Rottweilers Ate My Laptop

I spent the evening reading instead of writing since I have an e-book that’s due back to the library in just a couple of days. Cryptonomicon, by Neal Stephenson, combines cryptography, geek culture, and World War II vintage historical fiction into a very long, but still readable and enjoyable mix of past and present stories. I hope I can renew it if I have to. I read pretty fast, but it is really long.

I want to do a proper review of my Sony Reader, now that I’ve been using it regularly for a couple of months. I should also do a full review of Cryptonomicon once I’m done with it since it does fit in both the “Computers” and “World Domination” categories here!

I also have two murder mystery novels to review. Who knew there were not just one, but several, murder mysteries featuring at least one Rottweiler in a non-killing role? Not me, until very recently! Look for my take on Rottweiler Rescue: a mystery for dog lovers by Ellen O’Connell, and Knit One, Kill Two by Maggie Sefton in the near future.

(NaBloPoMo | July ’10: 9 of 31)

“You’re heading for I-90,” said Wednesday. “Follow the signs west for Madison.”*

That’s a route I’ve driven many, many times. And there are quite a few other familiar places in Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, one of my favorite books. What’s not to like about a story that takes you all around the vast Midwestern wasteland, to places where the old gods have been living for all these years, and to an inevitable clash between the old and the new?

I’ve mentioned before that I am nobody’s fangirl, and that I really don’t have much emotional investment in anything that I’m not personally involved with. I don’t rabidly adore any sports team or celebrities. My only slight departure from this was going to see The Rocky Horror Picture Show fifty-plus times (heh, you didn’t know that about me, did you), but that was more about hanging out with my psycho emotionally-invested friends than being truly involved myself. I helped a couple of people sew some pretty authentic-looking costumes (you didn’t know I could sew, and actually very well, either, did you) and that was really my biggest fun. Oh, and time warping, but only people with no soul would think that time warping is not fun.

But back to American Gods and the fact that there is going to be an American Gods weekend. On Halloween weekend. OMG! At The House on the Rock. OMG!!

Like many who have lived in this sector of the vast Midwestern wasteland for any length of time, I’ve visited the House on the Rock. It was sort of unintentional as the destination on that trip was supposed to be Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin. I did end up at the intended destination, but was definitely glad to have taken the detour to see the strangeness and the wonder of the House on the Rock.

Wasn’t it worth it, worth anything, to say that you had ridden on the World’s Largest Carousel?*

The World’s Largest Carousel is one of the attractions at the House on the Rock, and plays an important role in American Gods. Normally, no one is allowed to ride the carousel, but reportedly a few lucky attendees of the American Gods weekend will be able to do just that.

Like I said, I am nobody’s fangirl. But if I could ride the World’s Largest Carousel, that might even change.

*from American Gods © 2001 by Neil Gaiman

(NaBloPoMo | April ’10: 6 of 30)

My original plan for advertising in the first 2010 issue of The Total Rottweiler Magazine was to celebrate the titles that Axel finished in January, particularly his AKC Championship.

Well.

Since my new AKC Champion is like one of those children who, while nice-looking in person, always has a goofy expression, closed eyes, head turned to the side, or what have you when it comes to photographs, I did not have the variety of shots, nor a decent head shot, for a nice elegant new champion ad.

So here is what is running instead. Behold the beauty… and the goofiness… that is Freya and Axel.

click image for full-sized PDF version

We also took the opportunity to promote Axel’s niece, Chassis (Precious Gems European Cut). I predict a successful career ahead for this young lady!

click image for full-sized PDF version

(NaBloPoMo | March ’10: 20 of 31)

With the Total Rottweiler Magazine deadline a week or so tighter than expected this quarter, I’m a little overscheduled for the next few days. And I don’t like it one bit.

Since there are not that many APDT trials close by, I’ll almost always enter a trial that is less than two hours away. Unfortunately, the trial this weekend means three straight trial weekends right in the thick of getting the magazine finished.

To add to the fun, despite the beautiful weather we’ve had all week, it’s supposed to snow this weekend.

We weren’t able to get to class, so Freya is a bit under-prepared. Not a crisis yet but it may be for next week’s trial because jumping and backwards heeling are still not pretty.

I’m sure we’ll get through it. The magazine will make it to the printer and Freya and I will get through March’s trials. We will NOT be doing any trials in April!

(NaBloPoMo | March ’10: 18 of 31)

I haven’t written about Freya’s quest to regain her girlish figure lately, mainly because she is stuck in a position that is all too familiar to many of us: the dreaded plateau. Since she is not gaining weight, and was only slightly overweight to begin with, I have tried not to worry too much about it even though I am puzzled as to why she’s not losing weight. Here are the past posts, if you didn’t get a chance to see them the first time around:

Counting canine calories
Freya’s weigh-in

She’s been keeping pretty active, but we probably haven’t been compensating enough for the rainy days (way too many of them this summer) when she didn’t get enough activity or the fact that we opted to take a break from group obedience classes for the eight-week session that just ended last Saturday.

Either that or Dan is feeding her a lot of extra treats when no one else is looking (I really don’t think this is the case, though, since there’s really been no change in the normal treat consumption and buying frequency pattern)!

The possibility of hypothyroid is always in the back of my mind, but Freya has been tested once and found normal (low-ish normal, but still normal). I’m not sure I want to spend the money for another full thyroid panel when she’s not showing any other symptoms related to hypothyroid other than the stubborn poundage.

So I am glad to see a very complete weight loss article in the September issue of Whole Dog Journal magazine. Even though the magazine hasn’t arrived yet, as a subscriber, I have access to the articles via the magazine’s website, which is a much-appreciated feature. I’ve just had time to skim the main article, and while much of it is information I’d already learned from a post at Dolittler earlier this year, there is other helpful information that is new to me.

I’d like to take a moment to plug Whole Dog Journal, if I may. It’s the only magazine for which I currently pay for a subscription. It is subscriber-supported and carries no commercial advertising. The focus is on natural dog care and positive training. I don’t consider myself 100% natural or a purely positive trainer by any means, yet I still find this magazine one of the most valuable dog resources available.

I have no connection with the magazine other than being a satisfied subscriber from the first issue to the present. Give it a try if you haven’t already.

(NaBloPoMo | August ’09: 19 of 31 | 75% Challenge: 207 of 274)

Axel update! His first show will be on January 30. I won’t be there to see my aspiring butterfly in his AKC debut. I’m a little bit sad about that, but it is really for the best as he will show much better if he’s not looking around outside the ring for me. Plus I will be visiting my parents, who I don’t get to see nearly enough, and who are also half an ocean and half a continent away from the show site.

Now on to the shameless promotion promised in the title! I’m helping with a new Rottweiler publication, Total Rottweiler Magazine. I didn’t think I would ever get involved with another periodical. In some crazed and illogical unconscious attempt to prove that I do use what I learned in j-school, I’ve been newsletter/magazine editor for a couple of different clubs, and copy editor for another niche magazine. Some of those experiences were fun. Some sucked the life out of me.

I guess everyone is allowed to change their mind now and then, though. Total Rottweiler Magazine is off to a good start and I’m happy to be involved! If you are reading this and even remotely interested in Rottweilers, please consider subscribing or perhaps buying a single issue to check it out.

Now that Axel is almost officially a show dog, I have to shamelessly promote him, too. Here’s the ad I’ll be running in the magazine (sorry, it’s a repeat if you are reading this on LiveJournal).

If you click on it, the full sized version will show up (at least I think it will). I tried to make it almost a “teaser” since his show debut takes place after the ad deadline. The magazine is a quarterly, so hopefully by the time the next deadline rolls around, I’ll be able to list him as a Champion!

[Originally posted at Vox and LiveJournal]

While looking through my Recommended Books links on Amazon.com, I got a little bit sidetracked and found this:

Max Goes to the Moon: A Science Adventure with Max the Dog (Science Adventures with Max the Dog series)

How neat is that? The author has a website, Big Kid Science, and apparently there are a few other books in which Max continues his space travels.

On the Big Kid Science site, you can view pages from the book. Max's human companion is Tori, a young girl. For me, that makes it even better to have the central young character female and interested in science. Oh, and having a Rottweiler for a beloved pet!

The books have a lot of scientific facts and activities in addition to the fanciful story of Max's space travels.

I wish there were a few kids of the right age in my circles to gift with these books, but right now there aren't any. Perhaps I should buy them for myself! I also wish that one of my current dogs was more suited to therapy dog work. I miss being a therapy dog handler, and I'd love to be able to get involved in a program like Sit Stay Read! or any of the programs that use therapy dogs to promote literacy.

Speaking of dogs going to outer space, how about looking at an Earth dog from outer space? This is a portion of one of those satellite views that are a feature of all the popular mapping programs now. I am convinced that the dark blob at the edge of the walk is one of my dogs, probably Axel.

This concludes today's off-the-wall topic: Rottweilers, you and outer space!