Rottweilers Ate My Laptop

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

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

Driving while distracted

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There has been a lot of talk on the ‘net and in the news recently about a graphic car crash re-enactment video produced as a UK PSA against texting while driving. Odds are you’ve already seen the video, but here it is, just in case you haven’t. It is a re-enactment, and yes, it is quite graphic, and I hope the message is heard.

Many municipalities have proposed or enacted laws prohibiting and punishing texting and other cell phone use while driving. I don’t think this is a bad thing.

I would still like to take a moment to remind everyone that singling out specific technologies is still not the whole answer. The distracted driving incident that I still find most horrific was not caused by texting or any other high-tech distraction. It was caused by a thoughtless person’s decision that it was okay to paint her nails while driving.

I wrote about the death of motorcyclist Anita Zaffke when it happened, with tragic irony at the start of Motorcycle Awareness Month (May).

Please take a moment to read about the organization her son, Greg Zaffke, founded to raise awareness about the dangers of distracted driving, and then visit the Black Nail Brigade‘s site.

(NaBloPoMo | August ’09: 26 of 31 | 75% Challenge: 214 of 274)

Axel embraces the joy of the self-pedicure

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Last month I wrote about our experiences with Shirley Chong’s doggie nail file. Freya still doesn’t see any reason to do her own nails, but Axel is still enjoying it way more than you’d think a dog, especially a boy dog, ever could.

For anyone who came here hoping to get some tips on how to teach a dog to use the nail file, sorry. I haven’t pursued the issue with the uninterested Freya, and Axel almost didn’t need instruction or encouragement. The best suggestion I can give you is to read the original article on Shirley Chong’s site. Basically, you are shaping the behavior by rewarding the dog for pawing or scratching at the board.

Here’s the video proof of Axel’s joy of pedicure:

(NaBloPoMo | August ’09: 23 of 31 | 75% Challenge: 211 of 274)

Their… no, OUR… advertising dollars at work

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Even though a fair amount of my professional lifetime has been spent in doing prepress production for the advertising industry, I still have a hard time wrapping my head around the large dollar amounts involved in advertising. It’s like professional sports salaries or oceanfront real estate; too many zeroes and too hard to correlate the dollar figure with the perceived value of the product.

I saw an item in Advertising Age about GM’s projected advertising budget during bankruptcy: $40-$50 million per month. This is the same amount the automaker was spending before filing for Chapter 11. GM was not asked by the government’s auto task force to make cuts in this area, unlike Chrysler, whose advertising budget was cut by approximately half.

Still having a hard time wrapping my head around the dollar amount, especially when the advertising that is supposed to make me want to buy a GM vehicle is like this:

Sorry. Didn’t grab me. You know what would grab me? And remember, these are my… and your… advertising dollars at work now. Less advertising of concepts and warm fuzzy “we can do it” crap, and more advertising of affordability, rebates, special pricing, or “free” upgrades to a higher accessory package. Or how about less advertising and more spending on making a better quality product that would draw us back from Japanese and German vehicles (or in my case, a different American automaker).

On a related note, and one that could have been related to me but is not since the only auto-related project we’ve been involved with in recent years was not for GM or Chrysler, is a word on how most ad agencies handle payment. The “pay when paid” policy means that the agency pays its vendors when their client pays them. Imagine the situation for a vendor to Chrysler’s agency, BBDO Detroit, who is owed $58 million by Chrysler. Very bad situation for BBDO, a really bad situation for a small business (again, imagining a small prepress shop like my own business) working on any part of the Chrysler account for BBDO too.

(NaBloPoMo | June ‘09: 21 of 30 | 75% Challenge: 148 of 274)

I wonder if I need a smaller dog

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I was looking at the video I made on Sunday to help set up future videos of obedience practice sessions in the yard. I made a short clip of Axel so he wouldn’t be jealous that Freya’s clip was featured in Sunday’s post. Okay, not really. It was so I could figure out how to set up a video album in Gallery 2. The file size of Freya’s video was a little too large, so I had to make a smaller one.

Anyway, as I watched the clip, it struck me.

Do I need a smaller dog? Is my dog that big, or am I really that short? Or does the camera just make him look bigger, and me look fatter?

Once again, try to overlook the sloppy leash handling. We were really just working on the camcorder settings for the “real” videos that will be coming soon. If it ever stops raining, that is. Yes, sad to say that the rain has come back after two short days of sunshine. It’s supposed to be around on and off all week. We’re going to rust instead of tan this summer.

Oh. I don’t really want a smaller dog. With only a very short break, there has always been a large male Rottweiler here since 1994. The house would seem very empty without one taking up that space.

(NaBloPoMo | June ‘09: 16 of 30 | 75% Challenge: 143 of 274)

Rally obedience signs: the illustrated version!

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Wow, we are supposed to have two, count ’em, TWO days of consecutive sunshine! Rain is again in the forecast for the remainder of the week, but we are set to have sun tomorrow. Of course, I will become a believer only when I actually see and feel it.

While checking the searches that brought me visitors (and thank you for stopping by), I noticed several instances of people looking for rally obedience sign holders. One of my older rally obedience-related posts gives some good resources for signs and holders, but I thought that maybe some of you would like to see my homemade signs.

Signs can be downloaded in PDF format from the sites of the various organizations that sanction rally competition, and from a number of dog training sites and dog owners’ personal sites. I am lucky enough to have access to a color laser copier at work. I printed the signs on light card stock and put them in plastic sheet protectors. I think I would opt for heavier sheet protectors if I did it again. I bought the least expensive ones and they are a little too flexible. The clothespins are used to attach the signs to the wire holders.

EDITED TO ADD: I don’t usually number the signs for at-home practice. As small as the yard is, there is usually only one possible route anyway! If I do, though, I just write numbers on Post-it Notes. Hey, it works!

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The wire holders are made from a folding wire garden edging fence, 18″ high with 8 segments, each approximately 1 foot wide. I didn’t save the packaging so I don’t have a brand name, but It was purchased at the local Ace Hardware store and made by Glamos Wire Products. The linked site appears to be for wholesale, but I would guess you could call to find the names of retailers. I’ve also seen them at Home Depot. Cost was about $5. I used a needle-nosed pliers to unhook the segments from each other and cut off the excess wire.

EDITED TO ADD: They also had taller (24″) folding fences made by Living Accents. They were $12.49 at my local Ace Hardware store. Here is a link to an online hardware store selling them for $6.99. Link no longer works, but you should be able to find these and other folding fences at your local Ace Hardware or Home Depot or [insert your hardware store or home improvement store here].

EDITED TO ADD: Check out this very cool variation from Marie at K-9 Solutions! She uses the same folding fences to create an indoor/outdoor version of the sign holders.

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Here they are in the yard, set very close together just for photo purposes:

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I also got the bright idea of using my Flip Mino to record our practice sessions. Since there isn’t always someone around to run the camcorder, I set it up on the patio table, on an inexpensive mini-tripod that was part of the accessory package that came with my digital still camera.

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Our yard is small (the lot is a typical Chicago neighborhood lot, 30 feet wide by 125 feet long), but I wasn’t sure how much of the yard would actually be in the frame, so Axel and Freya helped me by heeling around the yard with me (separately, of course) so I’d have some reference points for setting up the rally signs and our other practice sessions for video. I left the camcorder running for about half an hour and now have a pretty good idea of which parts of the yard are out of the frame.

Here is about a minute and a half of Freya “helping” with the camcorder setup:

I plan to do more videos featuring the lovely Freya and the handsome Axel putting up with my sloppy leash handling and bad timing. Hopefully my handling will also get better as a result.

(NaBloPoMo | June ‘09: 14 of 30 | 75% Challenge: 141 of 274)