenix for the ASFA ACoD. I thought the convention went well, even though we didn't pass the Discipline article that had been demanded at last year's convention. I'm amazed that this didn't pass. Last year, the uproar was about the ASFA BoD getting involved in what basically boils down to a breeder dispute. The floor of the ACoD was outraged (even though this wasn't included in the official minutes... hmmm) and demanded that CRC re-work Article IX (discipline) to include some limit on jurisdiction. Unfortunately, in the manner of the ACoD, delegates were either too unfamiliar with the background or were too involved with their own agendas to vote for what was obviously a step forward.

If you're reading this and you're involved in the "legislative" process of ASFA, please feel free to request information about this. Luckily, the issue will come back in front of the ACoD next year for another vote.

Good things

It might have only been 45 degrees, with a wicked wind whipping, but baseball came back to Atlanta last weekend. Thanks to one of Andrew's suppliers, Andrew, Neil, Will and I went to the game on Saturday. Yeah, we froze, but there was beer, peanuts and baseball. To me, it's a combination that's hard to beat! Oh, the good guys won the game too. Got to see John Smoltz pitch a nice game and hand the traitor Tom Glavine a loss. Not a bad day at all!

Missing it...

Hope everyone in Kansas is having a good time and their dogs are doing well. I wish I was there.... Drop me an email as soon as results are available!

Denial doesn't work

UPDATE 12:30: R got Lobo up to Dr. Toby's and he confirmed what I thought. Torn muscle along the chest. Can't be surgically repaired since it's paper thin. He's putting a drain in now and Lobo will be home in a bit. Not sure about the long term prognosis...

We were supposed to be headed to Lawrence Kansas this weekend for the Whippet National lure coursing trial. Everett and Lobo both turn 5 this year and still run quite honestly and can really hang with the younger dogs. We figured that we really needed to get them to the Nationals this year...

That was before we ran them at SEGC this past weekend in 90 degree heat over way too parched ground. Unfortunately, Ev took the corners off two of his pads and Lobo took the stopper off both front feet. To make it worse, Lobo has a muscle issue in his chest that we can't figure out. He's going to the vet today so she can give it a look.

So, as much as we've all been looking forward to this weekend, especially running with all the great competition, we're just not going to be able to pull it off... We'll miss seeing y'all and really miss seeing the dogs go head to head.

We're still planning on the II this year with the Whippets, so get ready for that!!!

CHASE March

We had a pretty good trial last weekend. Smallish by our standards, but everyone had a good time, we got to see some really good runs and people had a good time. BIE went to John and Laura Parker's greyhound Cole, a very nice running dog who defeated the Saluki Basheera in a run-off. Weather left a little to be desired on Saturday when we were fighting very stiff winds all day long. Sunday was much nicer with temps in the 50's and much less wind.

We only had four field champion Whippets on Sunday... Four.... Amazing for this part of the country. The competition was great as all four were top 20 dogs last year (#1 and #3 included).

Sweeney did great finishing a very respectable 2nd on Saturday. The best part is that he's finally to the point where he could run a third time (run-off) or on Sunday possibly.

Congratulations to all the winners! Big thanks to everyone who stepped up and helped up put on such a great trial!

Remembering

Something Dan said in response to my post 300 got me to thinking. I have mentioned here before that I don't have many memories from my childhood. Once again, it's not a whine because I'm not sure that I'm missing anything, it's just an observation. Hell, I didn't know until about 5 years ago that I couldn't really remember much and the person who noticed this seemed surprised that I didn't remember. I never really thought much about it before then but have thought about it a bit since. I wonder what it is in my makeup that keeps me from remembering details from years ago? Dan mentioned that if I had really bowled a 290 something I would remember it exactly. Well, not really. I do remember that it happened, remember who I was with and where I was, but evidently not the important details... That happened probably 17'ish years ago, so well past childhood.

All this leads me to wonder where memories go and where the "rememberance" line might be for me. Did something traumatic in my past cause me to just not care about remembering? Hell, like most people, I've had my share of tragedy in life but I've tried to not let it dominate my LIFE, you know? Maybe I could get all pshrinky and analyze what the hell is going on. Maybe I should have in the past. I don't know... I do know that I'd like to figure out ways to remember more of my experiences in more detail...

300

Well worth the investment.

ACC

Running at the ACC trial last weekend was a blast! I love going to those trials. The people are wonderful and the weather is always warmer than home. The dogs did well this weekend. Sweeney ran prelims and finals on Saturday, finishing BoB for Greyhounds! His recovery, while slow, is moving along. Everett took 1st Saturday and 2nd Sunday, losing out to a really nice dog, Sam. Lobo finished NBQ and 3rd respectively. Nellie ran in Singles again both days and blew everyone away. I sure hope that she decides that she wants to concentrate on chasing and leave the other dogs alone. She's a very nice, fluid, flexible bitch who could do well on almost any course plan. She has speed, but really uses her body well in negotiating the corners.

That peaceful religion....redux

Someone please defend this...

How inconvenient

Wow at Al Gore for his utility bills!!! I'm with Boortz on this one, let everyone have what they want/can afford. But don't get all self-righteous and preach about how we're screwing up the environment.

Coursing last weekend

A little more reflection on coursing last weekend.

It's hard sometimes for me to find a happy medium in course design. For the big dogs I like to see a big, open course that let's them really stretch while showing their agility on corners that aren't asking them to do 90 degree turns. I think these course plans showcase good Whippets as well. I get a lot of grief about my choice of plans because some owners/breeders (especially of slower big dogs and most Whippets) want to see choppier courses with more acute turns.

Thanks to Woody and Jennifer for their help all weekend. We've gotten a really nice influx of new coursers in the past year and it's nice to have a couple step up to the plate and really work hard to help put on the trial.

Remember that we're all volunteers out on the field. In the Atlanta area, there are four very active coursing clubs. Basically, the same group puts trials on for all four clubs. If you can help in any way, set up, huntmaster, lure operate, clerk, whatever, please step up and help!

I lure course because (1) I love to watch my dogs run; (2) I love to watch other good dogs run; and (3) because I like the social aspect of getting together with others who can appreciate the good dogs.

Being able to turn while running slow does not equal agility.

One more time.... Being able to turn while running slow does not equal agility.

Forfeit your celebrity

Not that I give one whit about what she does with her life, but in my mind, once you become a celebrity you forfeit your privacy. Why do celebrities actually believe that the personality cult that they've created for themselves will actually turn off at will?

"Britney Spears has voluntarily checked herself into an undisclosed rehab facility today," (Larry) Rudolph (Spears' spokesman) says in a statement. "We ask that the media respect her privacy as well as those of her family and friends at this time."

The peaceful religion that is Islam

Ladies, watch what you wear.

It actually....

turned out to be colder than the forecast. But if you wear enough clothes you won't get cold. But if you wear that many layers, you get sore and tired... Oh well, it was a very nice weekend, even with the cold temps. We had 61 dogs on Saturday and 76 on Sunday. One of the biggest weekends we've had in a couple of years. We had a nice turnout of Ibizans and Ridgebacks. Not an overwhelming number of Whippets, but still quite a few. The Ridgeback Cameron won BIE over a couple of nice Ibizians and a Pharaoh.

Nellie ran in Singles on Sunday. She's beautiful to watch run and I hope that she gets her focus so that we can certify her. Lobo took 2nd on Saturday, but in the process took a pretty nasty spill in finals and cut under his shoulder pretty badly. He's sore, but he'll be ok. Everett took 3rd on Saturday, but came back strong on Sunday to take Breed. He's getting back in the groove after the collision in Tallahassee in December.

Looking forward to racing this weekend. Actually I'll be home taking a midterm, but R is going to take the dogs down to Jax for racing on the training track. Tallahassee is the next weekend. Looking forward to getting down there again.

Easy there Junior!

Someone needs a spanking!

Bratty little kid

h/t to Tam.

The chilly South

We have our first trial of the year this weekend and the forecast for Cartersville is:I know that's not bad for a lot of people, but here in GA we don't do twenties too well. I've been tired of cold weather since the first cold snap of the year. At least it's not going to rain!!! :)

Bogging down in blogging

I really do like to blog. I don't think that 99% of what I have to say has any kind of importance, but it's nice to put stuff in writing sometimes. I really should do this more often, but with work, kids, dogs, and the other minutiae in life, the blog tends to be neglected. I think I'll regret this as I get older, much as I regret not having any journals or logs from my younger years. I really don't have many memories of my childhood (good or bad) or even of my teen years for that matter. I don't know why, I just don't.

Anyway, all that to say that I'm going to try to do more writing in the future. Not for you (not sure if there's even a you), but for me.

My day...

Installing a pressure regulator in my house... Got started today at about 12. Cutting out the section of pipe for the regulator was no problem. Getting the regulator in, not really a problem. Once it was in, problem. A little leak, not around where I had soldered the pipes, but around where the teflon tape was sealing the fitting into the regulator. Ah well, trip to Home Depot. Get more fittings and that liquid seal stuff. Back home, put new fittings in, go to solder pipes again, forget to empty water out of pipe. Oh, that was the last fitting to solder. Dammit. Have to cut one side of the regulator out and sweat the other side. Back to HD for pipe that I forgot the first trip. Back home, put a f-ing patch in instead of the damn regulator. I'm sure I've melted something in there and I really needed a shower. Small drip where the patch is. I'm done for the day though. It'll just have to leak. Next weekend, I'm sweating that whole length of pipe out from elbow to elbow and replacing the shut off valve. Reminder to self, disassemble shut off valve before soldering so that I don't melt the rubber gasket...

Fun day.

You don't say

This article at /. talks about Google's dealings in North Carolina last year while the internet search giant was seeking tax breaks for possibly locating a server farm in the state. Does this surprise anyone? Major corporations do this all the time, with benefits for both the corporation and the state/locality. In recent years, Tennessee has gotten a GM plant, South Carolina has gotten a BMW plant, Alabama a Mercedes plant and Georgia a KIA plant, all because of corporate courting. I don't hear much gnashing of teeth about these deals, but over at /. the geeks are up in arms about "big business" and whatnot. I just don't see what the big deal is...

Walking the dogs

Saturday was a very nice day. When R came home from dropping off the kids, she had the great idea to take the Greyhounds over to my step-father's families land. He and his brothers own quite a bit of land in Ola, just a few miles from the house. Anyway, we went over and spent about an hour with Sweeney and Nellie just wandering around. R and I had a great time, just getting out and spending some time outdoors together is a treat. The Greyhounds were happy and tired. We'll have to do this again soon.

I really want to work up to having the dogs off lead while we're out on the property. My old Whippet JR was a great dog to have off-lead as he had great recall. Sweeney will come back to R with no problem, but we've never really just walked around hundreds of acres with him off-lead. I'm not sure about Nellie either, especially since she's young and we haven't worked much with recall. Something to think about, especially if I'm ever going to take one of them out to do some OFC...

Vista cont...

Dammit, it keeps freezing on me again. I have no idea at the moment. Nothing new except JRE 6.

EDIT: Well, it continued to freeze for about 30 minutes (the freezes last about 30 seconds and I can't tell what causes them). Anyway, after that freeze free for the rest of the day. If anyone has any ideas, send them to me!

Vista

Vista, Microsoft's newest OS, sure is pretty. And it runs pretty fast. It's a pain to get set up though. I spent the better part of the day trying to install Vista on my desktop, a 2.6GHz Dual Core with 2 GB RAM. According to MS, my machine is a prime candidate for Vista, so I decided to take the plunge.

First off, I'm installing an MSDN version that comes with our subscription at work (this is my work machine). This is a January, 2007 release, so is probably what's going to be released to the public at the end of the month. I installed Vista on a machine that has been running XP Pro. The installation process gives you a choice of performing an upgrade on your machine and preserving programs and documents that are already installed. Of course it's a very good idea to keep a backup of everything just in case. The other option is to perform a full install of Windows Vista.

I started out by trying the upgrade. The process seemed to move along quite nicely for about 30 minutes, but after that it hung up. From this point, I tried to cancel the install but could not, everything was just locked up. So, from this point, I had no choice but to do a hard reboot of the machine. I restarted the install process and once again, got to about the same point and the install hung. At this point, I wanted to see if I could roll back the install to XP as that is an option given in the install. No luck, the machine would not boot into any OS.

At this point I figured I better just opt for the full install. This seemed to go well for about 30-45 minutes before hanging. I was getting frustrated at this point, to the point where I considered dropping back and just re-installing XP. I hadn't worked on it this long to just quit, so I tried again. This time was it! Finally, the install proceeded without a hitch. Very easy to set up once you get the OS installed. Setup wizards were very intuitive and should be easy for even the most non-tech-savvy type to handle! One thing that I have noticed is that I had problems with Vista locking occasionally for about 30 seconds. I was never able to nail down exactly what thread or process was causing this to happen as it has finally quit, but I think it had to do with my graphics card (NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GS) and the drivers. After installing the drivers for Vista and working through some of the settings, I'm not getting that lock up anymore.

Overall, I like Vista. The graphics are pretty, the OS is fast. I don't think the search function is quite as hot as MS has touted, but it's improved. Organization is a little improved over XP and other previous Windows versions, but it might take you a while to get used to it. So far all of my applications are working without a hitch. I don't recommend non-techy people installing Vista right now though. If you're uncomfortable with having to work through install issues or wiping out your OS to install something fresh, I'd wait a bit. MS is sure to have an update out sooner rather than later.

I'll keep you updated on any new developments, if there are any.

Fields and dogs

Last weekend we went back down to Moreland, GA to lay out a couple of course plans for the SEGC trials in March. For Saturday we have 1000 yards laid out, mostly sweeping turns, a little agility and plenty of terrain! I can't wait to see how the dogs do on this at the trial. We ran Sweeney once and he did great! Nellie ran a couple of times and looked really good, even on a tighter course that we put out after laying out Saturday's. Overall, it was a really good day with the dogs.

We're going to Jacksonville next weekend for our first foray into NOTRA. This is something I'm really looking forward to, especially after Sweeney's performance at the Winter Challenge. Dr. Anna Midgarden was out gathering some more data for her Borzoi study, running dogs on a straight and measuring their speed in a 50 yd trap. According to just about anyone I talk to, this is the most accurate measure of pure speed that has ever been done. Anyway, Sweeney went out and blazed down the straight at 40.23 mph.

Anyway, we're looking forward to seeing what all the dogs can do on the track. The track at Jax is a sand greyhound training track. Really nice surface, safe for running and conducive to speed.

Windows

So, after fighting with my laptop for the past couple of weeks, I finally decided to do a clean install of XP. I'm glad I did since now everything is running nice and speedy! It's a bit of a hassle having to re-install programs and copying documents back and forth, but after using this machine for gosh, it must be three years now, day after day, it was time to clean everything up. Sometimes Windows just needs to be freshened a bit! :)

I have Vista installing now on my desktop. Looking good so far. I'll update this when it's done.

Good to see

Two years ago, it was decreed in England that hunting with hounds would stop. The anti's finally had their way and a ban was passed forbidding fox and hare hunting with hounds. Here's an article revealing that the ban isn't really working...

toth to Stephen Bodio

If only I had Dan's photo equipment!

This was in the back yard today. I know it's hard to see, but as far as I can tell, it's a Pileated Woodpecker. Pretty!

Ipod ramblings

I finally got an IPod! I'm a huge music nut, have been forever. I have 200+ GB of music on a hard drive, all of it legal :)! So, I've been wanting an MP3 player forever (or at least since 98 when the Diamond Multimedia Rio came out). I've waited and waited, not really liking the idea of ripping all my music and not liking the UI's on the mp3 players that have been on the market. Apple hit a home run when they came out with their Ipod and I've sort of coveted one since. I still didn't relish the idea of ripping all those cd's, but finally bit the bullet and bought a large HD and got down to it. Ripping took a few full days, but the results are worth it. I still waited for an IPod, knowing that I'd get my chance sooner rather than later. Finally this past Christmas it made sense from a technology standpoint and a $$$ standpoint to make the move. I am now the proud owner of an 80 GB Video Ipod with about 50 GB of music on it. I had to re-sample a lot of the stuff I want to put on it to a lower bitrate, but the sound on the Ipod is good.

Now Apple has released the IPhone. What a beautiful piece of equipment that is! I love the concept, but I don't think I'm going to be an early adopter (I used to be, back in the heady days of early DVD and AC3). I love the package, I love the concept, but come back to me when you put a real storage system in it. The IPhone is going to be released with 4 GB storage (not shabby) with an 8GB model following soon after. This is probably based on the flash storage capability of the Ipod Nano instead of the HD capability of the Video. Flash technology is increasing at a huge rate, so don't be surprised to see the IPhone (and Nano) grow in storage size over time.

Anyway, I'm really happy with my Ipod and look forward to a long relationship with it. :)

Farmington redux

Annie sent me this image of the Farmington site. Note that one field is different from what was discussed last Fall. Thanks to Annie for providing this to me.

This guy....

This guy is a grandfather! Congratulations to Jessi and Chris and to all the Alley clan!

A comparison

Yesterday's post was of a new field in GA that we're probably going to use. Here's a comparison of what we use now (Old Mill Farm) and the II field for 2007 in Farminton, MN.

New Field

It's big! A group of us got together Sunday and walked a new field. This one is HUGE! It's a nice rolling field of Bermuda with a clay base. I think we're going to have a field trial there this Spring. Ya'll come!

WOW

The Winter Challenge for 2006/2007 has come and gone. It was another challenge just to survive! 139 dogs Saturday, 129 Sunday and 104 on Monday. There were many Top 20 hounds in attendance and overall the competition was fierce. I think the cream rose to the top for most of the breeds. Congratulations to all the winners!

We had several factors working against us all weekend including short daylight hours, the large entry and the weather. Saturday was the nice day of the weekend and we finished all 139 by dark. Sunday wasn't so nice, what with the driving rain and all. We contended with string problems a bit, but still finished at dark. Sunday started off very nice, but the temperature fell all day and we finished in the dark again with a stiff wind and temps in the low 40's.

I had fun, but I can wait for next year. The joys of running in Region 7!

Darwin Award Nominee #1 for 2007

I noticed another blogger that I read regularly lamenting the first murder in her city for 2007. I usually don't notice stories of such things in ATL, but couldn't resist this story: Celebratory shot kills 1 in Cobb.

The story, from the Atlanta Journal continues,

When the clock struck midnight, the 20 or so revelers who had gathered at a Mableton house retreated to the back yard and rang in the new year in what, police say, has become an all-too-common practice: firing guns into the air.

But early Monday morning, one of the bullets fell from the sky and hit a 52-year-old guest in the back. His death is believed to be the first fatal shooting in metro Atlanta in 2007.

Haven't these folks heard that what goes up must come down? Ah well, the thinning continues...

Merry Christmas!

Hope yours was as good as mine! I'll see most of y'all next weekend at Old Mill.

A week and a day

Is how long it's been since Everett got T-Boned. He's doing much better, thank you very much. He's still taking antibiotics and a cough suppressant, but he's moving much better tonight than he has all week. He's shaking and stretching like nothing hurts. It'll still be a couple of weeks before we let him run, but I think he's making huge strides!

The Wire

Do you have HBO? If you do and you don't watch 'The Wire', you're missing the best TV....Ever. If you don't have HBO or have somehow missed 'The Wire', rent, buy or steal it and watch.

Everett update

Thankfully, Everett should be ok. X-rays show only one broken rib, no punctures in the lungs. He's on crate rest for the next two weeks (probably we'll go longer) and will be running again probably in February, missing the Winter Challenge for the first time in 3 years.

Let me say that I don't blame the breed of dog for what happened. What I blame is the owner for having a restraint that was not sufficient for the breed. An already broken, knotted rope does not make a good enough leash for a Pit.

Thanks to everyone at the trial who stepped up to help or just show support after Everett was hit. It means so much to Ruthanna and me that we have such terrific friends in this sport. There are more people than I can thank, but know that all of you are appreciated.

Everett

Everett got hit hard during the BoB runoff yesterday in Tallahassee. I don't have much to say about it right now other than it was a Pit-Bull that T-boned him. I'm having x-rays done and I'll know more tomorrow

How much would you pay?

Developer builds two half million dollar houses in an Atlanta suburb. I guess their tape measurer's weren't working that day...

From the Atlanta Journal/Constitution, Friday December 8, 2006

A majority of the Forsyth County Commission decided late Thursday that premier developer John Wieland Homes can bring out the hammer, nails and checkbook — not the wrecking ball — to save two half-million-dollar homes that were built too close together.

The houses in Weston, Wieland's South Forsyth County development, were built 6 feet apart. They are 4 feet closer than the 10 feet that's required and so close that Forsyth County Fire Chief Danny Bowman has said a car fire in one driveway could easily bring the other house down.

The Forsyth County Commission voted not to force John Wieland Homes to tear down two half-million-dollar houses built 4 feet too close together. Fire-safety modifications were recommended.


District County Commissioner Brian Tam, who represents the part of the county that includes the Weston development, recommended that Wieland be allowed to finish and sell the houses, with some fire-safety modifications.

"The choice is simple: Try to find some common ground or tear the houses down," Tam said.

Two other commissioners agreed to grant embarrassed Wieland executives a variance on the houses, which were 85 to 95 percent complete when county inspectors realized last June they were too close together.

County Commissioners Dave Richard and Charles Laughinghouse opposed the variance, and Richard warned Wieland executives about proceeding. Richard said he plans to ask the new commission, which takes over in January, to overrule Thursday's 3-2 vote.

He said an experienced developer like Wieland should never have made such a mistake.

"It is extremely noticeable," Richard said. "This is a clear case of asking for forgiveness."

Terry Russell, chief executive officer for John Wieland Homes, said the company was embarrassed to ask for a variance. "It's not the way we do business," Russell said.

As part of the conditions for the variance, the company will have to tear down the front porch of one home and replace it with a smaller one to put more distance between it and the driveway of the other house. Tempered glass also has to be placed in some windows in both houses.

In addition, the company is donating $5,000 to the neighborhood, Russell said.

Bowman told commissioners that the proposed modifications will improve fire safety. But he cautioned: "The houses are very close."

Tam hinted that the county may share some blame. "This is something that should have been addressed in the early phases of construction, not when the house was done."

Weston resident Jeff Dyer appeared at an earlier meeting of the commission to ask that the builder be forced to abide by the law, even if that meant tearing down and moving one of the houses.

"It's an eyesore, and if it's allowed to stay like this, it could affect our property values," Dyer said.

Ingenious

Give our troops a problem and they'll come up with a solution.

Control...

Not sure where this came from originally, so if you know then let me know so that I can give credit where it's due.

1. An armed man is a citizen. An unarmed man is a subject.

2. A gun in the hand is better than a cop on the phone.

3. Colt: The original point and click interface.

4. Gun control is not about guns; it's about control.

5. If guns are outlawed, can we use swords?

6. If guns cause crime, then pencils cause misspelled words.

7. "Free" men do not ask permission to bear arms.

8. If you don't know your rights you don't have any.

9. Those who trade liberty for security have neither.

10. The United States Constitution (c) 1791. All Rights Reserved.

11. What part of "shall not be infringed" do you NOT understand?

12. The Second Amendment is in place in case the politicians ignore the
others.

13. 64,999,987 firearm owners killed no one yesterday.

14. Guns only have two enemies: rust and politicians.

15. Know guns, know peace, know safety. No guns, no peace, no safety.

16. You don't shoot to kill; you shoot to stay alive.

17. 911 - government sponsored Dial-a-Prayer.

18. Assault is a behavior, not a device.

19. Criminals love gun control -- it makes their job safer.

20. If guns cause crime, then matches cause arson.

21. Only a government that is afraid of its citizens tries to control them.

22. You only have the rights you are willing to fight for.

23. Enforce the "gun control laws" we ALREADY have, don't make more.

24. When you remove the people's right to bear arms, you create slaves.

25. The American Revolution would never have happened with gun control.

26. "A government of the people, by the people, for the people..."