Rottweilers Ate My Laptop

Rottweilers. Computers. Cameras. World Domination. Not necessarily in that order.

Rottweilers.
Computers. Cameras.
World Domination.
Not necessarily in that order.

Miscellany (23 of 30)

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Today’s miscellaneous thoughts, none of which really go together:

  • Considering the number of TV segments and newspaper or magazine articles I’ve seen on how to deal with strange dogs, I will never understand why some idiots still choose to respond to a dog that is obviously unhappy with their proximity to our property line by stopping and staring at him rather than moving on in their original intended direction. Note to idiots: I am way more dangerous than he is. Don’t make me feel like I have to protect my property and my dog from you.
  • I took some time to amuse myself by reading some of the blogs and forums discussing Sons of Anarchy. Even though the creator of the show has talked about his intended Shakespearean parallels, I still have to say this to some folks: way to overanalyze! I also have something to say to some of those pseudointellectuals who claim they actually ride: try not to spout too much of the same stuff you are writing online if you ever do encounter any real bikers. I am also reminded of an older pet peeve of mine, which is female motorcyclists overanalyzing why they ride and talking about freedom and empowerment and all that. I haven’t ridden lately, but when I did, it was not to be free or empowered. It was because it was fun, as it should be for any woman or man who chooses to ride a motorcycle. If it’s not fun for you, why even bother, empowerment or no?
  • I have to shop for a new VPS provider for both work and hobby websites. We probably don’t truly need a VPS but it’s worked well for us (“us” being my business, myself, my husband, and some friends and clubs). Except for that one provider has gotten progressively more expensive without adding more features or better customer service (although customer service has remained decent), and another is suffering the after effects of a merger which managed to totally wipe out the formerly decent customer service and introduce a number of technical issues when servers were physically moved. I really hate the web host shopping process as there seems to be a prevalent theme of hosts being great for a year and then going slowly downhill.
  • I’m finally considering moving to a smart phone of some sort. I’ve been using a PDA plus a not-so-smart phone for the last two years (cell service contract, don’t ya know) but the pricing and just as importantly, the size, of the smart phones are now much more attractive than they were before. I checked out the BlackBerry Storm on Friday. I like it, very whiz-bang and all, but I still like the iPhone better. I don’t really want to switch cell providers but for the first time in a while, I’m thinking about it.
  • I just finished reading Twilight and I actually enjoyed it pretty well. I thought it would be too “young” for me but it did manage to hold my interest. Nice love story, actually. I doubt I’ll see the movie until it hits DVD/cable though, and I don’t know that I’ll read the sequels either. I like vampire stories, books and movies in general. I’m sure it won’t be a surprise that my favorite vampire image is Lestat: “I was roaming again, crashing through the night on my Harley-Davidson motorcycle with the Bach Goldberg variations turned up to full volume.” Obviously!
  • Saw Stir of Echoes today while flipping through the channels. That is probably my favorite filmed-in-Chicago movie. Very good and quite underrated, as is Kevin Bacon’s role in it.

That is enough miscellany for today, I think. See you tomorrow!

My kennel website, or lack of same (22 of 30)

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I used to have a website for our dogs, even though I have never bred a litter and don’t compete in shows or trials very often. I’ve actually had the kennel name domain since 1998, and the site was started a couple of years before that. I stopped maintaining and updating it a few years ago when two of our older dogs passed away.

When Freya came to live with us in January 2004, I thought I’d resurrect the website. I tossed some ideas around in my head, and even went as far as making Photoshop comps of one of them, but I still didn’t get the website back online.

When Axel came to live with us in January 2007, I went through that whole process once again. Still no website. As you know from yesterday’s post, Freya is now five years old. Axel’s second birthday is coming up in a matter of days.

I’m not sure why it’s been so hard for me to get motivated to put something new up for myself. I do maintenance and updates for a few dog club/organization websites, and my husband’s motorcycle club’s website. I also designed and maintain Axel’s breeder’s website, and a website for another breeder friend. But when it comes to my own site, I have the equivalent of writer’s block. Or maybe that should be designer’s block, or coder’s block.

I know, I know… I should stop overanalyzing my designs and just go ahead and do something, anything. So who is going to slap me to my senses and help me sort pictures of Freya and Axe?

Happy Birthday, Freya! (21 of 30)

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May your heart always be joyful
May your song always be sung
May you stay forever young

Happy fifth birthday to the lovely Freya (Sciroco’s Freya vom Viersen CGC).

Freya came to us shortly after our dear Heidi left us unexpectedly on Christmas Eve 2003. I don’t think anything ever shook my faith more than having my heart dog pass away on what is supposed to be a joyous and holy night.

It was a big task for a little puppy to heal our badly broken hearts, but Freya did and still does fill our hearts.

Thank you forever to Joe Hedl and Donna Hedl for the love that is Freya.

Will Axe be my star? (20 of 30)

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Two-thirds of NaBloPoMo 2008 is now history. Just ten more posts to go!

So, today I’d like you to meet Axel: Axe for short (well, he is a firefighter’s dog) and on paper, Precious Gems Axel vom Viersen. Here he is with his “grandpa” Gary and the judge at a large German-style Rottweiler show this spring.

V-rated Precious Gems Axel vom Viersen

As you can see, he’s quite the handsome lad. This was his first show and he placed second in his class (12-18 month youth males).

All my dogs are, above all, beloved family members. They live in the house and are with us for life.

Part of me (and some will surely think it is a very shallow part) would love to have at least one dog that is great on paper as well as a treasured and loved family member: a breed quality show champion who also has working titles. I’m wondering if Axe might be that dog.

So I’m wrestling with a number of questions right now. Axe will be 2 years old on the 29th of this month and thus old enough to have his health tests done. If he fails any of the tests I’m planning for him shortly after his birthday, he definitely won’t be bred. There is no shortage of Rottweilers and there is absolutely no need to breed a dog with genetic health issues. I have no reason to think he won’t pass. But of course, it’s just one of the many things to worry about.

Once he passes his health tests (thinking positive here), then comes the question of his championship, which will mean sending him out with a professional handler. This is going to be a very tough decision for me. I definitely don’t want him gone a second longer than he has to be, but it’s also hard to predict how long it will take him to finish a championship. I am not one of those people who could live with having their dog gone half or more of the year, and Axe is not the kind of dog that I could easily hand over at ringside.

Axe is probably the best-looking Rottweiler I’ve ever owned. He’s also been one of my biggest learning experiences. He’s extremely intelligent, somewhat dominant and outweighs me. I’m probably the worst dog trainer on earth and I’ve had some issues establishing leadership with him. His love for me is not in question. Respect though… well, he’s getting there. Or is that me getting there?

The more I learn and the more he learns, the better it gets but it is still far from easy for me. Thus the next dilemma: who is going to do his working titles. I could send him to a professional trainer but I would really love to be able to do it myself. I have the nagging thought in the back of my head that he just might be too much dog for me though.

At least it’s easier than worrying about how to pay for an Ivy League college for a human kid? Right?

What I watch (19 of 30)

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The television provides a constant background noise here, but I don’t truly keep up with that many shows. Right now there are just three. Mad Men ended its second season at the end of October, and Rescue Me won’t start its fifth season until next March, so the only one I’m currently keeping up with is Sons of Anarchy and its first season finale is next week. Probably a good thing because I’m finding myself a little bit too involved. If you, too, have been watching, I am pretty sure you are just as devastated (well, as devastated as a person should get over a fictional character) as I am by a somewhat unexpected and tragic death in tonight’s episode. And those of you who have known me for a while, or know me in real life even a little, are probably not surprised in the least that I want to be Gemma (some of you are muttering that I already think I am her). I also want her Cadillac XLR. Working on that!

Everyone likes to see shows that are about their own life, I think. If the show is done well, you can relate to it. If it’s done poorly, you still get the fun of picking it apart. Until the three shows I mentioned, the only shows I really felt that way about were the ones that were filmed in my current or former hometowns. Since those towns are Honolulu and Chicago, I’ve probably watched too much television in general and some pretty bad television at that (hello, One West Waikiki and Baywatch Hawaii).

The Honolulu neighborhood I lived in for most of my childhood, including my house, appears for a brief moment in a 1975 Hawaii 5-0 episode, “Termination with Extreme Prejudice.” The Chicago neighborhood I’ve worked in since 1987 has been frequently used for television: Early Edition, Cupid and ER. A 2003 ER episode “When Night Meets Day” features a scene with Pratt, Abby and Susan looking for a missing baby in the alley behind our office. All of our building’s dumpsters played important roles in that scene.

Anyway, back to Mad Men, Rescue Me and Sons of Anarchy. Advertising, firefighters and motorcycle gangs. I was two years old at the time Mad Men begins in 1960. But most of my adult life has been spent in typography and prepress production, much of it for advertising agencies. Sterling Cooper and the agency folks seem somehow so familiar. My husband is a firefighter and we both enjoy Rescue Me. He gets the added fun of picking apart the technical aspects. I’ll take his word on that part. He says a lot of the stuff on the show could and would happen, but no way all at the same firehouse. He is also an officer of an independent (non-criminal) motorcycle club (see why I think I am Gemma?) and we both enjoy watching and sometimes picking apart Sons of Anarchy. Before any of you who watch SOA asks: we were married before he joined the club. I am not nor was I ever passed around, thank you very much. I hear that younger California bikers really do dress like Jax, but here in the vast midwestern wasteland, even the HOG members will point and laugh at guys who would actually ride their Harleys in pristine white sneakers like that.

Wow. That’s a lot of words on a rather trivial topic, isn’t it?