Rottweilers Ate My Laptop

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

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

Another TV break

by

Please, please, please don’t spoil me on Mad Men! I now have three episodes to catch up on before we can talk, including tonight’s season finale. I’ve complained before about Comcast’s delay in adding Mad Men episodes to On Demand in a timely fashion, particularly the non-HD versions. When I last checked earlier tonight, last week’s episode still wasn’t available for either HD or non-HD.

One show I am completely caught up on is Sons of Anarchy. It’s only Sunday and I am already looking forward to Tuesday’s 90-minute episode. One of the most interesting and surprising things about Sons of Anarchy is the large number of non-bikers who have embraced the show. That is obviously a good thing for the future of the show (as evidenced by its strong ratings) because I doubt any show could survive very long with a niche audience only. But no, I meant watching those non-bikers discuss the show on any number of blogs and forums. And by discuss, I mean overanalyze based on misconceptions of the “biker lifestyle” as they perceive it. The funniest ones are those who think they know everything about outlaw bikers because they watched all the A&E Gangland biker episodes. Or because they are slightly acquainted with one, count ’em, one outlaw biker, or at least they think he is an outlaw biker because he wears a vest with something on the back.

I suppose I shouldn’t make fun of these people. I don’t know anything about their hobbies or lives either. Then again, I don’t go acting like I do know anything about… ummm… fly fishing, or bowling, or Formula One racing, or life in [insert country or region of U.S. that I have never lived in or even visited]. And I try not to post ridiculous stuff based on that lack of knowledge all over the internet. Except for here, of course. But this is my place!

Speaking of bikers, I guess I should say something about South Park and last week’s “The ‘F’ Word” episode. I think in general I’m way too old for South Park anyway, although I still find many uses for a quote from the original “Spirit of Christmas” episode: “Don’t belittle my people, [insert appropriate insult here]!” I actually use it quite a lot because a surprising number of people who would never make racial jokes about other minorities think it’s ok to make stupid flied lice/Engrish jokes about Asians. But I also don’t think the show is as funny as it used to be. Or maybe they are just too caught up in sending messages. Yeah, yeah, I get it. Using the word “fag” as a generic insult is Wrong and Not A Good Thing. You guys sure got GLAAD upset about how you sent that message, too.

But really, there weren’t that many big laughs in “The ‘F’ Word” other than bike curious (someone who hasn’t yet bought a Harley, but might be interested in buying one) and the bikers making motor noises with their mouths.

I am also somewhat surprised that I haven’t yet seen anything about legal action. Harley-Davidson is extremely protective of their trademarks. Although I would think that the use of the word “Harley” and the cartoon bikers and bikes as portrayed in South Park are well within the limits of free speech, I’ve thought that about other instances in which Harley-Davidson did file lawsuits. I also wonder what will come of the reference to “Hades’ Divinations” and the image on the patch.

Buh buh buh buh buh BUH BUH BAH BAH BAH!

(NaBloPoMo | November ’09: 8 of 30 | 75% Challenge: 253 of 274)

Unseasonably warm

by

According to Weatherscan, it’s 69°F right now. This is the latest Indian Summer I can remember. Do we even call it Indian Summer if it’s a few days into November?

Freya did not bring her “A” game to obedience class this morning. As long as she does remember to bring it to the trial next week, I suppose I can’t be too upset about it. After all, class is for working out problems in a controlled environment. Speaking of the trial, I hope there will be no problem with correcting our entry. The confirmation I received showed us entered on Saturday instead of Sunday.

It’s almost time to leave to do another rescue transport. I haven’t done any transports all year, and this is now two consecutive weeks, this time for a young female Rottweiler. I suppose there is some irony that I’m leaving my own Rottweiler home on one of the last sunny and warm days of the years, but it is for a good cause. I can’t feel too bad because tomorrow is supposed to be warm and sunny, too, and I can make it up to Freya then.

(NaBloPoMo | November ’09: 7 of 30 | 75% Challenge: 252 of 274)

Am I (or my blog) invisible?

by

NaBloPoMo’s blogrolls are listed by category as of this month. This is a new development, and I don’t think it’s a bad thing. While there is a set initial list of categories, participants can suggest categories to be added in future months. So I was not too put off to see that neither of the primary categories into which Rottweilers Ate My Laptop would naturally fall (Pets/Animals and Technology, in case it is not obvious as I think it is) was included in the initial batch.

However.

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve considered signing up for a few other blog network social whatever things. None, count ’em, not one of the ones I happened upon have included a Pets/Animals or Technology category. All right, it wasn’t a huge number, but four out of four still seems a little odd to me.

So. Am I invisible? Is my blog invisible? Or was I just unlucky enough to stumble on some sites that really don’t want my kind in their network? “Get away, you horrible IT person who also participates in dog sports! We don’t want your kind around here! We only want mommybloggers and crafters and celebrities and stuff!”

More than 50% of the blogs in my feedreader are animal-related or technology-related, so I’m more surprised than anything. Even if my blog is invisible, which it very well could be, several of the blogs I read in those categories are widely read, known to the general public, and definitely non-invisible.

Oh, I did sign up for NaBloPoMo (repeating the obvious, sorry), but not for any of the others just in case they really didn’t want my kind.

(NaBloPoMo | November ’09: 6 of 30 | 75% Challenge: 251 of 274)

Urban wildlife

by

We’re on the lookout for urban wildlife once again!

squirrelnest_0196

This rather messy and chaotic creation is the nest of a squirrel. The window is that of a seldom-used office on the fourth floor of a six-story office building in the River North neighborhood of Chicago. The photo is taken from our office, across a little courtyard that’s not really a courtyard.

I saw the squirrel go into his? her? all right, its! nest late on Monday afternoon. Since then, we’ve seen it out and about in the courtyard area and on the second floor deck every day, but we’ve not yet seen it entering or emerging from its nest.

We set up a video camera but haven’t caught it yet. Still trying, though, so maybe tomorrow.

(NaBloPoMo | November ’09: 5 of 30 | 75% Challenge: 250 of 274)

Eleven days till our rally trial

by

Wednesday night would usually be our night for rally obedience, but this week our class was moved to Thursday night instead. With just eleven days to go before the trial, I know I shouldn’t try any drastic changes. So I am just trying to work on the areas that could lose us the most points.

First and foremost, of course, is leash handling and the all-important loose leash. This is a very weak area of mine and I am really trying to work on my tendency to automatically choke up on the leash when I feel I’m losing Freya’s attention, rather than getting her attention back with her name, a command or a hand signal. I have done things like throwing the leash over the my shoulder, or working off-leash or with a short tab. The problem is definitely me fiddling around with the leash.

I’ve ordered a 4-foot leash so I won’t be unconsciously folding and refolding excess leash. Yes, I do already have one. No one can go through several dogs and obedience classes without having at least one; in my case it’s actually a 42″ leash. But Axel took it with him on the road. That’s a story for another day, but he always takes at least one piece of equipment with him on road trips that wasn’t really supposed to accompany him. I know that getting a new leash this late in the game might not be the hot setup, so I’m also going to try the trick of tying a knot in my 6-foot leash to mark the point below which I should not grab in order to keep enough slack in the leash.

We’re still having some trouble with finishes. I did not do a very good job of impressing the different commands and signals for left finishes versus right finishes in Freya’s mind. Since she learned the right finish first, and we did not add the left finish until much later (rally obedience is the only sport in which you have to use both left and right finishes), sometimes she’ll do the right finish even if I ask for a left finish.

If you remember our first trial in July, you’ll remember that the left finish was a source of concern for me back then, and with much better reason. Things are better now, but still not reliable enough to inspire true confidence.

We did a little work on attention and left finishes tonight. Freya still seems a bit depressed with Axel gone, so I tried to keep it very short and very cheerful. We’ll do some video at class tomorrow night and see what’s working and what isn’t.

(NaBloPoMo | November ’09: 4 of 30 | 75% Challenge: 249 of 274)