I thought this was funny
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Welcome Home Jinx
We came home from Bernie and Linda's wedding in Ohio with a little extra baggage, a 10 month old Australian Shepherd named Jinx. He's a tri-color that stands about 19-20 inches, a few inches taller than Sassy. He's fitting in really well so far. He's VERY energetic and from first look it seems like he's a really good worker. We had him in bed with us on sunday night when we got home and he just slept inbetween us. When the movie was over he went in his kennel and we went to sleep. There wasn't a peep until we got up the next morning. We took everyone for a long walk yesterday, but I think I'm going to have to take up jogging to get some of the energy burnt out of this dog every morning. Check out his album in my galleries.
Viva Mexico!!!
I never put a post up about it, but we had a great time in Mexico. I took a bunch of pictures and posted them in my galleries (link is on the right). We have to thank Aunt Jo for letted us stay with her once again. We went down there with really no plans of doing anything at all, just spending a week without the dogs. On sunday night the resort put together a trip to Coco Bongo. They got us in real quick and we had one of the bars all to ourself. Aunt Jo came with us and I think she had a real good time. Anyone who goes to Cancun should go there at least once.
One of the other highlights of the trip was going out and snorkeling with Whale Sharks. The pictures do not do this experience justice. We started out on a small boat and they took us way out. The water was really rough, it rained off and on and I thought the boat was going to fall apart, but our captain found them and in we went. These things were HUGE. He would pull the boat right up near their path and you would jump in. He said they range from 15 to 20 feet, but some of them were longer than that I thought. They didn't even care that we were there. They just went about their business, feeding on the plankton rich water. I guess we were there for about an hour when we headed back in. It was a really rough trip back, but we made it. We later found out that they closed the harbor later that morning, so it's a good thing we went out as early as we did.
Things were getting pretty rough before we left on Saturday. Hurricane Dean was on it's way and they were beginning to board up the hotel. We had a late flight out so we got to spend the morning and early afternoon in the water. Even though you check out, the hotel keeps your bags locked up for you and they have a place to clean up before you leave. Our flight was at 6pm and we were worried about getting out. The skies were getting pretty dark before we took off. We got out and had a pretty uneventful flight to Detroit. We had to stay overnight because our connecting flight was SUnday morning. The problem was that they had already closed the recheck before we got there, so we had to stay in baggage claim with everything all night and check baggage in the morning. What they forgot to tell us was that we couldn't take the duty-free stuff through security and cary it onto the plane. So here we are with 4 bottles of booze and our bags already on the plane. We had to go back to baggage check and luckily they found a box for us that we could pack the bottles in. We protected them with some laundry we had in a carry on and proceded to the terminal. The coffee stand didn't open for another half-hour. Detroit sucked.
Other than the travel, the trip was great. My heartfelt thanks goes to everyone who watched the kids while we were gone. We couldn't have gone without you. Next year I'll prepare a little earlier. :)
One of the other highlights of the trip was going out and snorkeling with Whale Sharks. The pictures do not do this experience justice. We started out on a small boat and they took us way out. The water was really rough, it rained off and on and I thought the boat was going to fall apart, but our captain found them and in we went. These things were HUGE. He would pull the boat right up near their path and you would jump in. He said they range from 15 to 20 feet, but some of them were longer than that I thought. They didn't even care that we were there. They just went about their business, feeding on the plankton rich water. I guess we were there for about an hour when we headed back in. It was a really rough trip back, but we made it. We later found out that they closed the harbor later that morning, so it's a good thing we went out as early as we did.
Things were getting pretty rough before we left on Saturday. Hurricane Dean was on it's way and they were beginning to board up the hotel. We had a late flight out so we got to spend the morning and early afternoon in the water. Even though you check out, the hotel keeps your bags locked up for you and they have a place to clean up before you leave. Our flight was at 6pm and we were worried about getting out. The skies were getting pretty dark before we took off. We got out and had a pretty uneventful flight to Detroit. We had to stay overnight because our connecting flight was SUnday morning. The problem was that they had already closed the recheck before we got there, so we had to stay in baggage claim with everything all night and check baggage in the morning. What they forgot to tell us was that we couldn't take the duty-free stuff through security and cary it onto the plane. So here we are with 4 bottles of booze and our bags already on the plane. We had to go back to baggage check and luckily they found a box for us that we could pack the bottles in. We protected them with some laundry we had in a carry on and proceded to the terminal. The coffee stand didn't open for another half-hour. Detroit sucked.
Other than the travel, the trip was great. My heartfelt thanks goes to everyone who watched the kids while we were gone. We couldn't have gone without you. Next year I'll prepare a little earlier. :)
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
USDAA NE Regionals and a trip to Roeys
This weekend we stayed at Roey's (my sister) house and attended the 2007 USDAA NE Regional. It went pretty well. The weather really cooperated, it was a little hot on Friday, but we have definitely been stuck in worse. Sassy was the only dog running this weekend. She did pretty well in her regular classes, but on Saturday she didn't make the cut for the Performance Speed Jumping regional qualifier. Sunday was Round 1 of the Performance National Standard regional qualifier. Sassy qualified in that run which meant she moved onto round 2 on Monday. She got a qualifying run there also, but they only take the the top half of all the dogs entered at that height. There were 19 16" dogs entered. Of the 16 that qualified, Sassy was 13th. Since they only took the top 10 qualifiers, she was cut out. There is still another regional in reasonable distance, but we haven't decided if we are going yet. It's not a total loss. Since she qualified on Sunday in round 1 she earned another important point towards her lifetime titles. Roey, Gene (her husband) and Jane (my niece) came to see it on Sunday and Roey took a bunch of pictures. When I get them arranged into an album, I'll post a link.
Staying at Roey's house was great. I haven't seen her, Gene and Jane in a long time and the kids loved visiting with their cousin Argus. It's nice to have an actual house to unwind in after a long day instead of the trailer or a hotel room. Unfortunately Zach (my nephew) was in Michigan visiting with his girlfriends family. Hopefully I'll see him soon. He just graduated High School and is heading to Buffalo in the fall for college. Gene is selling his house just down the block from the house they have (after getting married they decided to stay in Roey's house since it had more room). If you are thinking of moving to Oswego, check it out.
Well, it's july 4th and I used the holiday so I could stay in NY an extra day, so I guess I had better get to work.
Staying at Roey's house was great. I haven't seen her, Gene and Jane in a long time and the kids loved visiting with their cousin Argus. It's nice to have an actual house to unwind in after a long day instead of the trailer or a hotel room. Unfortunately Zach (my nephew) was in Michigan visiting with his girlfriends family. Hopefully I'll see him soon. He just graduated High School and is heading to Buffalo in the fall for college. Gene is selling his house just down the block from the house they have (after getting married they decided to stay in Roey's house since it had more room). If you are thinking of moving to Oswego, check it out.
Well, it's july 4th and I used the holiday so I could stay in NY an extra day, so I guess I had better get to work.
WTF!!!!
WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) -- In a risky move that has already led to political backlash, President George W. Bush has spared the vice president's former chief of staff -- Lewis "Scooter" Libby -- from prison by commuting Libby's 30-month sentence. In a statement, President Bush said, "I respect the jury's verdict. But I have concluded that the prison sentence given to Mr. Libby is excessive."
The disgraced former aide was convicted in March of perjury and obstruction of justice following a probe into the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity. Libby will no longer serve time in prison, but the president did not pardon him, or clear him from paying a fine and serving probation.
For top Democrats, the punishment is too lenient. "This is just the latest example of a White House that holds itself accountable to nobody," said US Senator Charles Schumer, (D) New York. "Not the judges, not the prosecutors."
"What we saw today was elevating cronyism over the rule of law," said US Senator and presidental candidate Hillary Clinton, (D) New York.
The president announced his decision just hours after an appeals court ruled that Libby could not delay his prison term. At his sentencing, the judge lectured him that no one was above the law. But after the president's intervention, critics charged this is an example of the white house taking care of it's own. "How many people are in prison today that would be able to call the president and say 'Hey, I don't think I'm being treated fairly?'" said Joe Cotchett, Valerie Plame's attorney.
But Libby supporters noted his years of public service and pointed to the consequences of a felony conviction as punishment enough, calling the prosecution a witchhunt. Libby's supporters, who raised millions of dollars for his defense fund, immediately renewed a call for a pardon.
"I hope it puts pressure on the president. He's a man of pronounced loyalties and he should have loyalty to Scooter Libby," said former Ambassador Richard Carlson, a member of Libby's defense fund. "It would be a travesty for him to go off to prison. The president will take some heat for it. So what? He takes heat for everything."
Nobody was charged with leaking Plame's identity but Libby was convicted of lying about his conversations with reporters regarding the outed operative.
Like Libby's trial judge, two of the three judges who ruled against him Monday were Republican nominees.
Updated by KO
The Associated Press and CBS News contributed to this report.
The disgraced former aide was convicted in March of perjury and obstruction of justice following a probe into the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity. Libby will no longer serve time in prison, but the president did not pardon him, or clear him from paying a fine and serving probation.
For top Democrats, the punishment is too lenient. "This is just the latest example of a White House that holds itself accountable to nobody," said US Senator Charles Schumer, (D) New York. "Not the judges, not the prosecutors."
"What we saw today was elevating cronyism over the rule of law," said US Senator and presidental candidate Hillary Clinton, (D) New York.
The president announced his decision just hours after an appeals court ruled that Libby could not delay his prison term. At his sentencing, the judge lectured him that no one was above the law. But after the president's intervention, critics charged this is an example of the white house taking care of it's own. "How many people are in prison today that would be able to call the president and say 'Hey, I don't think I'm being treated fairly?'" said Joe Cotchett, Valerie Plame's attorney.
But Libby supporters noted his years of public service and pointed to the consequences of a felony conviction as punishment enough, calling the prosecution a witchhunt. Libby's supporters, who raised millions of dollars for his defense fund, immediately renewed a call for a pardon.
"I hope it puts pressure on the president. He's a man of pronounced loyalties and he should have loyalty to Scooter Libby," said former Ambassador Richard Carlson, a member of Libby's defense fund. "It would be a travesty for him to go off to prison. The president will take some heat for it. So what? He takes heat for everything."
Nobody was charged with leaking Plame's identity but Libby was convicted of lying about his conversations with reporters regarding the outed operative.
Like Libby's trial judge, two of the three judges who ruled against him Monday were Republican nominees.
Updated by KO
The Associated Press and CBS News contributed to this report.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
An oldie, but a goodie
Hey, remember this. Believe it or not this is the first thing I ever bought with my own money. I had just gotten a job at Burger King in Fort Lee when I was 16 (21 years ago) and I bought this guy used in a nearby Bike Shop. I brought it here to work, because I thought it would get more use. So far it's been true.
What a shame
I read this morning that Cindy Sheehan gave up the fight against the war in Iraq, proclaiming that her son had died for nothing. I agree with her. I can't understand what we are still doing there. Personally, even the threat of Weapons of Mass Destruction doesn't give us the right to invade someone else's country. What makes us so great that we can have them and no one else can? Well, not no one, but you know what I mean. Maybe if we kept our noses out of everyone else's business we wouldn't have so many people hating us. I really don't think that the people of the world who hate the United States, hate us for our blue jeans and overeating. I think they hate the hypocrisy of our leaders and our policies toward everyone else but ourselves. We have our highest officials breaking laws and lying to fulfill their own agendas.
I think the American people made a huge statement on Election day last year, and neither side has listened. I think America needs to start worrying about it's own and stop being the holier than now state that is getting us into trouble in every corner of the globe.
Just my 2 cents
I think the American people made a huge statement on Election day last year, and neither side has listened. I think America needs to start worrying about it's own and stop being the holier than now state that is getting us into trouble in every corner of the globe.
Just my 2 cents
Monday, May 21, 2007
One step closer..
It was a pretty good weekend. A little windy abut the sun was out for most of the weekend. We were in Millersville, MD at the Artful Dodgers USDAA agility trial. Sassy and Tracey had a really good weekend, with two highlights worth mentioning. First, after 19 tries they finally got their third qualifier for Performance II Gamblers. Now they are in all Performance III classes. The other good news was that they got a qualifier for the Perfomance National Standard. This means that they qualify to go to a Regional competition and try to get a qualifier into the Nationals in Arizona this November. It didn't come easy, of course. We had to wait around for about 3 hours for Sassy's turn. A lot of dogs usually run in this class and she was near the end. They ran first thing in the morning, so Tracey took off her cleats and put her sneakers back on. When they ran, the course was 4 jumps into a curved tunnel. As Sassy went into the tunnel, Tracey put on the brakes in order to pick her up at the other end. Tracey slid and her feet went up in the air. She landed flat on her ass, but was able to scramble up before Sassy came out of the tunnel. Luckily it went down like this. Sassy can get very weirded out by something like that, and she didn't even notice. Tracey was careful, but finished the run just fine, and Sassy made it to the end with 3 seconds to spare. Thank God, the next qualifier would have been 5 hours away.
Unfortunately, Princess' weekend wasn't as good. She has been running really slow and can't make time in USDAA. She does fine when she runs NADAQ (another agility organization), vut USDAA is just too fast for her. I guess it's probably retirement time for the old lady. She is 9 this year.
Gotta go
Steve
Unfortunately, Princess' weekend wasn't as good. She has been running really slow and can't make time in USDAA. She does fine when she runs NADAQ (another agility organization), vut USDAA is just too fast for her. I guess it's probably retirement time for the old lady. She is 9 this year.
Gotta go
Steve
Thursday, May 10, 2007
This weekend in Manassas, VA
It was a weird weekend. We went to a flyball tournament in Manassas, VA. We got terrible news on saturday morning. Renee, the captain of our one team, got into a terrible accident on the way to the tournament. She was coming off of 81 and getting onto 66, when something happened that caused her to go off the road. The van rolled 4 times. She had something like 10 dogs in there with her, but amazingly no one was terribly hurt. She had to climb out the window to get herself out, but could not get any doors open to check on the dogs. A couple of truckers were able to stop and help her out. They called for help and the cops and firemen were able to get the dogs out. They also called Dee who was already at the tournament. They were taking Renee to the hospital and putting the dogs up at the shelter. Dee left the tournament to go get the dogs and bring them and Renee home. We don't have any pictures of the van, but from what I hear it was completely totaled and it's amazing that they all walked away.
Unfortunately, Luke didn't get to run on saturday, but Dee returned on Sunday and they were able to run. They didn't do very well, but they did have a lot of fun.
Unfortunately, Luke didn't get to run on saturday, but Dee returned on Sunday and they were able to run. They didn't do very well, but they did have a lot of fun.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Hi there
There's nothing more depressing than an empty blog, so here we go. I don't find myself with a lot of time, but I come across interesting stuff now and again so maybe I can organize it all here. We'll see how it goes.
No better place to start than with what's been going on lately. Nothing much has changed. Still in the same old house doing the same old job. I've started taking vanpool out of Frederick and carpooling there with a woman who lives near me. SHe just sold her house, so I am on my own at the end of may, but at least it is getting warm enough to ride down there. The big thing is someone else gets to drive through the hell that is Route I-270. It's more comfortable than the bus, cheaper and the people are all from NIST so I get dropped off at my building. That has made my life much less stressful, which is good as you will hear in the next paragraph.
This winter was really tough on me. I've been trying to feed my depression and it finally caught up with me. I finally got my blood work done and my cholesterol was REALLY high. The doctor didn't put me on medication yet, but he has given me 3 months to clean my act up. For the past two weeks, I've changed my diet and have been making time to walk and exercise here at work. I've dropped a few pounds and feel much better, so don't worry I'm pretty optimistic. It was really hard at first. Quitting the McDonalds was harder than quitting smoking in my opinion, but much like it after the initial detox it's not so bad.
That's it for now. Gotta get back to work.
No better place to start than with what's been going on lately. Nothing much has changed. Still in the same old house doing the same old job. I've started taking vanpool out of Frederick and carpooling there with a woman who lives near me. SHe just sold her house, so I am on my own at the end of may, but at least it is getting warm enough to ride down there. The big thing is someone else gets to drive through the hell that is Route I-270. It's more comfortable than the bus, cheaper and the people are all from NIST so I get dropped off at my building. That has made my life much less stressful, which is good as you will hear in the next paragraph.
This winter was really tough on me. I've been trying to feed my depression and it finally caught up with me. I finally got my blood work done and my cholesterol was REALLY high. The doctor didn't put me on medication yet, but he has given me 3 months to clean my act up. For the past two weeks, I've changed my diet and have been making time to walk and exercise here at work. I've dropped a few pounds and feel much better, so don't worry I'm pretty optimistic. It was really hard at first. Quitting the McDonalds was harder than quitting smoking in my opinion, but much like it after the initial detox it's not so bad.
That's it for now. Gotta get back to work.
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