Random Rant
Thursday, April 9, 2009
I think today I’m going to talk about dogs. Now…I’ve had dogs for as far back as I can remember…literally…all my life. Butch, Casey, Goldie, Biddie, Satan, and these were all when I was still living with my parents! Since then…there have been more. Reddawg…don’t ask, Farmer Zebb, again don’t ask! (I wonder why we give our dogs such dorky names) and finally Fescue and Philly (these two are still among the living). I love dogs…or at least I used to. It’s Fescue that I’d like to talk about today…but more on that later. First here’s 25 weird facts you might not have known about dogs:
1. It is a myth that dogs are color blind. They can actually see in color, just not as vividly as humans. It is akin to our vision at dusk.
2. Dogs DO have better low-light vision than humans because of a special light-reflecting layer behind their retinas
3. A German Shepherd guide dog led her blind companion the entire 2100 mile Appalachian Trail
4. If never spayed or neutered, a female dog, her mate, and their puppies could product over 66,000 dogs in 6 years!
5. Dogs’ only sweat glands are between their paw pads
6. Like human babies, Chihuahuas are born with a soft spot in their skull which closes with age
7. The breed Lundehune has 6 toes and can close its ears
8. Teddy Roosevelt’s dog, Pete, ripped a French ambassador’s pants off at the White House
9. An estimated 1,000,000 dogs in the U.S. have been named as the primary beneficiaries in their owner’s will
10. Franklin Roosevelt spent $15,000 for a destroyer to pick up his Scottie in the Aleutian Islands
11. In Roman times, mastiffs donned light armor and were sent after mounted knights
12. Three dogs survived the sinking of the Titanic - a Newfoundland, a Pomeranian, and a Pekingese
13. A dog’s mouth exerts 150-200 pounds of pressure per square inch … with some dogs exerting up to 450 pounds per square inch
14. Bingo is the name of the dog on the side of the Cracker Jack box
15. A one year old dog is as mature, physically, as a 15 year old human
16. The U.S. has the highest dog population in the world
17. Dog’s nose prints are as unique as a human finger prints and can be used to accurately identify them
18. The average city dog lives 3 years longer than a country dog
19. 87% of dog owners say their dog curls up beside them or at their feet while they watch T.V.
20. Dogs can be trained to detect epileptic seizures
21. 15 people die in the U.S. every year from dog bites
22. In 2002 alone, more people in the U.S. were killed by dogs than by sharks in the past 100 years
23. Gidget is the name of the Taco Bell dog
24. The oldest dog on record - a Queensland “Heeler” named Bluey - was 29 years, 5 months old
25. Basset Hounds cannot swim
Anyways…if you did the math in the first paragraph and added up all those dog lives (barring any untimely deaths of which there was only one)…you probably figured out that I’m getting “older“. Okay, back to Fescue. My wife and I got Fess in 1995 whilst living in Miami, Florida. He was a 6 month old terrier/beagle mix and his owner decided he had to go (too many animals according to his girlfriend) and asked me if I wanted him. Talked to the wife…we took him.
Well…I’m not gonna bore you with all the “cutest dog”, “best dog”, etc., etc…although he was all that for the first two years. Then came the fateful day…I let him out to do his business…I must digress here for a moment and tell you that we were living within the boundaries of the only urban State Park in Florida, located in North Miami. This place was several hundred acres of mostly mangrove swamp and woods. The house my wife and I lived in was on an acre or so sized clearing in the middle of the woods. Very cool place…okay…so I let Fess out and the next thing I know he’s chomping down hard on some critter he gotten a hold of. Not too unusual…until I see what looks like “shaving cream coming out of a can” stuff pouring from his mouth. HOLY SH__ ! Immediately I grabbed a garden hose and started to flush out his mouth under rather high pressure and then I saw it…hopping away innocently and uninjured, as if nothing had happened…a Bufo Toad! Now for those of you who not familiar with the Bufo, or Cane Toad…check it out here. It’s a nasty piece of business. Fess was sick for the rest of the day…but seemed fine after that…for a couple of weeks.
About three weeks later the seizures started. Not little seizures mind you…BIG violent ones. BIG seizures = BIG Vet bills as well as visits to the vet that are too numerous to mention. Finally he was diagnosed with Grand Mal seizures and prescribed a drug called Primidone, an anti-seizure med. Unfortunately…for all involved…it didn’t work. The seizures were coming more and more frequently…and then the “cluster” type seizures began. This little known type of seizure is a doozy…kinda like a regular Grand Mal on steroids. This seizure is actually several seizures happening in rapid succession…so rapid that they become one long, sometimes as long as 12 - 14 hours long seizure. Oh yeah…by the way…sometimes the 12 - 14 hour “clusters” would start just as we would go to bed. This happened often enough that my wife and I were keeping a schedule of who’s turn it was to miss a nights sleep…and therefore be miserable the next day at work.
Now…I know what your probably thinking. Why didn’t we have the dog put down? After all…he had to be suffering…right? WRONG! The vet(s) had told us that the dog has no recollection of the incidents just prior to and during the seizure…and is not in pain as well. We’re not the type of people that would have a dog euthanized simply because it’s become inconvenient or expensive. The seizures were finally brought under control by a new (and expensive) vet. By under control I mean on the average one normal seizure per month…sometimes going as long as 7 months seizure free. But by controlling the seizures with a mixture of Potassium Bromide and large doses of Phenobarbital we were told by the vet that his life would be shortened. Fair trade I think.
That all took place 10 years ago…and the dog is still here and still going strong. Well…maybe not so strong…but still here! But wait…there’s more…much more! I’ll continue in a future post.
Steve
Monday, March 16, 2009
Now, far be it for me to cast aspersions on people of another faith…but the time has come for me to do so! I was cruising around the web researching the religious views on tattooing when I came across an article that seriously chapped my aging hippie ass. And I quote:
“Have you ever been in line at an amusement park or a stadium, patiently waiting for your turn to be serviced, only to be scared off by some scary looking person with a tattoo? Most Americans would say, “Yes!”, since it is a well known fact that most people that brandish their hideous emblems of deprivation tend to be turned away from jobs, and enjoy a negative reputation from anyone with an annual salary of over $75,000. Even the liberal Washington Post, well known for harboring terrorists and idiots, is making a statement on these vile sketches:
“Tattoos are the emblems of our age. They bristle from the biceps of men in summer shirts, from the lower backs of women as they ascend stairs, from the shoulders of basketball players as they drive toward the basket, and from every inch of certain celebrities. The tattoo is the battle flag of today in its war with tomorrow. It is carried by sure losers.”
Many stupid lawsuits are burdening our courts because some idiot chose to get a tattoo. The tattoo parlors do not deserve any sympathy, either… they are the ones that can’t spell ‘town’.
About 40 percent of younger Americans (26 to 40) have tattoos. About 100 percent of these have clothes they once loved but now hate. How can anyone who knows how fickle fashion is, how times change, how their own tastes have “improved,” decorate their body in a way that’s nearly permanent? I don’t get it.
Tattoos are even worse than clothing…tattoos are much more expensive to add, and extremely more expensive to remove than clothing is. Money that could be going to well-meaning enterprises like Regnery or Enron is instead going to Marxists that will doubtlessly squander their money on alcohol, prostitution, and video games.”
This malodorous spewing of verbal diarrhea continues with these comments:
“Once people of faith start lobbying to their congressmen to ban these Satanic writings and Pagan imagery, there will undoubtedly be Democrats, activist judges, and ACLU lawyers that will attempt to thwart our ambitions. However, these are the same idiots who try to convince us that welfare, Sodomism, abortion, Darwinism, ‘global’ warming, and a round earth are all necessary beliefs. Those who oppose tattoo rights know what is best not only for the economy, but also their fellow man’s soul.”
The article goes on…but I don’t think there’s a need to go any further. I’m sure you get the gist of the point they’re attempting to make.
This sad commentary is from a website called “Calvinists 4 Conservatism“…a particularly vile collection of Calvinist extremist related articles and such. Okay, I was aware that the Calvinist Missionaries were responsible for the almost total annihilation of the native Hawaiian population during the 19th century. But I’ve gotta tell you…I was not aware of modern extreme Calvinist beliefs. Are these people for real?
History shows us that extremism is quite dangerous when connected with religion. And all religions have that fringe element…those followers that are willing take the interpretation of their faith to levels beyond reason and convention…and they are dangerous. Religious extremists are willing to do violence because they embrace theologies that sanction that violence in the service of God. They have no sympathy for their victims, because they view those victims as enemies of God.
We are all painfully aware of the danger that Islamic extremists pose. Blood, pain, and suffering as well as a huge financial drain are just an example of what they can accomplish. But it doesn’t end there…
Christian terrorism is religious terrorism by groups or individuals, the motivation of which is typically rooted in an idiosyncratic interpretation of the Bible and other Christian tenets of faith. From the viewpoint of the terrorist, Christian scripture and theology provide justification for violent political activities. For instance… members of extremist groups such as the Army of God began executing attacks against abortion clinics and doctors across the United States. A number of terrorist attacks, including the Centennial Olympic Park bombing during the 1996 Summer Olympics was carried out by individuals and groups with ties to the Christian Identity and Christian Patriot movements; including the Aryan Nations and the Lambs of Christ.
Jewish extremism is represented by such acts as the horrendous attack by a Jewish extremist against Arab-Israeli residents in the mixed Arab town of Shfaram, which killed four people and wounded 12.
And I could go on…and on…and on…and on…
Steve
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
The current economy has negatively affected most business across the world, from a downturn in the automobile industry to a ethereal investment banking sector, the global financial crunch is beginning to effect the tattooing industry.
Tattoo establishments are clearly vulnerable to the crisis; as more people scramble to save their money and spend on necessities and essentials only, tattoos are no longer figured into the budget. Additionally, as the job market shrinks, more people are choosing to have their tattoos removed due in part to the difficulties of finding a job and the negative stigma associated with tattoos in the white-collar world.
The arts in general have always tended to be recession proof, but in this tanking economy tattoo studios throughout the country have started to feel the pinch. The harsh reality is that most folks no longer have the disposable income to use on getting inked.
Similar to entertainment and sports, some people look to escape from the realities of every day life by getting body art. But to think that tattooing is totally recession proof would be a mistake. There’s no doubt that a number of studios out there are anguishing over whether or not if they will be open for business in the near future. Studios that tend to be the most recession resistant are the ones that have been established for many years with a robust and faithful customer base.
Steve
