tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-102146722024-03-13T18:40:51.956-05:00Bear AmericaSince blog entries post in reverse order, you'll want to scroll down a bit to catch the start of the vacation blog posts. They also tend to be long so you may want to grab a snack before you start reading.Stephen Slishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04031848013576128600noreply@blogger.comBlogger359125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214672.post-86114180152231231712011-02-15T11:58:00.002-06:002011-02-15T12:10:37.817-06:00Busy at Work<strong>Currently Reading:</strong> <em>Dune</em> by Frank Herbert<br /><br />You know spring is right around the corner when the snows start to turn to rain, the clouds clear away and the plants start to turn green again. This is a good time of year for me at work. Lately it's been a bit like the car wash after the snow melts. Lot of dirty dogs out there in need of a bath. This is also the time of year when dogs and cats start to shed their winter coats. I suppose you couls say spring begins for me when I welcome the first cat shave of the season. In that case, spring started yesterday.<br /><br />Today provides even more evidence: 2 golden doodles, a rottwiler, an Australian shephard and a bichon. Suddenly, my slow week is not-so-slow.<br /><br />All I can really say about that is: It's about damn time :-)<br /><br />PS: blogging from the phone is a pain so I may not do it very often. Maybe just short blurbs.Stephen Slishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04031848013576128600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214672.post-6260248651516966842011-02-13T17:10:00.001-06:002011-02-13T17:10:07.703-06:00Caught the Tenn Rep Theater production of Yankee Tavern. Great show. I'm going to have to get a copy of the script to see what I missed.Stephen Slishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04031848013576128600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214672.post-34418624583105208082011-02-13T16:58:00.002-06:002011-02-13T17:03:57.743-06:00Mobile Blogging<strong>Currently Reading:</strong> <em>Dune</em> by Frank Herbert<div><br /></div><div>Well, I've managed to get my blog here linked to my mobile so hopefully when I have some spare time at work I'll remember to post short blog entries. CC also tells me you can blog via e-mail so I'll have to try that as well. I've already got twitter linked with Facebook so anyone who's following me on either of those pages will already see what's going on. I also added the little twitter box over on the side but honestly, I spend more time replying to the tweets of famous people than posting anything about what I'm doing at the time. Most of what I do is pretty boring.</div><div><br /></div><div>I also tried to set up the deal here with sending pictures from the phone to the blog but according to Blogger the service is unavailable with my current carrier. It's probably one of those snobby iPhone things that requires AT&T or Verison. Doesn't matter though. I'll work with what I have now and try to remember to post pictures or links to pictures here from time to time.</div><div><br /></div><div>More to follow after dinner . . . I hope.</div>Stephen Slishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04031848013576128600noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214672.post-39484728417520545302011-01-14T20:40:00.002-06:002011-01-14T20:54:42.017-06:00The Big News!<strong>Currently Reading:</strong> <em> Dune</em> by Frank Herbert<div><br /></div><div>By now you may have heard the big news, but for those few of you who still haven't, CC and I closed on a condo today, right around 2ish in the afternoon. We've been working on this deal for a little while now, going back and forth with the seller about some minor issues, and we went through the whole mortgage process and all that and today we finally finished.</div><div><br /></div><div>On the whole, it was a good experience. Nothing tremendously bad happened though it was a bit stressful on CC who hasn't been through anything like this before (they don't buy houses the same way in the Philippines as we do here). </div><div><br /></div><div>Our agent was great. Got everything set up for us. The mortgage lender also did a great job explaining everything and getting all the paperwork done. Same thing at the closing with the title company. Everything went super smooth. We both got a bit of writer's cramp from all the signing of documents but otherwise, it went well.</div><div><br /></div><div>About the best thing that happened over this whole process was us being forced to take a homebuyer's course. Initially I resisted this. Last thing I wanted to do was spend 8 hours on a Saturday sitting in a class on how to buy a house and blah blah blah. I mean, doesn't that just sound like about the dullest way to spend a day? We didn't have a choice though. Because this is our first house we qualify for all sorts of state and federal loan programs, great interest rates, help with the down payment, that sort of thing. Getting all of this means taking the course so in the grand scheme of things, losing 8 hours was worth it.</div><div><br /></div><div>We actually learned quite a bit. Granted, a lot of it was common sense or things we'd already picked up from doing research on the internet but they were able to fill in a few gaps in our knowledge. In fact, CC and I were wondering why more people don't take this class before getting a home, even if they don't qualify for the assistance programs. You get quite a bit of practical advice and a really handy "how to buy a house" book.</div><div><br /></div><div>Best part of the whole thing was probably the lecture by the home inspector. Now, these guys have pretty much seen it all. They go through all the houses and document what's wrong with them. They make recommendations on what to fix and how. They note anything that's not up to the current safety and building codes. To sit down with one of these guys and have him tell you exactly what to look for is SO helpful. He pretty much told us how to avoid buying a money pit. Right there, that's worth the time.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, now we're done. We've got the keys and everything. Tomorrow we start packing things up here at the apartment and Sunday we'll start trucking things over to the condo. It's not very far away. According to Google Maps it's only 5 miles. Takes about 10 to 15 minutes to get there, depending on traffic. It's about 10 minutes from where I work which means it will DOUBLE my commute time but I can live with that. (Probably had a lot of people making ugly faces at me on that one. A 10 minute commute!)</div><div><br /></div><div>Pictures: you won't get any of those until we get settled in. Yes, we could go over there any time we want and get snapshots of an empty condo (like we did with the apartment) but I think this time we'll just hold off and post pictures only after we're done. You'll just have to be patient.</div><div><br /></div><div>SO, if CC and I seem a bit distracted over the next week or two, if we have a bit less free time, don't worry. We're just moving again. And yes, we'll be sure to tell everyone the address.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214672.post-36449469856396976262011-01-04T22:04:00.002-06:002011-01-04T22:13:07.044-06:00Right, New Year, New Blog . . . Sort of.<strong>Currently Reading:</strong> <em> Dune</em> by Frank Herbert<div><br /></div><div>Ok, well I'm working on the idea of blogging more instead of just posting little blurbs on Facebook and Twitter. I'm not entirely sure if I'll be able to keep it up but I will try. I still have a few friends and family who don't use Facebook or Twitter and who also prefer seeing longer posts.</div><div><br /></div><div>I've redone the overall layout of the page and gone with this brown template. That may or may not stay so if the colors change, don't be alarmed. They keep adding new graphics to Blogger so I may find something I like even more.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'm also going to try and add more pictures and grooming stories. I'll leave out the names of the dogs of course and keep the stories more along the lines of general grooming advice. No reason to embarrass any of my current or former customers. (Generally CC polices this sort of thing. When she sees a message that she thinks might offend, bug, tweak, irk, etc. she lets me know and I either remove or redo it.)</div><div><br /></div><div>I've also switched the bookshelves over to Shelfari entirely. This is mostly to save time but it also makes things look a bit prettier. </div><div><br /></div><div>Oh, and I included a Twitter feed over there on the side so for those of you who don't have Twitter, you can read what I've posted there recently. Keep in mind though, some of those tweets are just replies to what someone else posted so I don't know that they'll all make sense. I follow a small and kinda weird group of celebrities and occasionally remark about something they said. Sometimes they reply, sometimes not. Mostly not though because they get way too many replies to actually read them all.</div><div><br /></div><div>That's about it for now. LOTS of news of course but since it's already past 10 and I have to work tomorrow, I've got to get to bed. I spent a decent chunk of the day wrestling a very young, very friendly and very energetic golden retriever this afternoon (they're SO much fun) and I've got another one tomorrow so I need to rest up.</div><div><br /></div><div>Night!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214672.post-43971621853037784422010-06-20T22:01:00.002-05:002010-06-20T22:05:37.439-05:00Making A Few Changes<strong>Currently Reading:</strong> <em>When Character Was King</em> by Peggy Noonan<br /><br />I've been meaning to make some changes to the blog. Nothing dramatic, just a change of color, maybe layout. There are quite a few new designs available now and the options are much easier to adjust. I've settled on this one for the moment. I find it peaceful. <br /><br />No blog entries for most of May. Sorry about that. Been a bit busy. I'll sit down and post a review of the past month and get everyone all caught up. It's been quite an eventful May, quite stressful and sometimes difficult. <br /><br />Tonight is not the night for that though. It's after 10:00 and I've had a busy Sunday (more on that later too). With any luck, I'll have time to add more to the blog tomorrow but for now, hang in there. There's more coming. I promise.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214672.post-42271036669186613832010-05-02T12:12:00.013-05:002010-05-02T12:38:51.209-05:00How a simple trip to the mall became an adventure<strong>Currently Reading:</strong> <em>Storm Front</em> by Jim Butcher<p>Now, to set up this story we have to go back a week or so to when CC decided to join the YMCA. She's really been enjoying it, taking her Zumba classes 3 or 4 days a week. She decided to add belly dancing to that as well. Great! She took her first class earlier in the week and had a great time so we went out Saturday to get one of those skirts with the coin things on it. You've seen them, it's what belly dancers wear.</p><p>It was raining when we left. No big surprise there. We had the occasional storm warning, flash flood watch, whatever. We get those all the time. I'm sure you get them too right? I lived down in San Antonio 23 years and we were always getting flash flood watches and warnings. Got them in Memphis too. That was just a sort of heads up that you should avoid driving in places where the water tended to pool. Don't hang out by the river or creek. Careful at those low water crossings.</p><p>We got to the mall early afternoon and got CC's skirt then decided to have lunch. It was raining when we got out of the car but the water was no more than an inch or so in places. Again, the usual stuff. Puddles here and there, a bit of water by the curb. No big deal. Even when we were getting lunch we didn't think much about the pouring rain we saw out of the window. We're at the mall. It's a big parking lot. No rivers or creeks near us. No big deal. Hell the mall isn't even at the lowest point in the area. The land slopes down a bit further. Nothing to worry about right?</p><p>Right, well this was the scene when we got out of Macy's. </p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/S922c0N5ynI/AAAAAAAAA-c/WsLJ1lQP2Sg/s1600/Image052.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/S922c0N5ynI/AAAAAAAAA-c/WsLJ1lQP2Sg/s320/Image052.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466726128867199602" /></a><p>And the water kept on rising.</p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/S922xzzPikI/AAAAAAAAA-k/2PuUyg1a5TI/s1600/Image053.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/S922xzzPikI/AAAAAAAAA-k/2PuUyg1a5TI/s320/Image053.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466726489532631618" /></a><br /><p>And rising.</p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/S9221Uq2O8I/AAAAAAAAA-s/dkeTn4LaiTE/s1600/Image054.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/S9221Uq2O8I/AAAAAAAAA-s/dkeTn4LaiTE/s320/Image054.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466726549895396290" /></a><br /><p>This is our car. I waded out to see if it was possible to get it out of there, move it to higher ground. No way that was going to happen. </p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/S9227CfV_LI/AAAAAAAAA-0/FxXF_phjWik/s1600/Image057.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/S9227CfV_LI/AAAAAAAAA-0/FxXF_phjWik/s320/Image057.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466726648094522546" /></a><br /><p>Of course, we weren't the worst off. Check out this BMW convertible parked right in front of us!</p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/S923BQm4ygI/AAAAAAAAA-8/0goDo7IIMck/s1600/Image062.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/S923BQm4ygI/AAAAAAAAA-8/0goDo7IIMck/s320/Image062.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466726754963474946" /></a><br /><p>We left the car there and just walked home. Yes, you read that right. We walked home. Of course we had to wade around that big lake in the parking lot and there were several places where the current was moving pretty fast (but not fast or deep enough to be a danger). The police had closed off the mall parking lot and were directing traffic to get people out. Smaller roads all the way home were blocked. People were having a very hard time trying to get out of the area.</p><p>When we got home, we turned on the news and WOW!. You had parts of the highway closed due to flooding. At one location they had this great footage of a portable building floating alongside the highway then it smacked into the bridge. A car later floated up behind it and smacked into the back of it and the building just fell apart. Pretty wild stuff.</p><p>This morning it was a little better. We called the insurance company and AAA and arranged to get the car towed out of the parking lot. We went to the mall and surveyed the damage. It wasn't bad so much as dirty. All the debris and mud and stuff that was carried by the water was covering everything.</p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/S923wP69TCI/AAAAAAAAA_E/Fxh8LSAnpuM/s1600/Image070.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/S923wP69TCI/AAAAAAAAA_E/Fxh8LSAnpuM/s320/Image070.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466727562233072674" /></a><br /><p>Our car is not looking so hot.</p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/S9237Fn6SbI/AAAAAAAAA_M/gWROPuQxnyg/s1600/Image071.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/S9237Fn6SbI/AAAAAAAAA_M/gWROPuQxnyg/s320/Image071.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466727748447390130" /></a><br /><p>Check this out though. The Macy's exit where we came out Saturday. The water was rising so high, so fast, they actually put up sand bags. Now that's what I call flash flooding.</p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/S923_puKAxI/AAAAAAAAA_U/3ptRYjCzvoQ/s1600/Image077.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/S923_puKAxI/AAAAAAAAA_U/3ptRYjCzvoQ/s320/Image077.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466727826856739602" /></a><br /><p>Right now the problem is we've got more rain heading into the area. A lot of drains are clogged with leaves and branches and stuff so things aren't draining like they should. Several areas have lost power. It's a mess out there. About the only vehicles moving around are the 18 wheelers and tow trucks. City officials have said repeatedly that if you don't have to go out today, don't. </p><p>So I guess today we'll kick back here at the apartment, watch the rain on TV and just wait for things to dry out.</p><p>If you want to see the rest of the pictures, including shots of the inside of our flooded car, I've posted them online <a href="http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=58973&id=1153851409&l=9964d175f9">here</a>.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214672.post-49402871670006534232010-04-05T20:47:00.005-05:002010-04-05T21:03:30.871-05:00Yes, We Do Cats<strong>Currently Reading:</strong> <em>What The Dog Saw</em> by Malcolm Gladwell<br /><br />Last week I had a rather interesting pair come through the clinic. We'd gotten a call from one of the animal rescue places here in Nashville asking if we did cats. Why yes, I do cats.<br /><br />What they brought in were two Persians, one white, one tortoise shell. To say that they hadn't been groomed in a while would be putting it mildly.<br />I took <span style="font-style: italic;">before and after</span> shots of the white one. This is what she looked like when she came in.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/S7qVyKBfWuI/AAAAAAAAA7E/euH5Fk1ngwE/s1600/wht_persian_b41.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/S7qVyKBfWuI/AAAAAAAAA7E/euH5Fk1ngwE/s320/wht_persian_b41.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456838587429378786" border="0" /></a><br />Didn't exactly give me a lot to work with. In general, when cats come in, my options are limited. You don't really STYLE cats so much as you clean them up a bit. A trim here, a snip there. Clip the claws, maybe shorten the whiskers, something like that. And then there's the other extreme, usually reserved for long-haired cats. I'm not a cat owner and I've never had one with long hair, but from working in the clinics, I know a few reasons why they get so messy. Most of the time it's a simple matter of owners not brushing/combing them out regularly. The cat will groom itself as best it can up to a point but if there are knots in the coat, it's up to the owner to remove them. Of course, sometimes the cat gets sick and they stop grooming themselves. In the case of the white one, it was a bit of both.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/S7qV99AloMI/AAAAAAAAA7M/j2BzSCY4k_c/s1600/wht_persian_b42.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 272px; height: 208px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/S7qV99AloMI/AAAAAAAAA7M/j2BzSCY4k_c/s320/wht_persian_b42.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456838790094364866" border="0" /></a><br />Clearly she wasn't a very happy kitty when she plopped down on my table. She wasn't mean and never tried to bite me. She was pretty tolerant for the most part, except for the belly. Cats, unlike dogs, really don't get thrilled with the whole belly rub concept. Their loss.<br /><br />Anyway, after several hours of work, both before and after her bath, this is what she looked like when she left.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/S7qWMCeVnZI/AAAAAAAAA7U/XSbLJM3okYs/s1600/wht_persian_after.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 294px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/S7qWMCeVnZI/AAAAAAAAA7U/XSbLJM3okYs/s320/wht_persian_after.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5456839032079490450" border="0" /></a>Yes, I will admit, she's a little rough around the edges but there really wasn't any way around that. Her coat was in such bad shape I was actually surprised it came out THAT smooth.<br /><br />Over time, it'll grow back out and assuming the new owner takes care of her, she'll be a happy, fluffy, CLEAN kitty from now on.<br /><br />Oh, and in case you were wondering, yes, people do bring their cats in to have that done on purpose. Quite a few long-haired cat owners like to have them shaved for the summer. The most common cut is a lion pattern. You save the mane and the tip of the tail. Makes them look like a lion. Me, I prefer the bobcat instead. It fits the hair on most long-haired cats better and it's something different. I mean, EVERYONE gets the lion cut. Having a bobcat cut makes you stand out.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214672.post-41312244947793399852010-03-28T12:55:00.003-05:002010-03-28T13:29:49.488-05:00March Update<strong>Currently Reading:</strong> <em>Empire</em> by Orson Scott Card<div><br /></div><div>So here we are now at the end of March. I see from my last post that it's been just over a month. I'd LIKE to say there were lots of good reasons why I haven't posted since then and that it's been one HUGE adventure filled with great stories. If I said that I'd be lying though. The truth is just a LOT less interesting.</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/S6-ecVlrtII/AAAAAAAAA60/MB90bfSsV08/s1600/jack_beard_lion2.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 163px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/S6-ecVlrtII/AAAAAAAAA60/MB90bfSsV08/s200/jack_beard_lion2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453751883437683842" /></a>So, what HAVE I been doing? Well, CC and I have done enough in the past month to add up to one blog entry. Sad, but true, we're not doing as many interesting things. Most weekends we've been out shopping for things for the apartment. Over on CC's Facebook page she's posted the results. Took us quite a while to find all the little pieces but everything finally pulled together and now our living room and dining room are quite peaceful, especially when the weather's nice and we can open the place up.</div><div><br /></div><div>Also, I'm no longer working at two salons. I've decided to concentrate on just one instead. You see, at the salon up the road in Brentwood, the one I first signed on to, they just don't have enough work for me. At one point I was doing maybe 5 dogs spread out over two weeks. Ouch! I'd get more than that in just one day where I am currently. And as much as I had hoped for a boost in business, it never came. So now I'm working the whole week at Carothers Parkway Veterinary Clinic. On the whole, it's a better fit.</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://fristcenter.org/site/files/cm/Image/Rosetti-lg.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 250px; height: 285px;" src="http://fristcenter.org/site/files/cm/Image/Rosetti-lg.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>On the entertainment front, we DID manage to visit the Frist Center For Visual Arts here in Nashville to see two exhibits they have running at the moment. One is a collection of art called "Masterpieces of European Painting from Museo de Arte de Ponce." Lots of great pieces there. I actually got to use a little bit of that Art History class I took in college. </div><div><br /></div><div>In the other gallery they have "Heroes: Mortals and Myths in Ancient Greece" which covers what the name says. They focus on the representation of heroes in various forms of artwork in Ancient Greece. Mostly it's sculpture and pottery. Very interesting and there was a hands-on area as well (mostly set up for kids but we had fun there too).</div><div><br /></div><div>What was really cool about both of these was a little feature CC found on the Frist website. They let you download the audio for the tour in mp3 format so you can put it on your own player and bring it with you. So long as you bring your player and phones, you can do the guided tour for free and it really does make a difference. You get all sorts of information that's not in the guide books and since it's an art museum and not an art CLASS, they don't post in depth descriptions of everything for you to read. Yes, each piece DOES have at least a paragraph about where it came from or some interesting aspect of its history but that's about it. Having the audio tour made it MUCH more enjoyable.</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/S6-f_lSdl0I/AAAAAAAAA68/hp4h_drzcq4/s1600/P1000900.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/S6-f_lSdl0I/AAAAAAAAA68/hp4h_drzcq4/s200/P1000900.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453753588459083586" /></a>Our latest adventure we just finished. My parents came up from Memphis on Saturday and we went to see the Detroit Red Wings play the Nashville Predators. I've got a few photos from that game. It really was exciting though I must say I would have preferred a happier ending. The Preds lost in the shoot-out after overtime. The games are SO much more fun when you're watching them live. Yes, they are plenty action-packed on TV but there's just no substitute for being in the stands with all of the other screaming fans watching the game.</div><div><br /></div><div>You can see pics from the game <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/stslish/PredsVsWings32710?feat=directlink">here</a>.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214672.post-70874760664076433842010-02-23T21:17:00.002-06:002010-02-23T21:38:13.691-06:00Random Ramblings<p><strong>Currently Reading:</strong> <em>The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch</em> by Philip K. Dick</p><p>I'm going to miss the Olympics when it's over. For two solid weeks now I've had something to turn on in the background while I did other things. Yes, I could always just turn the TV on to some other station and let it run but when I've got the Olympics on, I can always stop and watch for a little while. The same cannot be said of any random TV station. There aren't any, even with satellite, that show something I'd watch 24 hours a day.</p><p>I followed the Olympics quite a bit during the first week but, as usual, once it moves to the second week, I tend to miss bits and pieces more often. It's not that the events during the second week are boring or anything like that. You've got the finals in hockey, there's bobsledding, lots of good stuff. I just lose interest after a while.</p><p>So yes, even though I'm losing interest, I will miss having the Olympics.</p><p>On the plus side, we'll be heading into spring pretty soon and that means the end of hockey season. The playoffs are always fun to watch. Plus basketball will start their playoffs too. And let's not forget, with spring comes Spring Training for baseball and then baseball season will start. Yes, I know, most of you don't like baseball and find it boring but I still enjoy watching it.</p><p>I must say, I don't really have much to blog about at the moment. I've been working at the two clinics and it's been keeping me busy. I had 5 dogs today and three of them were energetic. I don't mind doing dogs like that but it does take longer and it can really try your patience. For the most part, you just have to let them settle down and be persistent in what you're trying to do. If you're shaving feet and the dog keeps pulling away, you just keep at it. Sooner or later the dog will realize that the shaving doesn't hurt and it'll stop pulling away. The trick is keeping your cool until then :-)</p><p>And speaking of cool, it's starting to get cool again. What's up with that? We had two really nice days when it was in the 60's. We actually opened up the windows and aired things out. Now it's cold again. Going to be back in the 30's for the high tomorrow and they're talking about snow flurries. Thank goodness it won't be accumulating. I'd hate for things to shut down AGAIN. </p><p>Where did the month go? It's already the end of February. We've been in Nashville 2 months already. It seems like a long time and yet it's still just 2 months. 8 weeks. That's all the time we've been here. I guess it's relative. Sometimes a day goes by like an hour. Sometimes a week goes by so fast I can barely keep up with it.</p><p>Yes, I'm rambling again. Just opening up the doors and letting things flow out through the fingers.</p><p>I'm on twitter now. Not that it matters all that much. There are only a few people following me and at least 2 of them are spam. It's nice to read the tweets from other people though, at least famous people. Not everyone does it mind you, but some actors, writers, directors, etc. have accounts and they send out little messages now and then. It's more interesting when they're in the middle of filming. You get a bit of behind-the-scenes notes; a little glimpse of what it's like to be filming.</p><p>CC has a pretty cool little program that lets her update her Facebook status, blog and twitter account all from her cell phone. She just types in a message and it sends the message everwhere. I was thinking maybe I'd get that but I haven't decided. I mean, would anyone really be that interested in me yammering about a barky shih tzu that I'm shaving?</p><p>I was reading the news online and I though, "wow, it's pretty boring out there." I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. Slow is good. It's nice and peaceful. But a part of me wonders what's lurking in the shadows behind that peace. Is something really weird about to happen? This is especially bothersome with the government. Those idiots are never more dangerous than when they're quiet. It means they're up to something.</p><p>I think that's about it. Head seems pretty empty now. I'm going to get some reading in.</p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214672.post-40743372538684897702010-02-18T20:49:00.002-06:002010-02-18T21:00:50.413-06:00Have Shears Will Travel<strong>Currently Reading:</strong> <em>Shutter Island</em> by Dennis Lehane<br /><br />After several slow weeks at the clinic, it became pretty apparent that it's going to take longer than we hoped to build up a steady stream of grooming clients. Originally we'd all hoped that after a month or so, after word got out that the clinic was offering grooming now and after the coldest part of winter that more customers would be coming in. That just didn't happen.<br /><br />There are several reasons why it didn't quite come together as planned. First off was the rather unusual snowfall we've had up here. In fact, I read an article in the paper this morning that students in the area haven't had a full week of school since January. We've had iced roads, cold temperatures, canceled school and work. Naturally that's going to trickle down to my little corner of the universe. And let's not forget the big giant-killer: the economy. Much as I'd LIKE to believe all the happy numbers coming out of Washington, there are still too many people who are out of work and cutting back on their spending. Let's face it, I provide a mostly luxury service. <br /><br />Anyway, we can only dip into savings for so long so the need to bring in a little more bacon was getting more and more obvious. I tried to wait it out but that just wasn't going to happen soon enough SO I contacted some of the other clinics again, clinics that were interested the first time I was looking for work, and I managed to land a second grooming job. So now I'm working 3 days at one clinic, 2 at another.<br /><br />This works out rather well in fact. Right now, neither clinic has enough work for a full-time groomer. However, if I put the two together, plenty of work. I've even let both clinics know that if there are clients who wish to come in on a day I'm scheduled to work at the other clinic, they're to call me and let me know because the two are close enough together that I can drive from the one to the other and do dogs at both locations. In fact, due to a scheduling problem on Wednesday, I did just that. 3 dogs at one clinic, 4 at the other. It's good to be busy like that.<br /><br />Of course, the real trick is going to be balancing these jobs once things pick up. Both clinics are staffed with very nice people and they like the work I do. I'd like to keep working for them both but that might not be possible. We'll have to wait and see.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214672.post-42511232519623752362010-02-12T12:57:00.003-06:002010-02-12T13:36:57.737-06:00Wing Nuts<strong>Currently Reading:</strong> Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane<br /><br />Yeah, I think all this global warming is starting to drive the wings on both sides a little nuts. Seriously, they're losing it. Maybe it's because they've been trapped inside for so long or perhaps if not trapped inside, all they can see is snow, snow and more SNOW. Not that TV is helping them. What's the big news on TV? Winter Olympics baby! More snow indeed.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.qusoor.com/images/2010snow1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 180px;" src="http://www.qusoor.com/images/2010snow1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Just a few examples that have me wondering about the sanity of these people. Let's start off with the global warming crowd. Now, as you're all fully aware, the east coast is getting HAMMERED by snow storms. Two have hit already and many records were set for both temperature and inches of snow. Further, down south they're ALSO getting hammered by snow. No joke. I saw a forecast that was calling for snow down in Atlanta, parts of Alabama, Mississippi, etc. Texas got hit too. Saw some pictures from Dallas just this morning. Rare snow events to be sure, but not so rare that we need to change every aspect of our lives here. It's snow. There's a lot of it. It's cold. Very cold. It happens. Remember back in '76 they had that big blizzard in New York? They even made a board game out of it it was so bad. All I'm saying is that it's cyclical. Some years are warm, some not so warm. We had no hurricanes hit the east coast this summer. Mexico got a BUNCH. And all of this, according to folks on the left, global warming. Yes, that's right, the ONE degree increase in temperatures are now causing record cold all over the US. I've sat through several explanations on how that's supposed to work but I've never been convinced. It just defies logic doesn't it? Plus, there's that whole big "lack of proof" thing.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://image3.examiner.com/images/blog/EXID689/images/2010-02-07-palinhandclose.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 270px; height: 150px;" src="http://image3.examiner.com/images/blog/EXID689/images/2010-02-07-palinhandclose.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Then there's Sarah Palin. Say what you want about her, crazy or not, she's the target of yet another liberal rant. Actually there are some right wing nuts on her case too this time. You see, she had the nerve, the gall to jot notes down on her hand before speaking at the tea party convention in Nashville. Seriously, folks are going wild over this. I've seen several articles about it already, none of them flattering, and even the White House spokesman (not a brilliant man by any measure) joined in the mocking by jotting down fake notes on his own hand. Petty. Stupid and petty stuff this is. So she wrote the notes on her hand instead of an index card. So what? She needed some reminders. Again, so what? Hell Obama practically falls apart if he's not able to use his beloved teleprompter. Take that man off book and who knows what craziness will come out of his mouth. And he's the President for crying out loud. She doesn't even hold public office anymore. Never really understood the sort of reaction she prompts from either side. The guys on the right drool, the ones of the left fly into a rage. So much anger and hatred over someone they don't even know. I was thinking about that the other day. Is there anyone out there I hate THAT much? Nope. No one comes to mind.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/S3WtK3IQ9tI/AAAAAAAAA3o/o99bUnLgOOU/s1600-h/new_cap_pda.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 162px; height: 221px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/S3WtK3IQ9tI/AAAAAAAAA3o/o99bUnLgOOU/s320/new_cap_pda.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5437442527228655314" border="0" /></a>And finally, a man some of you would call a right wing nut repeat offender, I'm talking about Glenn Beck. I listen to the guy's radio show a few days a week and I'll admit, he can really go of on a wild tangent now and then. Usually though he's got facts to back up whatever theory he's espousing. Even if it's something totally off the wall he'll present some facts, lay out his logic and you can at least follow his reasoning even if you don't agree on the conclusions. So I'm listening on Tuesday and he starts off on a rant about Captain America #402. He latches on to one scene in particular about a rally that Cap and the Falcon come across. It's a pretty standard scene of protesters carrying signs, all the usual slogans you've seen on TV at the tea party rallies and other anti-tax gatherings. Nothing new there. In the story, an evil Cap clone is fomenting dissent out in the heartland and raising an army to "take America back!" Again, this is nothing new. It's the sort of thing White Supremacists tried to do for years. Probably that's where this story will lead. Crazy groups taking advantage of the current environment and Cap will come in and set them all straight. So why are the right wing nuts going crazy over this? How many times has this sort of thing happened to Chuck Norris in one of his movies or on TV? Happens all the time right? Jack Bauer is no stranger to the home-grown terrorist either. But now, since Cap's author is no fan of Sarah Palin and her group, the right wing nuts are freaking out?<br /><br />So here's my advice to the nuts on each wing: medicate. I don't care what you use, but you folks need to seriously chill out. Both sides, hit the pubs or on the left, grab some weed or something. On the right, I dunno, go meditate in church about it all. Just chill out for a bit and stop freaking out so much. If you've got enough time and energy to freak out over this stuff, I'll have to put you all to work shoveling snow. Don't make me come out there!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214672.post-39561615888643120412010-02-05T15:27:00.003-06:002010-02-05T16:17:31.979-06:00The Other Guys<strong>Currently Reading:</strong> <em>The Civil War</em> by Julius Caesar<div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.soiphone.com/uploads/200712/f/1198377759.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 120px; height: 180px;" src="http://www.soiphone.com/uploads/200712/f/1198377759.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div>Did you know there was another team playing in the Super Bowl on Sunday night? No, really it's true. I looked it up and apparently the New Orleans Saints are playing a team from the mid-west. Yeah, they're called the Indianapolis Colts. I'm not making this up guys. I'm being 100% serious. There's more to this Super Bowl thing than just another party in Miami and New Orleans.</div><div><br /></div><div>Not that you'd know it by watching the national media. Yes, the Colts get mentioned on the big sports networks but on the non-sports stations you'd think this was all bout the Saints and the parties in Miami. Now, I won't lie to you, I've never been a fan of the Saints. I couldn't really say WHY. Maybe it's the black and gold uniform. Maybe it's the general FRENCH nature of their logo. Or perhaps it's something about the atrocious grammar of "Who dat?" I do know for certain that I don't like the fringed umbrella Tom Benson uses when he does his Benson Boogie. For that matter I don't like the Benson Boogie.</div><div><br /></div><div>This dislike for the Saints goes back before this season. They've had some very disappointing games where the snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. They've had plenty of over-hyped seasons where everyone SWORE they were the next best thing. Then they pulled a Tony Romo and just choked and fell apart.</div><div><br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ihavenet.com/images/nfl-2008-peyton-manning-qb-indianapolis-colts.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 160px; height: 254px;" src="http://www.ihavenet.com/images/nfl-2008-peyton-manning-qb-indianapolis-colts.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><div>This may happen again you know. A lot of non-sports people will say that experience doesn't count for all that much, or at least it shouldn't. It's just another football game and they're a good team. Maybe. But anyone who's done live performances of ANY kind can tell you there's big difference between the comfort of your home stadium and the less familiar road stadium. And like it or not, the closer you get to the final game, the more pressure there is to perform. These guys have had two weeks living in a pressure cooker. That's where the experience comes into play. The guys who have been through this before know what it's like and can help the other guys stay focused on what's important (no, not the commercials, the game). </div><div><br /></div><div>About the only thing I've really heard about the Colts leading up to the Super Bowl are things that are related to the Saints. Take Peyton Manning. Of all the things to write about him what's the one thing they keep drilling over and over? That his dad played for the Saints. Yeah. Years and years ago. So long ago that a large portion of fans never even saw him suit up. And yet, there it is, in article after article.</div><div><br /></div><div>As for the Saints, well there isn't much information about the team and players themselves (unless you count Reggie Bush and his Kardashian girlfriend). What you hear about is how this team overcame adversity, though when it comes time to elaborate, the story always talks about hurricane Katrina (seriously, enough already!) and how they spent half of one season playing on a different home field while their stadium was being rebuilt. You get stories about how New Orleans, the city, is rebuilding after all the flooding. Sometimes there's a mention of the quarterback but mostly it's all about the city.</div><div><br /></div><div>Just for the record, for those of you who may have forgotten, the New Orleans Saints is a football team that plays in the city of New Orleans. That's it. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c79/Jim2007_/indianapolis_colts_20mad_colt-1.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 95px; height: 132px;" src="http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c79/Jim2007_/indianapolis_colts_20mad_colt-1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Their playing in the Super Bowl or even winning it has nothing to do with the city itself. Two separate stories and quite frankly, I'm getting tired of them both.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's easy to see why the Colts don't get as much press though. Think back, as many years as you can. What's the big story coming out of Indianapolis? Yeah, off the top of my head I can't think of anything either except that THEY won the Super Bowl a few years back. So here's a little history about the team playing the Saints on Sunday:</div><div><br /></div><div><ul><li><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">1946</span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">(12/28) </span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Bankrupt Miami Seahawks franchise of All-America Football Conference moved to Baltimore. Bob Rodenberg headed purchasing group and the team was renamed "Colts" via a fan contest.</span></span></li><li><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">1947</span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">(2/10) </span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Cecil Isbell named head coach. </span></span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">(9/7) </span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Colts won inaugural AAFC game, defeating Brooklyn Dodgers, 16-7, before 27,418 fans at Baltimore Stadium. </span></span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">(9/28) </span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">New York Yankees defeated Colts, 21-7, before a then-record Baltimore crowd of 51,583. Colts placed fourth in Eastern Division with 2-11-1 record, while drawing 199,661 fans.</span></span></li><li><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">1949</span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">(12/9) </span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The National Football League and the AAFC reached a "peace" agreement and the Colts were assigned to the NFL for the 1950 season. </span></span></li><li><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">1958</span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">(10/26) </span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Rookie DB-Lenny Lyles had 101t KOR vs. Washington to become first player ever with two 100t+ KOR in same season (other was 103t vs. Chicago 10/4). </span></span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">(11/2) </span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Colts recorded first shutout, 56-0 over Green Bay, marking their sixth straight win and setting the club record for largest margin of victory. </span></span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">(11/30) </span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Colts clinched first Western Division title, 35-27, over San Francisco before second straight record crowd of 57,577. QB-John Unitas tossed a scoring pass in a 23rd straight game to set a new NFL record (QB-Cecil Isbell, 22 games, Green Bay 1941- 42). </span></span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">(12/28) </span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Colts defeated the New York Giants, 23-17, at Yankee Stadium in "sudden death" game for World Championship. Weeb Ewbank and 12 players from "The Greatest Game Ever Played" eventually became NFL Hall of Famers. </span></span></li><li><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">1969</span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">(1/12) </span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Colts dropped Super Bowl III to New York Jets, 16-7, at Orange Bowl. </span></span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">(5/17) </span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Colts, Pittsburgh and Cleveland joined AFL teams to form American Football Conference as the NFL realigned for the 1970 season. </span></span></li><li><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">1971</span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">(1/3) </span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Colts captured the AFC Championship by topping Oakland, 27-17. </span></span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">(1/17) </span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Colts won the first AFC-NFC Super Bowl, 16-13 over Dallas in the Orange Bowl on K- Jim O'Brien's 32-yard field goal with :05 remaining. Don McCafferty became the first rookie head coach to win a Super Bowl (later matched by San Francisco's George Seifert in Super Bowl XXXIV)</span></span></li><li><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">1984</span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">(3/28) </span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Colts in Indianapolis. </span></span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">(4/18) </span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Season tickets offered for sale and overwhelming response yielded 143,000 requests in two weeks.</span></span></li><li><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">2006</span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">(9/10) </span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The Colts posted a 26-21 win at the New York Giants in the first NFL contest pitting brothers as starting quarterbacks, Peyton and Eli Manning. </span></span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">(1/21) </span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Erasing an 18-point deficit with a 32-point second-half flurry, the Colts captured the AFC Championship with a 38-34 victory over New England. Manning (27-47-349, 1 TD/int.) scored on a 1t rush and guided the club to 17 fourth-quarter points. Indianapolis had second-half scoring drives of 76, 76, 67, 59 and 80 yards. The final drive concluded with a 3t rush by Addai with 1:00 remaining as the club produced the largest championship game comeback in NFL Super Bowl-era history. Indianapolis knotted the contest at 21-21, 28-28 and 31-31 before the final gamewinning drive. The club's berth in Super Bowl XLI followed those earned by the franchise in Super Bowl III and V. </span></span><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">(2/4)</span></span></strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> The Colts earned a fourth World Championship in besting the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XLI at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. In a contest played in steady rain and 67-degree temperatures, the Colts overcame a 14-6 second- quarter deficit. Led by Manning (25-38-247, 1 TD/int.), a rushing attack that produced 191 yards behind Rhodes (21-113, 1 TD) and Addai (19-77) and a defense that surrendered only eleven first downs and 265 net yards while helping produce five turnovers, the Colts out-scored the Bears 23-3 over the game's final 41 minutes. Manning teamed with Wayne (2-61, 1 TD; 53t) for the club's first score. Rhodes tallied on a 1t rush midway through the second quarter, and Indianapolis would not relinquish the lead. Vinatieri added field goals of 29, 24 and 20 yards to boost the club's lead to 22-17 late in the third quarter, then DB-Kelvin Hayden's 56t interception return early in the fourth quarter provided the final points. Manning became the first Colts Super Bowl MVP. Addai (10-66) set a Super Bowl reception mark for a running back. The victory marked the club's first title in 36 years, the last coming in Super Bowl V against Dallas, 16-13 on January 17, 1971. The franchise won NFL titles following the 1958 and 1959 seasons.</span></span></li></ul><div><br /><div>So there ya go. A little history about the OTHER guys playing this weekend's game. They're a good team. They're a solid team. And you know, they just may have the answer to that question: Who dat say day can beat dem Saints? Day be da Colts my friends :-)</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:georgia;"><br /></span></div></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://proflagsandbanners.com/images_products/indianapolis_colts_super_bowl_banner_flag_17210big.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 246px; height: 284px;" src="http://proflagsandbanners.com/images_products/indianapolis_colts_super_bowl_banner_flag_17210big.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214672.post-50396166875237224922010-01-30T15:12:00.003-06:002010-01-30T15:38:14.704-06:00Snowed In<strong>Currently Reading:</strong> <em>The Man In The High Castle</em> by Philip K. Dick<div><br /></div><div>Well, if you've been following the news or if you live anywhere along its path, you know about the snow/ice storm that's been moving across the country this weekend. It hit us Thursday night into Friday morning and then all of Friday. When I woke up this morning the snow had stopped and as far as I know we're not expecting any more though we will stay below freezing until Monday.</div><div><br /></div><div>Have a look at this. This is how things progressed starting Friday morning at around 9:30 until late afternoon when was getting too dark to take clear photos. The last shot is from this morning. Yes, I know they're a little blurry. Low light pictures aren't as clear plus I'm shooting out of the bedroom window.</div><br /><br /><div><center><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/uApuiH6RKwU&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uApuiH6RKwU&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object></center><br /></div>When I went out and walked the dogs last night, it was a very fluffy, loose snow that blew around in the wind fairly easily. This morning though, I'm not sure how to accurately describe it. It isn't really packed in but it does have a hard layer of ice on top of it. You step and if you're heavy enough, you sink. <div><br /></div><div>The dogs weren't quite sure what to make of this. They've seen snow before but not THIS kind of snow. The snow THEY know is the kind where you step in and sink. They've never dealt with a snow that could actually SUPPORT them. Katya, the aussi, didn't have any problems adjusting to this. She pretty much did her business just fine and tried to avoid slipping. Jack on the other hand was NOT amused and quite confused. He ran out into the snow, expecting to sink and nothing happens. So now he's not sure if he's allowed to pee on this stuff or what. To him it must have been like a giant tile floor or something. Eventually I got him over to a grassy spot under a tree where he could tell that yes, it's ok to pee there.</div><div><br /></div><div>As for the roads, well not covered in enough ice to SKATE on them but you'd sure have a hard time getting anywhere in anything lighter than an SUV. Crusty snow and most people stayed home last night so there were very few tracks in all that mess. In fact, the city and state authorities were telling everyone to just stay home. </div><div><br /></div><div>I wonder. There was supposed to be a <i>Twilight</i> convention here this weekend. Did the sparkley boys and girls make it out to Opryland for that or was it called off? I never checked the closings list today though I do know everything was closed yesterday. Probably no convention today and since we're not getting above 30 until Monday, probably nothing tomorrow either. I guess it'll depend on whether or not the sun comes out and melts off the street snow.</div><div><br /></div><div>We took advantage of the fact that we can't go anywhere and unpacked all but one of the boxes left laying around. I mentioned before that we had two areas of clutter. Well, now there's just ONE area of clutter. The bedroom is now all cleaned up (except for my desk which will take more time). That just leaves part of the dining area. I tried to take some pictures yesterday but due to the odd light from the snowfall, nothing came out all that well. We'll wait until we've got better, natural light and take more pictures. When we get something good, CC or I will post them.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214672.post-28234695144964698372010-01-28T15:30:00.002-06:002010-01-28T15:45:25.902-06:00When was the last time I blogged?<strong>Currently Reading:</strong> <em>The Man In The High Castle</em> by Philip K. Dick<div><br /></div><div>When WAS the last time I blogged? Mid-December? Wow, that's a VERY long time between posts. That's less than once a month. I guess the main problem is Facebook. Yeah, let's blame Facebook for this one. Why not? Though to be honest, I haven't really posted all that much on Facebook either.</div><div><br /></div><div>I left off right before the big move to Nashville. I remember posting about the HUGE Great Dane that came in for a bath. I'm pretty sure I posted a picture or two of our new apartment complex from when CC and I visited it. This was all before Christmas of course.</div><div><br /></div><div>No Christmas decorations or lights to photograph this year. Left them all in the bat cave, packed up and ready for the bit trip. Didn't make any sense to drag it all out for 2 days. That's right, we moved here right after Christmas. Spent New Years Eve sleeping here in our apartment in Nashville.</div><div><br /></div><div>And what have I done SINCE then?</div><div><br /></div><div>Let's see, first two weeks were spent unpacking. You'll no doubt recall seeing Facebook messages of mine bitching about the unpacking and how many boxes we had. Those are pretty much finished now. I did a little box juggling this morning and we now have the patio cleared off and ready for use if we ever thaw out. There are still a few rough spots though. We've got a clutter accumulation in the dining area and another in the bedroom. Once we untangle those we'll be all set and we'll take pictures.</div><div><br /></div><div>I also got another job. This one came up VERY fast. I did my usual mass mailing and, I'm not kidding about this, 24 hours after I dropped them into the mailbox, I had a job. Apparently the post office here in Franklin processed the mail the day I sent it and since it was all local, a decent number of those letters were delivered the next day. A call was made. An interview was set up. And the next thing I know I'm the groomer at Noah's Ark Animal Hospital and Suites. </div><div><br /></div><div>Now, this new clinic I'm working at, they haven't had grooming for a few years so things are starting off slow. Plus, you have to factor in that this is the slowest period in these parts for dog grooming. Most people who have dogs needing grooming had them done right before Christmas. And since it's now rather cold, they aren't looking to have their little angels shaved short. What I DO get a lot of are owners wanting a medium or long cut or they need matting removed. Doggie plus wet grass plus sweater equals nasty tummy matting.</div><div><br /></div><div>And so there you go. CC and I have spent a relatively uneventful month unpacking things, putting things away and working. We really do like it up here. Less stressful for certain. We're about a mile or two from a very large mall so we have access to all of the major chain stores and restaurants. In fact, within a 10 minute drive from our apartment I have FOUR large bookstores. Seriously. There are two Borders stores, A Barnes & Noble, and another store that sells half-priced books. </div><div><br /></div><div>It's funny, CC's birthday is coming up and I'm now facing a similar problem from our Memphis days: Where to take CC for her birthday to eat. The problem in Memphis was that we only had a handful of places to pick from. Now it's the opposite. We've got SO many places to pick from, and we're talking just in the neighborhood, that I'm not sure where we'll go yet. </div><div><br /></div><div>It's certainly much colder up here and less humid. There's a large winter storm heading for us tonight/tomorrow which may shut things down all day. Supposed to snow too. Could get as much as 6 inches in fact. That would make it our SECOND snow of the year so far and we haven't been here a month yet.</div><div><br /></div><div>All in all, we're happy here in Nashville :-)</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214672.post-61886338346471609582009-12-16T21:24:00.005-06:002009-12-16T21:40:03.524-06:00Gifts for Geeks<strong>Currently Reading:</strong> <i>The Stupidest Angel</i> by Christopher Moore<div><br /></div><div>So, you've done most of your Christmas shopping but you've still got a few people left to buy for. Worse, at least ONE person left on the list is a geek. What on EARTH do you buy a geek for Christmas without breaking the bank? Well, here's a hint:</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#0000EE;"><br /></span></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/SymlV41_KLI/AAAAAAAAAu8/rWKJBqRu_0Q/s1600-h/soap.gif"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 192px; height: 200px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/SymlV41_KLI/AAAAAAAAAu8/rWKJBqRu_0Q/s200/soap.gif" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5416041822344390834" /></a><br /><div>You may think I'm kidding but, seriously, giving the gift of soap will not only allow you to cross that person's name off your list, it'll ALSO make the world a better place.</div><div><br /></div><div>True story here. This afternoon I stopped off at a comic book store on the way home from work. You see, Marvel has been running a special Captain America series that I've been reading and today was the release of number 5 of 6. </div><div><br /></div><div>So I grab a copy of that and then, because I had the time, I was just browsing the rest of the rack. Wednesday is the day that new comics are released in general, at least for Marvel, so the store is usually fairly crowded.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'd spotted something that looked interesting on one of the bottom racks so I knelt down to have a look. As I'm flipping through the pages to check the quality of the artwork and to see if it's filled with ads, a geek passes by behind me. Then another, and another. At one point, an uber-geek stands next to me, reading a comic from the TOP rack (I hate it when people are too cheap to buy a comic and just stand there and read). Anyway, I'm checking out a few other issues when all the hair in my nose curls up and screams in agony and the only thing I can think of is "Dear GOD what is that smell?!"</div><div><br /></div><div>I manage to wiggle away from the rack (more geeks had taken root to read) and again and again my poor nose is assaulted by this violent REEK coming from these guys. </div><div><br /></div><div>Now, it's not like they were homeless or anything. They all had shoulder bags, weighted down with their laptops. Several had jawbone-style bluetooth headsets on and those aren't exactly cheap either. These guys had money (though they were too cheap to buy a comic -- how lame).</div><div><br /></div><div>And yet . . .</div><div><br /></div><div>SO, if you have a geek on your list and this problem sounds very familiar to you, consider investing in a lovely gift basket of shower gels or bath soaps. Let's try and drop a few hints here on the guys who seem to think it's appropriate to go a week or two or three without showering. Now, I will grant you that coming fresh from work, I often carry along a slight hint of wet dog. But I generally don't go wandering out in public smelling like that and if I DO, I don't stay out long. If people want to smell wet dog, they can visit me at work.</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div><br /></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214672.post-16834250583500536682009-12-15T21:29:00.005-06:002009-12-15T21:40:50.213-06:00My Ten O'Clock<strong>Just Finished Reading:</strong> <em>Snow Falling on Cedars</em> by David Guterson<div><br /></div><div>Ok so there I am, sitting in the grooming room, just minding my own business, playing a little Super Mario Brothers while waiting for my two little doggies to dry when I hear a knock on the door. Tara, the vet assistant, sticks her head in and says in a cheerful voice, "You 10:00 is here." She pushes open the door and THIS walks in . . .</div><div><br /></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/SyhU4q0iy1I/AAAAAAAAAuc/dhoP7Nu5wEQ/s1600-h/ronin2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/SyhU4q0iy1I/AAAAAAAAAuc/dhoP7Nu5wEQ/s320/ronin2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415671884457102162" /></a><br /></div><div>His name is Ronin and in case you were wondering, YES, he really is as big as he looks in that picture. Notice over to the far right, you can see the corner of a counter. That's an exam table. See, Ronin is just a little too big to fit in any of our kennels so he gets a room of his own.</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/SyhVroWZZfI/AAAAAAAAAuk/bPG1s6l08mc/s1600-h/ronin1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 290px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/SyhVroWZZfI/AAAAAAAAAuk/bPG1s6l08mc/s320/ronin1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415672759967114738" /></a></div><div>Of course, he STILL has to go into the tub for his bath, just like all the other dogs that come in. I don't have a room where I can just wash him on the floor. And no, I don't have any sort of automatic lift in there either. Ronin here got into the tub the old-fashioned way. Tara and I lifted him up and put him in.</div><div><br /></div><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/SyhWQ8Fx-6I/AAAAAAAAAus/1Q9yu2tdbd8/s1600-h/ronin3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 298px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/SyhWQ8Fx-6I/AAAAAAAAAus/1Q9yu2tdbd8/s320/ronin3.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5415673400921291682" /></a></div><div>Fortunately great danes are generally laid-back in their approach to life. They're big dogs that KNOW they're big dogs and so they don't have anything to prove. In fact, if he probably could have crawled up into the tub himself if we'd been able to explain to him what we wanted.</div><div><br /></div><div>And you folks thought all I did was shave cute little poodles :-)</div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214672.post-57715343967543917232009-12-06T21:22:00.002-06:002009-12-06T21:40:56.410-06:00Moving On Up<strong>Currently Reading:</strong> <em>Snow Falling on Cedars</em> by David Guterson<div><br /></div><div>As the holiday season winds up, CC and I are winding down the Memphis leg of our adventures. We're scheduled to move out here at the end of the month and start things up again in Nashville. It's certainly been an interesting week or two.</div><div><br /></div><div>CC, poor thing, is swamped with work. I mean actual work not moving work (though there's still plenty of that left too). They're launching all sorts of new things this month and the beginning of next month so everyone is working very hard to get all that ready. And when you add to that our impending move, you can imagine she's feeling a bit stressed out. Even worse, just this week we found out that the apartment we WERE going to get wasn't going to be vacant after all. The current tenants have decided they're going to stay a little longer which sent our leasing agent scrambling to come up with alternative apartments. This, in turn, sent CC scrambling because just this past Monday we sent out a bunch of Christmas cards and change-of-address notices. Now all of that information has to be changed AGAIN to reflect our new address.</div><div><br /></div><div>We went up to Nashville on Saturday to have a look at the apartment. The one we're moving into now IS vacant and almost finished with its make-ready. It's certainly a nice place. We've got new appliances (they still have that "new appliance" smell) and new carpeting and fresh paint. New ceiling fan and light fixtures. They've even replaced the counter tops in the kitchen. The whole thing has been renovated and we're the next tenant. Got to like that.</div><div><br /></div><div>We also have a much nicer view from our patio. In the other apartment we were facing part of the parking lot and part of the grassy courtyard area between the buildings. With this new one, it's all grass and trees and such. Much more relaxing.</div><div><br /></div><div>Our only real trick is going to be finding room for everything. Our new apartment is a little bit smaller than our current one and doesn't have a HUGE closet like we have now (the one I call the Bat Cave). Yes, we do have an extra bedroom, so that helps. We'll use it as our den/office area. But until we get all of our furniture up there and start moving things around, it's hard to say how everything will fit. I think it'll be just fine. This current apartment we're in now has so much wasted space. The rooms are big, which is great but it also means big chunks of empty space we just can't use. It would look pretty funny if we put a bookshelf smack in the middle of the room right? </div><div><br /></div><div>We're making progress on the packing too. Last week I packed up the rest of my books. That leaves mostly just big things. CC and I have to pack all the stuff on/in our desks and we'll need to break down the computers as well. But since we intend to use them up until the move, there's only so much we can do. Same thing with the kitchen and the bedroom. We've pretty much packed all the stuff we DEFINITELY won't be needing before the move. Now it's a matter of boxing up things and not taping them shut in case we have to go dig through them before we leave. About the only time-consuming thing left to pack are the dvds. Lots of movies there that'll need to be boxed up.</div><div><br /></div><div>It's going to be an odd Christmas, that's for sure. Since we're moving between holidays it doesn't make much sense to decorate. Anything we put up will have to come down again immediately after Christmas. And honestly, I don't think stacks of boxes will look nice draped with tinsel. It also makes our Christmas lists odd. Any presents we receive before Christmas will end up going right into packing boxes. That makes it difficult to figure out what to ask for. </div><div><br /></div><div>Like I said before, it's certainly going to be an adventure :-)</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214672.post-63076770783078835352009-11-21T21:48:00.001-06:002009-11-21T21:54:17.760-06:00The Rippingtons<strong>Currently Reading:</strong> <em>Moon Called</em> by Patricia Briggs<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/Swi0t-JagFI/AAAAAAAAApc/IcGndUR7ANw/s1600/P1000657.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; FLOAT: right; CLEAR: both" border="0" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/Swi0t-JagFI/AAAAAAAAApc/IcGndUR7ANw/s160/P1000657.JPG" /></a>Last Friday, the 13th, as I was waiting for my dogs to dry, I was leafing through the entertainment section of the local paper and I came across an article about the jazz group The Rippingtons. They were in town and performing live at a little theater downtown on Beale Street.<br /><br />They don't play what you'd call "classic" jazz, like dixieland or the more bluesey stuff coming out of Chicago. Nor are they big band like Count Bassie. They're modern, small and very good. They're also one of CC's favorite groups so naturally I clipped the article and brought it home with me (the paper was mine anyway so I'm allowed to do that even after I take it to work).<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/Swi0tx1FEcI/AAAAAAAAApU/dAAGOLvUmLo/s1600/P1000637.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 10px 10px 0px 0px; FLOAT: left; CLEAR: both" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/Swi0tx1FEcI/AAAAAAAAApU/dAAGOLvUmLo/s160/P1000637.JPG" /></a>Anyway, CC absolutely wanted to go see them and even though we weren't all that comfortable going down to Beale Street on a Saturday (it can get a little wild there with all the bars), we got tickets and went down and watched the show. It really was a very good show and I say that not being a big fan. It's not that I don't like them or anything like that. I just prefer my jazz to be more heavy with sax and piano or maybe brass instead of guitar and seeing that their lead/founder, Russ Freeman, is a guitar player, well they're pretty heavy with the guitar.<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/Swi0tr6GCHI/AAAAAAAAApM/yLqlLjK_q78/s1600/P1000597.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 10px; FLOAT: right; CLEAR: both" border="0" alt="" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/Swi0tr6GCHI/AAAAAAAAApM/yLqlLjK_q78/s160/P1000597.JPG" /></a>In addition to Russ, they've also got Rico Belled on bass, Dave Karasony on drums, Bill Heller on keyboard and Jeff Kashiwa on sax. I've got shots of them all here though you really can't see Dave behind the drums. Take my word for it though, he's back there and he's awesome! Late into the show they played a number where he got to show off during a solo. He's also really nice too. See, after the show they were out in the lobby signing autographs and selling copies of their latest CD. Makes perfect sense right? Sell the CD in the lobby during the show and get it signed while you're at it. Anyway, they were all sitting at a long table and we were in line. Jeff and Russ are at one end, bass player in the middle, the drummer and keyboard player at the other end. We were having our CD signed as we went by and the drummer just stuck out his hand and introduced himself while we were waiting. Very nice guys.<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/Swi0tUlVw9I/AAAAAAAAApE/zxwYg-6z94Y/s1600/P1000596.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 10px 10px 0px 0px; FLOAT: left; CLEAR: both" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/Swi0tUlVw9I/AAAAAAAAApE/zxwYg-6z94Y/s160/P1000596.JPG" /></a>It was a fairly laid-back crowd. Pretty much what you'd expect for a light jazz group. This isn't the type of music that inspires people to drink a lot of beer and bang their heads in rythm to the music. We had a great time though and I must say I'm more a fan of theirs now that I've seen them live. I especially liked the numbers that featured the sax player more prominently. He's got his own group called The Sax Pack, plus he had copies of HIS latest solo CD so we got that too.<br /><br />So, if you're a jazz lover or if you like easy listening music (this is close enough that you might like it), check out The Rippingtons and Jeff Kashiwa. Very good music there.<div style="clear:both; text-align:RIGHT"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" alt="Posted by Picasa" style="border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214672.post-23504880390174355912009-10-11T18:28:00.004-05:002009-10-11T18:34:44.587-05:00Welcome to the Future!<strong>Currently Reading:</strong> <em>Dance Dance Dance</em> by Haruki Murakami<div><br /></div><div>I was going to save this for the Day 3 post but after seeing it again I just didn't want to wait. When you ride Spaceship Earth at Epcot, at one point they take a picture of you and the person sitting next to you. Later, you're asked a series of questions about how you like to vacation. THEN, after the ride is over, you get to see a "postcard from the future" featuring the two of you. You can have that e-mailed to you so you can save it and share it with everyone. Here's how ours came out:</div><br /><div></div><br /><center><object width="445" height="364"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/G2uf_5pTDH8&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/G2uf_5pTDH8&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="445" height="364"></embed></object></center><br /><div></div><br /><div>Pretty cool right?</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214672.post-23906160250658472422009-10-11T17:21:00.002-05:002009-10-11T17:27:47.994-05:00Disney World Pictures!<strong>Currently Reading:</strong> <em>Dance Dance Dance</em> by Haruki Murakami<div><br /></div><div>I've finally posted the remaining pictures from the Disney World trip! I know, I've fallen behind a bit. Got a little busy at work plus CC and I went to Nashville last weekend for apartment shopping. So now I'm trying to catch up. Ok, here are the links . . .</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/BearAmerica/Day2?feat=directlink">Day 2 - Hollywood Studios</a></div><div><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/BearAmerica/Day3?feat=directlink">Day 3 - Epcot!</a></div><div><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/BearAmerica/Day4?feat=directlink">Day 4 - Animal Kingdom</a></div><div><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/BearAmerica/Day5?feat=directlink">Day 5 - Epcot again!</a></div><div><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/BearAmerica/Day6?feat=directlink">Day 6 - Magic Kingdom again!</a></div><div><br /></div><div>Now, obviously for the second days of Epcot and Magic Kingdom there are fewer photos and I still haven't gotten around to adding descriptions and cleaning things up. At the rate I'm going I may NEVER get around to that. But those are the pictures, sorted by day. I'll try and update the blog entries that go along WITH those pictures as soon as I can.</div><div><br /></div><div>Oh, and make sure you check out CC's blog. She's got more information on our Nashville trip and apartment hunting.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214672.post-27850281954736732502009-09-27T14:08:00.011-05:002009-09-27T15:10:02.519-05:00Disney World: Day 1<strong>Just Finished Reading:</strong> Stalin's Ghost by Martin Cruz Smith<br /><br />And we're back . . . back from a very nice, 6-day vacation in sunny Orlando, Florida at the Disney World Caribbean Beach resort. We had a fabulous time and took lots of pictures. We even managed to bring back almost 10 pounds of Disney magic! (disclaimer: CC insists we didn't bring back 10 pounds of extra stuff, just that we packed stuff from our overnight bags into our checked luggage)<div><br />Now I'm sure you're all anxious to hear about the trip and our many adventures. Were this back in the 60's I'd be setting up the big screen and breaking out the slide projector for our major presentation. Since it's not, you get these blog entries and some pictures I have saved online that you can see in bulk <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/BearAmerica/Day1?feat=directlink">here</a>. There aren't any descriptions on them but I'm pretty sure you can figure out what's going on. (In the background, I'm uploading the pictures now and it may take time for all of them to be visible)<br /><br />We didn't have any trouble with our flight out of Memphis. It was raining here (and in fact kept raining the whole time we were gone) but that only delayed our flight by maybe 15 or 20 minutes. It wasn't anything critical. We were fortunate in that we were once again upgraded to business/first class so when we finally were able to board, we had plenty of leg room and the usual great service in-flight.<br /><br />Orlando has a very strange airport. It's set up a bit like a spider. There's a central hub area where everyone checks in and hands over their luggage and all that, but then you'll probably end up hopping on one of the trams that run to the satellite terminals. That's what happened with us. We arrive and start following the signs and find out we're hopping a train to the main building. Watching the ground from the plane I'm guessing the airport is set up like that because the area is so swampy. Maybe the ground isn't so solid in those spots between terminals.</div><div><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/Sr-4ZkSpIWI/AAAAAAAAAcs/AIpDNBP2IQY/s1600-h/P1000391.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 10px 10px 0px 0px; FLOAT: left; CLEAR: both" border="0" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/Sr-4ZkSpIWI/AAAAAAAAAcs/AIpDNBP2IQY/s160/P1000391.JPG" /></a>We head downstairs to the baggage claim area and find the Disney section. You see, since we stayed at a Disney resort, they took care of everything for us. We checked in at the Disney counter, they took our baggage claim tickets and picked up the luggage for us, then had it delivered to our room so we could go right to the park. That's not what we actually DID, but we could have. Instead, we went to our hotel, checked in, got our room key card/ticket/meal pass and then dumped some of our carry-on stuff at the room. THEN we hit Magic Kingdom!</div><div><br /></div><div>This is my second trip to a Magic Kingdom park and both times have come in the fall when Disney was gearing up for Halloween. As a result, most of my pictures from Disney World look an awful lot like the ones I took at Disney LAND. That's ok though. It's still a great place and we had a wonderful time.</div><div><br /><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/Sr-4Y-bj26I/AAAAAAAAAcc/mw5Km1c8GUU/s160/P1000372.JPG" style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; FLOAT: right; CLEAR: both" border="0" alt="" />Which rides did we see? Well first we had to stop and get a captioning device. They really come in handy. It's a small thing about the size of an iPhone or one of the fancier iPods with the video and stuff in it. In this case, a little infra-red receiver picks up a signal from the ride you're going on and the device displays captions for that ride. In some cases it'll also play amplified audio so you can just plug in your headphones and hear it that way. I used both methods, depending on the ride. Captions weren't very helpful in Hall of Presidents because you missed all the action by reading, so I used the audio in there. On the other hand, with all the background noise in Haunted Mansion, the captions are the better way to go.</div><div><br /><img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/Sr-4YjW49tI/AAAAAAAAAcU/5GM9wuOYQJ8/s160/P1000371.JPG" style="MARGIN: 10px 10px 0px 0px; FLOAT: left; CLEAR: both" border="0" alt="" />Once we got the captioning device, we did pretty much what everyone does when they first hit Main Street in the Magic Kingdom: we went shopping! I purposely did not bring a hat with me on this trip so I could get a Disney World hat and that was mission number 1. Once we did that, we moved on to mission number 2: lunch!</div><div><br />Because we were staying at a Disney Resort hotel and we were staying for more than 5 nights, we got a meal plan for free. With this plan, you get 1 quick service meal (fast food) one sit-down meal (normal restaurant) and one snack for free every day. This comes in handy and can save you a LOT of money, especially if you intend to eat in the park where a bottle of water costs $2.50 and dinners tend to start around $30 a person. So lunch, quick meal. We grabbed a hot dog at Casey's Corner then headed for the rides.</div><div><br /><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/Sr-rynpPbOI/AAAAAAAAAbg/-6g7GA_Lrn8/s720/P1000384.JPG" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 160px;" border="0" alt="" />We hit all of our favorites, including the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean. We also watched the Hall of Presidents show, which they didn't have in L.A. and also It's A Small World. That's right, I actually went on Small World. We skipped it in L.A. (mostly because the line was so long) but there we were, smack in the middle of Fantasyland and no line. In fact, I even managed to grab 5 minutes of video from the ride. You see, you're riding down the middle of all the action. Some things are happening on the left, some on the right so if you want to actually see what's going on on BOTH sides the easiest thing to do is shoot some video and watch it later when you get back to the hotel. What was REALLY funny about the ride was the captioning. You've got all these little kid dolls singing <i>It's a small world after all!</i> OVER and OVER and then every 4th line <i>It's a small, small world!</i> So that's exactly what the captions say. Over and over through the whole thing.</div><div style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;clear: both; ">One of my favorites of the day, and of the trip, was the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor. It's essentially a comedy club type show featuring the guys from Monsters, Inc. Now, before the show, they'll spot people in the audience and put them up on the screen with some funny caption. They picked me out because of the shirt I was wearing and posted me up there with the caption reading "Will buy churros for everyone after the show." Then, the two characters doing the pre-show warm-up on the screen thank me and say that my generosity is greater than my fashion sense. Oh it was great! Lots of laughs and I was happy to be a part of it. I just wish I'd gotten a picture. Ah well.</div><div style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_vBI6tPRDECI/Sr-yd23ovyI/AAAAAAAAAcA/2jzkcIxdzVg/s720/P1000394.JPG" style="float:left; margin:10px 10px 0px 0px; width: 160px; " border="0" alt="" />Dinner that night was the Liberty Tree Tavern. Most definitely our favorite dining the whole trip. It's set up like a colonial tavern which means it pretty much looks like a Steak N Ale but the food was WONDERFUL! It's all you can eat and they bring it to your table for you, not buffet-style. They start you off with a salad and bread, then they bring in the good stuff. You get roast beef, roast turkey and roast pork tenderloin plus mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese and green beans. Oh yeah, we ate good that night. And they will keep bringing plates of meat and bowls of side dishes if you want them to. Great place to eat if you're really hungry. And, of course, you get dessert too. I was WAY too full for that but CC had peach cobbler with the BEST ice cream on top. I had a little of that. Had to help out, of course.</div><div style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;clear: both; ">And that was day 1. After dinner, back to the hotel and sleep. Lots and lots of sleep!</div><div style="text-align: left;clear: both; "><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;clear: both; ">Don't forget to check out the rest of the pictures. You can find them over on Picasa <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/BearAmerica/Day1?feat=directlink">here</a>! And I'll keep adding pictures and blog entries until I'm all done!<br /><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214672.post-61887854978773067542009-09-10T18:12:00.003-05:002009-09-10T18:17:01.998-05:00I'm getting there, just be patient!<strong>Currently Reading:</strong> <em>Stalin's Ghost</em> by Martin Cruz Smith<div><br /></div><div>Yeah, I know, haven't been blogging again. I'll get to it though. Let me just get these other things finished up first.</div><div><br /></div><div>While I'm working on those, check out this cute video . . .</div><br /><br /><div align='center'><a href='http://www.kontraband.com/videos/19396/Pug-Head-Tilt/'>Pug Head Tilt</a><br><div align='center'><embed src="http://www.kontraband.com/show/flvplayer.swf" width="480" height="380" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="width=480&height=360&file=http://208.116.9.205/10/content/19396/450.flv&backcolor=0x000000&frontcolor=0xFFFFFF&lightcolor=0xFF6600&overstretch=true&autostart=false&shuffle=false" /></div><br></embed></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214672.post-7741241845940381232009-06-14T16:57:00.003-05:002009-06-14T17:14:55.801-05:00More Updates!<strong>Currently Reading:</strong> <em>Our Man In Havana</em> by Graham Greene<br /><br />Yes, I know, haven't been blogging regularly like I'm supposed to. I should be blogging every week, at least once, to keep everyone up to date with what's going on. And you know, normally I would but what passes for normal around here changes all the time.<br /><br />End of May, right around Memorial Day, things took an odd turn. The other groomer that works at the clinic decided she'd had enough of working there and was going to quit after Memorial Day. No problem. Then she just up and quit with no warning the week before. Seriously, one week before Memorial Day she comes to the clinic, packs up all her stuff and walks out, leaving them with a full slate of dogs on the schedule, some of which had already arrived. Talk about rude. One semi-frantic phone call later and I'm on the scene taking over.<br /><br />Naturally this put a major kink in my daily routine. I went from being off 2 to 3 days a week to working a full 5-day week just like everyone else. That means less time for chores or errands or blogging. I'm still getting used to it and I've been at it now for 3 weeks. The chores are mostly getting done now and so are the errands but the blogging, that's taking a hit and I don't play Warcraft nearly as often as I used to.<br /><br />So that was event number 1. Number 2 was my endoscopy. I don't remember if I mentioned it but I know I told several people in e-mail and on the phone. I was having a problem with acid reflux and my GP gave me a referral to see a specialist who said we were going to do the scope. Went in and had that done on the first of June. Pretty uneventful actually. CC had read on a web site that most of the discomfort that you feel from the procedure comes BEFORE you actually have it and that's only because you're worried about having it in the first place. Seriously, there was no pain or anything involved. We went over there for the appointment (I had to fast of course). Went into our little curtained off area. I changed into a gown and climbed into bed. After a while they came and got me, wheeled me over to the scoping room. The nurse tech had me roll over onto my side. She put on all the monitoring wires and sticky things and at some point the doctor came in. I remember the ringing in my ears started to go away which means I was starting to lose consciousness. I had just enough time to switch off my hearing aids and BAM. Next thing I know I'm back in the curtained room facing the wall. A little while later, after everything wore off, I got dressed and CC took me home. <br /><br />The results! Well the findings from the procedure that day say they found a mild sliding hiatal hernia and evidence of nonerosive gastritis. Everything else was normal. They took a biopsy of something and we got those results on the 6th. That also came back normal. They put me on some new meds and that was it. Yeah, I know, boring right?<br /><br />So that brings us up to our FINAL update, Citizen Cecille!<br /><br />Yes, it's true, my wife is now an official AMERICAN! On Thursday she had her swearing-in ceremony and that went just fine. I'll skip the details and let her write about that in HER blog. I took lots of pictures so I know she'll share those too.<br /><br />And that brings everything up to date except for ONE little thing. Our fabulous Japanese neighbors from downstairs had to move back to Japan. His company cut back on the number of workers they needed over here from Japan. So Wednesday, they flew back to Osaka. We're going to miss them. They were great neighbors. We gave them a picture book of Memphis so they'll be able to look at that and remember the good stuff. There was a teary scene Tuesday morning when we gave them the book. They didn't really want to move.<br /><br />So now there are THREE apartments vacant in our building. I hope we get more good neighbords. Guess we'll have to wait and see.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10214672.post-68497629378770713482009-06-14T16:42:00.002-05:002009-06-14T16:56:53.342-05:00They Went Through An Awful Lot of Trouble To Kill Winona Ryder<strong>Currently Reading:</strong> <span style="font-style: italic;">Our Man In Havana</span><em></em> by Graham Greene<br /><br />I'm sure we've all seen the new Star Trek film by now so I'm not really worried about giving away any spoilers at this point. If you haven't seen it, you probably have no intention of seeing it anyway right? So no worries there. That being said, here's my take on the film . . .<br /><br />The title says it all. They went through an AWFUL lot of trouble just to kill Winona Ryder. I'm not what you'd call a fan of hers. I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm a Winona HATER but something about that woman just strikes me wrong. On the whole, I can only think of a few movies of hers that I actually liked and in all those cases it had nothing to do with her.<br /><br />So, on with the Trek. Crazy Romulan ends up going back in time to get revenge on Spock. Not a bad premise for a film. Lots of possibilities there. We've got a new Trek family building up here and, as an added bit of genius, an entirely different time-line to mess with they don't have to worry about upsetting the Trekies. <br /><br />In this film, Winona plays Spock's mother. Wouldn't have been my first choice but then who really cares right? I mean, she's not a major character or anything and really only shows up a few times in previous Trek outings to mess with Spock and to remind us that he's half human. So no big deal about the casting. I figured I'd just ignore it. I mean hey, who knows, maybe she'll do ok right? But as the plot progresses, I started to think the writers had it in for her.<br /><br />Ok, Romulan shows up, sticks a big tube into the center of the Vulcan homeworld and starts his machine that creates the mini-black hole in the center of the planet which will make the whole planet implode. Pretty cool actually. Great special effect too. Naturally everyone ON the planet is going to die, including Spock's mom, Winona Ryder. YAY! But wait, a simple, off-camera death isn't good enough. No, they have to send her and several of the Vulcan elders to some secret cave where all these Vulcan relics are being kept.<br /><br />Enter the Enterprise! <insert> Spock and company beam down to the planet in order to save some of these relics so that Vulcan culture can be preserved blah blah blah and wow, what a coincidence, Spock's parents are there. That's just super! Winona is SAVED! Or is she? With the planet imploding around them and things generally going all to hell, they lock onto the coordinates to beam everyone onboard. But wait! What's that happening under Winona's feet? Oh NO! The ledge is collapsing! And . . . wait for it . . . POOF! Winona falls into the gaping chasm thus throwing off the transporting sequence and she dies.<br /><br />So, in order to kill her off, they don't just shoot her with something or blow her up in a building or even a starship. No, they have to implode an entire PLANET just to get rid of her. But they've got an eye on her, lest she sneak out and somehow survive. Taking refuge in a cave, dodging bolders and stuff falling all over the place, I mean they're TRYING to kill her and still, she won't die. But undaunted, they wait until the last minute before the teleport and BAM that's when they get her.<br /><br />Just seems like they went through an awful lot of trouble, that's all I'm saying.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0