Rottweilers Ate My Laptop

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

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

Ordinary heroes

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(This month’s NaBloPoMo theme is heroes.)

There goes my hero
Watch him as he goes
There goes my hero
He’s ordinary

“There Goes My Hero” is one of my favorite Foo Fighters songs. I’ve heard more than a few people say it’s about Kurt Cobain. Since I consider Cobain a talented but troubled individual who died far too young, and not a hero by my definitions, I far prefer Dave Grohl’s own explanation:

“My heroes were ordinary people and the people that I have a lot of respect for are just solid everyday people – people you can rely on.”

Especially those everyday heroes like firefighters, police officers and teachers. Not all of them, of course, and definitely not even all of the ones I personally know.

But in a week like this one, when a young Chicago police officer was killed and others seriously injured, think about those ordinary, everyday heroes who put it on the line for us, because it’s just what they do.

(brought to you by the proud wife of a Chicago firefighter/EMT)

(NaBloPoMo | June ‘09: 2 of 30 | 75% Challenge: 129 of 274)

Work avoidance backfires big time

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After going in to work early today, working in full speed mode for a few hours, and then being thrown full stop into a holding pattern, I just wasn’t feeling very productive when I got home. So much so, that my work avoidance mode even included reality television.

Except for American Idol and the occasional other music or tattoo show, I don’t watch reality television. I made an exception tonight to watch I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here on the chance of seeing Patti Blagojevich have to eat bugs or something. Which she did have to eat a dead tarantula. It was not worth sitting through the show to see it, especially since that meant sitting through way too much of the totally intolerable Spencer Pratt. My God, does that man need a good ass-kicking.

I think my IQ dropped 20 points in those two hours. It’s amazing I can even string these words together into the first post of June ’09 NaBloPoMo. I don’t think we’ll address this month’s theme (heroes) until tomorrow, though. I certainly didn’t see any of those in tonight’s television viewing!

(NaBloPoMo | June ‘09: 1 of 30 | 75% Challenge: 128 of 274)

Transgenic animals again

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First mice, then beagles, and now marmosets.

These fluorescent transgenic monkeys differ from those developed last year in that they apparently are able to pass on the modified gene to their offspring. According to an article in UK’s Telegraph, having a non-human primate model for disease research could be extremely valuable due to the close genetic relationship of the marmosets with humans.

If, as most of the reporting on this type of research indicates, these animals are able to help us more quickly find cures to currently incurable neurological diseases such as Huntington’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease, then perhaps it makes sense for we humans to play God.

There is still something about genetic modification that bothers me on a gut feeling, can’t say exactly why level.

(NaBloPoMo | May ‘09: 31 of 31 | 75% Challenge: 127 of 274)

Freya: setting a new target date

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We’ll have to set a new target date for Freya’s first Rally Obedience trial. The original plan was for NSDTC’s trial on June 14. Thanks, or should that be no thanks, to a large project at work that encroached into evening and weekend hours throughout much of the month, that trial date is no longer feasible (not to mention that the closing date for entries was last Wednesday, at which time it was obvious that we weren’t ready). Without a few more fun matches and run-throughs under our belts, it would have been way too ugly.

We were able to do some practice at home. I made rally sign holders from wire garden edging fences, using the tips from GraceGift’s rally site. For a total of $10 (2 folding fences and a package of clothespins), I got 16 sign holders. If I didn’t mention it before, I printed out the downloadable signs (from AKC’s site, and also on GraceGift’s site) on the Canon CLC Color Copier at work on 67# vellum card stock. 90# or 110# (slightly heavier card stock) would have probably been better, but I know that 67# almost never causes paper jams in that particular machine.

There is an AKC trial in DeKalb early in July, an AKC trial in Waukesha late in July, a UKC trial in Cary also late in July, and an APDT trial at the beginning of August. So those will be our next target dates. Hopefully June will be a better dog training month!

(NaBloPoMo | May ‘09: 30 of 31 | 75% Challenge: 126 of 274)

My photo in Schmap Honolulu Guide!

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Ala Moana Center 2/3/09, originally uploaded by vomviersen.

I took this photo with my BlackBerry during my last trip to Honolulu.

I was at Ala Moana Shopping Center looking down at CenterStage from the mall level, and trying to get all three levels in the photo. When I was in high school, there was a fountain where we’d usually meet to go shopping. It would have been to the left of where I’m standing to take the photo, which was an open area back then. Neiman-Marcus is there now, I think. There was not a third level then, and certainly not a Louis Vuitton store.

I was kind of surprised to get the email asking to use the photo in the Schmap guide because it was almost a throwaway photo. The reason I took it was just to post to Twitter when @AlaMoanaCenter followed me!

(NaBloPoMo | May ‘09: 29 of 31 | 75% Challenge: 125 of 274)