Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Puppy talk





Last week I introduced the newest member of the family, er, whatshisname? No, I haven't made the decision. I've called him Max, and Dusty, and Too Cute, and MiniBear, Meekins, Cujo, Simba, Smokey, and Dusty (which is CFMs choice). Then at Cadence's dress shop a lady bent down to get puppy love and said he looks like Sebastien to me. Hmm, I'd wanted a literary name of some kind and he has turned around when I called him Sebastien, but it's a lot of name for 1 lb dog. Speaking of a lot of name, while we were at the vets they reminded me that since he's registered he will need three names. So here's the latest attempt
Prince Sebastien Maximillian von Boggy Bayou, And we'd call him Dusty?
Then the girl at the pizza shop mentioned Oliver. I really like Oliver for him, but as soon as I mentioned calling him Oliver, CFM started bringing up those stupid names - Bob, Tony, Coty. The finalists are Sebastien, Bear, Oliver, Dusty, Smoky, Mac, Wolfy, and Prince.





Hey, kid, you're not supposed to lift your leg for months!












GOT MILK?

I've been following him around this morning with a camera to see what it's like at his level. At one point I caught him in his Daddy's shoe and when I started taking his picture he backup at warp speed dragging his shoe and his Christmas toy into his lair beneath the coffee table.




I was telling Leah about his temper tantrums. If I pick him up outside and try to bring him inside before he's ready, he throws a fit, knashing his teeth like the little werewolf lookalike he is. I've started carrying him to his box and ignoring him when he does that, but he's so pitiful and looks so hurt that I can't leave him for long.

He has his own brand of perfect communication, besides the tantrums, which every mother understands. "I want my way, now!" CFM says if he's whining he wants one of four things, to pee, to poop, to eat, to sleep. Sound like any little humans you know?

And after only a week of being weened he's using the newspaper 80% of the time, at 6 1/2 weeks old! I'm so impressed.

Unfortunately, after working next week and my trip to D.C. next month when he's in CFM's hands he'll probably have to be retrained. I doubt that he is going to be chasing him around and catching him in the act to redefine his habits.

Hey I'll settle for just making sure he doesn't eat a rock or catch some dread disease.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Name the new baby



On my way home from the mail route yesterday I had an idea for a character - Sidney. I liked the name and thought, if I get lucky enough to get another Pom, I'm going to name her Sidney. We've had three Pomeranians, Brandy, Sunshine, and Spider. Brandy had a beautiful red coat, Sunny looked like a fox, and our little loveball Spider was black with tan markings.



Our babies suffered either abuse, neglect or disinterest before they came to live with us. All of them nearly a year old.

Well, fifteen minutes after that thought, my husband called and said, "There's a lady over in Natchez that has some Poms. She has one left but someone is supposed to be coming to get it. She's going to call us one way or another." I'm thinking to myself, when did he decide we were in the market for a dog? Last time we talked about it, he didn't want to be tied down.

Tied down to what - everyday life on the bayou? He never goes anywhere anyway. We've just been waiting to get over the loss of Spider and to find the right Pom.

So this morning we left the house at 5:30 to pick up some puppy supplies at Walmart and go get our new baby. This time we get to raise him from a puppy.


But does Sidney fit him? I thought we were going to get a girl. Now CFM is saying Trooper, and I've thought maybe Woofy, though not seriously.




Can you think of a distinctive name that fits him? Wish I could award a prize for the best puppy name for our Pom. A personally guided fishing trip on the bayou? No Problem. A favorite read you're having trouble finding?

Help. I'm tired of calling him puppy and smooch,smooch.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Favorite Navy Guy

Elvis has left the building. Gone to Europe.

My 'son', step grandson, whatever others call him, Navy Guy is one of the most important people in my life.

When he left town last week for his 6 month tour in Europe, I could feel the energy move away from me. I love our 2 hr conversations so I'm tempted to get international dialing added to my phone but I probably couldn't afford it.

He's so knowledgeable about so many things. I remember when he was younger, he used to study the dictionary. His book on fresh water fishing from a kayak should be out by Christmas. If anyone in your life likes fresh water fishing and is concerned about living green or the high costs of gas, you should give this book as a gift. As soon as it's available I'll put a link here.

Be safe, NG. I love you.

The Savannah Contest


The finalists were announced for the Nola Stars Contest this week. And though I'm disappointed that I didn't final, duh, I was impressed by how well the contest was run, the quality of judging in general and the way the coordinator, Keri Ford, and others managed the contest.

An all electronic contest is a challenge in itself. This contest, once it was announced was run like a well oiled machine at least from where I stood. Behind the scenes contest forms and entries were distributed to judges who had clear guidelines as to what to include, and not to, in their assessments.

In the end, contest results were delivered ALMOST on time, something very difficult to deliver when you're dealing with so many judges and entries. And a bonus - an overview of each entrant's standing compared to finalists' scores.

The scoresheets seemed as if they worked as well for judges as for the entrants, allowing for the scoring and insertion of the actual manuscript for comments to be added.

No contest is perfect of course and I had a couple of obervations in general from the contests I entered this year.

First, judges who have personal agendas which conflict with an author's work, such as religious or political, should recuse themselves from that particular manuscript. Otherwise their scores should be thrown out.

Second, it is bad business for the leadership of a contest not to make sure the results get posted in the RWR or on the web in a timely manner. We're talking long months...

Third. Some of the scoresheets I saw were missing scores altogether. Maybe there should be a second verification process just for that issue. (this was the only thing I noticed in Nola Stars.)

Great job, guys! You should be proud.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

Pavlov's dog for writers


Wow! For my writer friends. Ever wish you could focus and just write? Have you used a timer? This little program will help, challenge and/or drive you insane!

Write or Die. 'Putting the PROD in productivity.' Sound intimidating? You have no idea!!!! I can't wait to hear about your experiences.

Click here to try Write or Die.

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Vertigo

Things can turn on a dime. Friday morning I got up and went to the kitchen to get coffee and I heard a crash in the living room. "Did you drop something?" i asked CFM.

"No, I fell down," he yelled.

Turns out he lost his balance, actually didn't have any. I managed to get him to his recliner - he was so dizzy he couldn't even sit it in unless he was absolutely still.

For a man who's never been sick I'm sure this was terrifying or, knowing him, just terribly inconvenient to have to rely on someone else and not be able to go hunting. (Thank God he wasn't up a tree when the dizziness hit.) Anyway, by the time I got him loaded into the car for the trip to the ER he'd selfdiagnosed his malady as an eye nerve problem affecting his brain, brain cancer, or worse. He said, "I'm not going to handle being an invalid well."

My brain is of course spinning on all this. What will I do if there's something seriously wrong? How could I afford to work and take care of him? How can I pay the bills if I can't work?

For the last ten years or so, CFM has had to take motion sickness pills before getting up under one of our vehicles to change the oil. Otherwise he gets a severe headache and nausea. So when he got dizzy I gave him a couple of of those pills. By the time we got to the hospital he could at least walk with assistance.

Long story short, they did a CT scan and blood work and found out that other than the vertigo, he's still healthy as a horse. The doctor said many people get vertigo this time of year. They come in because they are unable to drive or walk down a hallway without holding onto the wall. "It just wears off eventually," she said. In the meantime, she put him on anti-vert and antibiotics incase it was an ear infection.

While we were waiting on the doctor, they took his blood pressure. It was high. Not surprising, he said, given the situation and his anxiety. I said, "Mine's probably up as well."

CFM says, "Why would yours be up? You're not sick."

IS THAT A TYPICAL MALE OUTLOOK OR WHAT!

Beware! Windows Virus

Leah was blogging the other day about Mac's needing virus protection. I've arranged to protect my Macs but have never had a problem. However, when I was at my friend's computer store the other day he mentioned the multitude of pcs coming in with the Antivirus 2009, or as it's also known - XP Anitvirus 2008, Vista Antivirus 2008, Altimate Antivirus 2008 and System Antivirus 2008.

Computer Guy said Antivirus 2009 is usually promoted via a ZLOB/MediaAccess Codec installer found on adult websites."ZLOB has been thr trojan of choice to infect users with pop ups disguised as system notification that lead to websites with the rogue programs.


What makes it so difficult is that there is no one way this virus is contracted. It has been picked up on websites, through email, through downloads. The virus imitates an actual virus program, sends the user to the web to input their credit card info, ostensibly to purchase the fix, and Voila, they are sunk.
Here are a few ways that you could become infected.

1. The most common reason is you're not protected well enough with virus protection though some of these people were.

2. You might have downloaded a freeware or shareware program (or you're kids did, unbeknownst you! Their bad.)

3. You installed a shared network app. Some peer to peer file sharing programs may come bundled with Antivirus 2009 or other forms of spyware as an add-on software.

4. You visited a questionable website. Clicking on a link could automatically install unwanted software.

5. Someone forwards and email to you or attaches a file.

CG said many people wait too long and the only way to get rid of it is to wipe the PC clean and reinstall everything. So stay protected, these criminals are getting slicker and slicker.

CG said the best thing you can do if you suspect you're infected is unplug, yes, unplug as fast as you can and carry it to your local specialist, or your husband, lol, if he's GG, right Leah?

Thursday, December 4, 2008

It's been one month exactly since I posted. I been bad.

Did you see this video of a special canine who risked his own life to save one of his compadres? Amazing!



How many humans would have attempted that on a crowded highway? Does anyone know what happened to the victim?