THE STEEL DEAL

Why dogs are smarter than cats!

Why dogs are smarter than cats - click the image!

Was there ever any doubt?

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DO we embarrass our dogs? YOU DECIDE!

Do we embarrass our dogs? Experts disagree - I'll let the images speak for themselves.

(scalable animated .gif version of the slideshow below the fold) 

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Reading suggestions and hints.

 A few of you may have been wondering if I am dead - I am not. I have been trying to enjoy the time I have left doing things unrelated to this medium ... or any other medium, save for that which is organic in nature - dogs, food and green things with blooms.

 I suspect as the seasons turn and I am once again confined indoors by the inclement, I'll return to agonizing over the seeming unnatural events and plots which befall us all these days. Until then, may I suggest you squeeze every bit of life out of your days as I do mine.

 I learned the exact nature of my demise at a recent visit to the VA hospital. I was there to be fitted for a 'full-face' mask, as opposed to the 'low-profile' unit I have been using. Seems as though I was able to bypass that apparatus and thereby negate its benefit - the forced delivery of oxygen.

 The new gizmo is very uncomfortable but performs as advertised. While being fitted, the VA nurse mentioned, not once, not twice, but three times that I should NEVER EVER cover the exhaust holes in the mask. She added that 'this is a sure way to die' and that many old vets simply 'tape the holes over'. It was offerred not so much as a caution as a hint.

 Suffocating in your sleep has to be one of the least painful ways to die. Clawing and gasping for your last breath surely must rank as one of the more agonizing. I took the nurse's admonishment as it was intended - mercifully. I tried it out to make sure it works - it works just fine.

The classic symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning came on nice and easy - hardly noticeable at all - no pain whatsoever. I hadn't counted on the after effects - massive headache and further diminished capacity - but those won't be in play next time - this was only a test.  My timely and pain free demise is at my disposal! I daresay there are multitudes who only dream of such things.

 Emmy Lou is fine. She has grown much and been through her first 'period'. I guess the most disturbing aspect of that was her looking longingly at me for her release - she had to settle for 'belly rubs'. I don't think she will get much bigger, but she is getting much more mature. She rarely, if ever, leaves my side - as my sister often says - 'she is a great companion dog'. Oh! And both ears stand up now. Together. At the same time, even.

 Since we last talked, I have perfected a few things, chicken-fried steak, carne asada and grilling among them. Recipes will be posted if an interest is expressed in the comments below. As much as creativity besets me - it has been mostly confined to that realm and not hereon. The things I want to make on here require more attention than I am willing to give them as long as I can still go outside and enjoy real life.

 I have also returned to reading - actually holding a book in my hands and reading. I came across an essay which prompted me to make this post. It concerns that very subject and should be read by all and all should be very afraid - on so many levels. It is here.

 All things considered, my suspected demise notwithstanding, I am quite fine by any measure. All things are not thus so 'right with the World', are they? Another reason I have not been hereon. If ennui had a violent connotation, that would best describe my sentiments as regards 'the news' and what I find online. I am somewhere between 'so fucking mad I could kill somebody with my bare hands' and 'I just don't care anymore'.

 It my sincerest hope that I live long enough to witness the next two national elections and the certain political/legal/social fallout from both - it is sure to be a grand circus with lots of monkeys of all shapes and sizes, great beasts defying description and more than plenty clowns.

 

Stay tuned.

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Dog Rugby - not a game for pussies!

    What you see is Emmy Lou with her new squeak toy firmly engrasped in her jaws as she sleeps. Even the noise my photo software makes - like a camera 'clicking' - didn't disturb her slumber ... or her grasp. It's 1:30AM - well past her bedtime, that being around 9:30PM and she's had another good doggy day. She and the other, older resident puppy have invented a new game. It's very much like rugby in that it involves a ball, lots of running and the occasional tackle. There are very well-defined rules, they both adhere to the rules closer than you'd imagine and the playing field is the front yard as bounded by a wrought iron fence with plenty of obstacles in place, both natural and man made. I call it 'dugby'. It is a game they play all day long and the reason she is sawing logs above. It gets very rough - as rugby always does. Emmy got a nasty gash over her left eye the other day and I've taken to being referee to prevent further serious injury - she'll be scarred for life and could have lost an eye. I also serve as groundskeeper and have discovered that I love yard work. I keep the green things green and get rid of everything else. Pretty easy and gives new meaning to the idiom 'watching the grass grow' - not boring at all! My days are spent savoring this wonderful weather and watching all the life around me abound and thrive.

I hope you are having as much fun as I am.

My day was WAY better than yours!

   Don't know if you can make it out, but that's Emmy. She had a good doggy day. Bobo and her cavorted from 6 AM until way past dark. She's having some 'issues' with just what is 'okay' to destroy/chew/dig and in her yard. When I find evidence of that - it is not a good doggy day. Today was great. We made BBQ. We worked on that whole go get that &*^%$#@ ball and at least entertain the notion of bringing it back and 'we' do NOT shit in the house ('we' not including resident bipeds and quadrupeds with hairballs). Oh! We also had a nice conversation about not speaking to/at strangers/stray dogs/pieces of crap blowing down the street at the top of your lungs. Shhhh. She is getting it! My sister took her out last night while I was asleep and told her to go 'pee'. Emmy ran right straight to that place where such things are done and did. Zoom. We all had BBQ'd chicken, fettucini alfredo and fresh corn on the cob. The dogs had roast beef and kibbles. So there. Sparky, his Dad and Grandma played 'baseball' in the yard. I watched. The dogs watched. I had to wonder what goes through their minds when humans do such things. I mean, I spend hours trying to get either dog to show any interest at all in 'ball' and they lay there watching people have so much fun ... playing ball.

The New Puppy Chronicles - the saga continues

   I watched Emmy Lou, pictured above, stick her 'baby's head (a very tattered stuffed toy animal) into her own food dish and pretend to make it eat the other day. Thinking I must be daft, I continued to watch as she brought her other 'baby' to the bowl and do the same. In fact, she is just now doing exactly the same thing with yet another, new-found, 'baby' - pretending to make them eat from her dish.

  Yesterday, I watched as she decapitated the only blossom in my sister's beloved Bachelor Button patch - the very first bloom of the year.

  Today, I watched the older dog here - still very much a puppy himself - teach her how to play 'keep away'. He spent several days teaching her with great determination and patience. Hence the reason she is pooped out and crashed - they've been playing all day.

  Had I been hereon, or otherwise distracted, I would have missed these things - hence the reason I've not been posting.

  And, as long as I am making excuses explaining things, there are a couple of other reasons, 'why' that is so. First of all, one of my most important pieces of software - the one that lets me animate - 'gave up the ghost' somehow. I suspect it was my downloading the latest (sic) Windows Service Pack 2. I have avoided doing so for the very reason that Windows 'updates' tend to do that - fuck things up. I cannot re-register now because the creator of that software does not work on weekends - I can't make things 'right' until tomorrow.

  The other reason is a bit more involved. My days are becoming truncated at a pretty fair clip now. I can only function at the level necessary for being creative for a few hours a day - due to the constraints of emphysema. Most of my day is filled with trying to get those things done demanded of me by simply 'being alive' - eating, cleaning, dressing etc. I only have so much time to be conscious anymore. I sleep nearly 18 hours a day now. I must. That is all the air I have. So you can understand why I'd prefer to play with Emmy Lou than play with my computer.

  The software issue will be resolved shortly, a myriad of subjects to which I'd love to turn my attention are at hand and I am fine-tuning my schedule to fit the physical demands of my condition. That said, I hasten to add - things are spiraling out of control very quickly these days in the world. I am aware, concerned and deeply troubled as I hope you are. We should not be sleeping soundly these days - there is a war going on right now and we'd better win it or we will lose our history and our future.

I'll be back and stay as long as I can when I can. Until then - read this.

Inertia - Some things NEVER stop.

   Welp, Emmy Lou has finally come out of her shell. She's gained control over all that walks in this house except cats. She's still working on that. She tries to herd 'em, but they do weird stuff like walk under her or lie down and ignore her. Licking 'em only pisses 'em off. She wakes me up just in time to see the last vestiges of darkness become something bordering on daylight and likes to see me in bed by 9:30. Sharp. She learns real quick. My sister bought her her first Frisbee today! Emmy is a very long drink of water - very long-limbed, sure to be tall and likes to jump -  I figure she'll make a fantastic Frisbee dog. That's a good thing for me. Tossing a Frisbee is way easier than throwing a ball and the hover time gives me a break in the action. I've been spending my time watching her and that is so much more fun than looking at the computer screen. I have some computer related projects at hand and when I can peel myself away from enjoying her ... I'll get started. That blur attached to her butt? It's her tail in its natural state. And no, this is not turning into a 'photos-of-my-pet' site - I pay attention to what's happening. Just don't feel like commenting right now and whatever I'd say would be repetitive - it all sucks. If you want me to forward news stories I find interesting - send me your email address. Stay tuned and indulge an old man with his new found friend.

New Arrival at The Steel Deal!

  That is Emmy Lou. She is Mattie's great grand niece and every bit and all Mattie's best. I am devoting my time to her right now so that I can understand her every thought ... and she mine. Plenty of news out there and I have lots to say about it, but just now, I got more important things to do. I should be back here in a day or two - until then I'll leave you with this sneak peek of my new puppy :]