Rottweilers Ate My Laptop

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

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

Indulge me once again…

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You all know how I am about seeing proof of my dogs’ accomplishments, health certifications and what have you. You know, in case I hallucinated a health test or a passing trial score or a win.

It will be a couple of weeks before Axel’s championship status will be verified by AKC. These will be extremely long weeks, similar in length to the super-sized weeks that you wait for your OFA numbers to come back.

Thankfully, show superintendent MB-F posts results to Infodog with lightning speed. So I can happily view the preliminary proof of Axel’s 3-point major win while I wait for AKC’s online verification followed by an actual certificate in the mail!

Yes, I admit it. I’m pathetic!

(NaBloPoMo | January ’10: 15 of 31)

New champion!!

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I actually missed the phone call from Julia this morning. She must have called seconds after finishing up in the Rottweiler ring, and as luck would have it, I was in the shower and missed being the first to hear the biggest news of Axel’s young life. But, anyway!!

Our Axe is now…

CH Precious Gems Axel vom Viersen!!!

He finished his American Championship (pending AKC verification, of course) this morning at the Manatee Kennel Club’s show at the Florida Winter Classic I in Brooksville, FL. He went Winners Dog and Best of Winners for a three-point major under judge Robert C. Thomas and handled by Julia Foster.

Julia has been so wonderful as a handler and surrogate “mom” to the sometimes overbearing and rambunctious Axel, and with her friendship and support to me as a first-time show dog mom. Axel’s breeder, Denise, has also been here with friendship and support throughout the whole process… from helping us pick the right puppy, with advice through his troublesome teenage times, and on the road to his championship.

Axel will be home at the end of the month. I can’t wait to pick him up in St. Louis! Meanwhile, enjoy a picture of him from the Chicago Christmas Cluster (click for a larger view)…

Photo: Booth Photography

(NaBloPoMo | January ’10: 14 of 31)

You, iPhones and the CTA

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You might be wondering why I am writing about iPhones, since I have a BlackBerry. Or about the CTA, since unless every single one of our impressive stable of two- and four-wheeled vehicles is out of service, I rarely take public transportation.

I just want to keep up with the exciting news that now you can supposedly use your iPhone in the subway. Quite a few of my friends on AT&T, with and without iPhones, wish that it was possible to consistently use their phones without dropped connections in their homes and cars, let alone a noisy subway. Priorities!

But since it’s more important to use your iPhone in the subway than in your home, hopefully you’ll still have it when you get off the train. iPhone and electronic gadget thefts in general are apparently on the rise on the CTA:

Beware of iPhone thefts on the CTA
Hold the Phone: iPhone, Gadget Thefts on the Rise

And yes, I am one of those people who would have liked to have an iPhone (still do, really) but did not want to put up with AT&T’s spotty coverage for the “privilege.” Verizon sucks in many other ways, but I can’t fault the coverage in the places I live, work and most frequently travel to. And what’s the point of a smartphone or any cell phone if you can’t get coverage?

(NaBloPoMo | January ’10: 13 of 31)

Freya: class notes

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Allan has been posting videos from the group classes, Board and Train, and private lessons on his YouTube channel. Here is our video from the first Saturday morning Rally Obedience class at Best Friends/American Pet Motel. You can see that the holiday break went on a little too long for us, and there are areas that need improvement, but I think we can be ready for the APDT trial at For Your Canine on January 23-24.

I don’t really know how to draw proper course maps, but this should give you an idea of the layout (click the map for a larger view). This course uses APDT signs:

Follow along, if you’d like:

Start: The rules, unlike traditional obedience, do not require the dog to be sitting at heel at the start. But I have found that if I do not require a sit and attention, things will usually go south pretty quickly.

1. 19-Slow Pace. We need to work on finding a pace that is slow, but not so slow that Freya wants to sit, as she did here.

2. 21-Normal Pace. We need a better transition between speeds in general.

3. 10-About “U” Turn. Not bad.

4. 3-HALT – Sit – Down. She tends to turn towards me on sits, and even more so on downs.

5. 13-360-Degree Right.
6. 11-270-Degree Right. Turns were sloppy.

7. 6-HALT – Sit – Down – Walk Around. Tight leash and a correction. Even though this was training, I really need to watch that, and the tendency to fold the leash one or two loops too tight.

8. 26-Spiral Left – Dog Inside. Not too bad.

9. 23-HALT – 90 Degree Pivot Right – HALT. Pivots definitely need work. Maybe a prayer for no left pivot at our next trial would also be in order.

10. 27-HALT – 1, 2, 3 steps forward. Ugh. I need to give her a better cue to begin moving. And also… remember to give it. Sorry, Freya!

11. 12-270-Degree Left.
12. 7-Right Turn. More sloppy turns.

13. 18-Call Front Finish Left. Not sure what happened here. Her fronts are usually much better than this. At least she finished in the correct direction, so that problem seems to be fixed.

Finish: Not a moment too soon!

(NaBloPoMo | January ’10: 12 of 31)

Snack break: teriyaki meatballs

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I think I’ve mentioned a couple of “retro-local” cookbooks with favorite tastes from my childhood in Hawaii that I always keep nearby. This is one of them:

This was a fundraiser cookbook produced by the women of Hui Manaolana, a service club which my aunt belonged to since she was a student at the University of Hawaii. She is 99 years old now, and the first edition of this cookbook was published in 1951. My own copy is from the 1969 printing. The recipes are those of the club members and their families and friends, very typical Hawaii Japanese home cooking.

I have made the teriyaki meatballs from this cookbook as appetizers for family gatherings and parties. They are quite well-liked, and I never seem to get to eat any of them myself before they are all snarfed down by others. My fault for not putting a couple aside for myself when I make them!

The last time I made them was for a party in December that I was not attending as a persistent winter cold had sapped all my energy and sociability. I went so far as to get out a small container to put my meatballs aside… then forgot to actually put any meatballs in it. By the time I realized my error, the meatballs were several miles down the road on the way to the party. Oh, well!

Following is the recipe, with my own changes noted. You can substitute dried powdered ginger and garlic if you absolutely have to, but using fresh ginger root and garlic, especially in the sauce, will make a very positive difference.

Teriyaki Meatballs
(from Hui Manaolana’s Japanese Foods cookbook)

Meatballs:
1½ pounds lean ground beef
¼ cup finely chopped onion
1 egg
½ teaspoon salt
dash of black pepper
2 tablespoons shoyu (soy sauce – imported Japanese soy sauce, please, or if you use domestic soy sauce, please use Kikkoman)
½ teaspoon grated ginger
1 clove garlic, grated
1 teaspoon brown sugar
Mix thoroughly and form into appetizer-sized meatballs. Bake at 350° for 8 minutes on each side.

Sauce:
1 cup shoyu (see above)
2 tablespoons sake (Japanese rice wine – if I don’t have any, I just leave it out rather than substitute any other type of spirits and add a little more shoyu)
6 tablespoons sugar (since I have the brown sugar out for the meatballs, I usually do 3 tablespoons brown sugar and 3 tablespoons white sugar)
2 teaspoons grated ginger
2 cloves garlic, grated
1½ teaspoons cornstarch mixed with cold water
Bring all ingredients except cornstarch mixture to a boil. Add cornstarch mixture slowly and stir until sauce thickens slightly. Pour over meatballs and enjoy. (EDITED TO ADD: the last time I made this, my grater went missing, so I strained out the not-quite-fine enough fragments of ginger and garlic before adding the cornstarch mixture)

(NaBloPoMo | January ’10: 11 of 31)