Rottweilers Ate My Laptop

A new learning opportunity for the dogs… and me

kathi — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 04:56:41 +0000

I’ve had very mixed results in my attempts at independent distance learning over the years. Most of those attempts were independent study projects, some for school and some not, and those were the ones that didn’t go very well. I’m not disciplined enough nor organized enough to keep things moving on a realistic schedule. I have a tendency to push things off until there is major deadline pressure, and then the results aren’t of the highest quality. I need to find something to motivate me that doesn’t involve being under the gun, but I’ve had this problem for so long I think a physical reaction to the adrenaline rush might be involved. Sort of like my caffeine headaches. Yeah, I know I should cut back on caffeine, too.

I’m giving distance learning another shot, though. I’ve enrolled in Susan Garrett’s online course “The Five Minute Formula to a Brilliant Recall.” During the years that I was a listowner and forum moderator for dog-related discussion venues, I probably made hundreds of posts saying something like “you cannot train a dog over the internet.” While I still believe that there are many training situations and behavior problems where you need to see the dog and owner in person to be of real help, I now believe that there are other training situations where the internet can help a great deal. I am about to find out if this is one of them.

Many of us use books and videos as part of our dog training education, and I can already see one benefit of an online course over books and videos: interaction with the course giver. Although this course doesn’t officially start until Saturday, there have been a few “bonus” lessons to start us off. Participants can post questions in response to each lesson, and Ms. Garrett and other trainers on her staff will answer, and other course participants can share their thoughts as well. So far, questions from other participants and the trainers’ and other participants’ answers have been very helpful to me. In fact, I have not posted my own questions yet, as someone had already asked them by the time I got there!

I’m looking forward to completing this course. I will consider it successful even if I don’t get perfect recalls from both dogs, as long as they both show progress and improvement from where they are now.

(NaBloPoMo | July ’10: 29 of 31)

A new learning opportunity for the dogs… and me is a post from: Rottweilers Ate My Laptop
Copyright © 2008-2010 K. Wilson except where otherwise noted. All rights reserved.

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the petties 2010: DogTime’s Pet Blog Awards

kathi — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 04:19:52 +0000

I’m not sure whether Rottweilers Ate My Laptop is even eligible, since content here often wanders away from dog, cat, and other pet topics. I would still love and appreciate a petties blog award nomination.

Seriously, though? So many great pet blogs out there to nominate. And you wouldn’t have to question their eligibility. Scroll down a bit, or hit a recent Saturday on the calendar to the right, and you will find a whole bunch of links to pet blogs that definitely deserve nominations.

If you think so, too, head over to DogTime’s site and nominate your favorite pet blog:

the petties 2010 | DogTime – DogTime’s Pet Blog Awards

Nominations close on Friday, July 30 and voting for the finalists will begin on August 2.

(NaBloPoMo | July ’10: 28 of 31)

the petties 2010: DogTime’s Pet Blog Awards is a post from: Rottweilers Ate My Laptop
Copyright © 2008-2010 K. Wilson except where otherwise noted. All rights reserved.

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Gonna be a long thirtysomething days…

kathi — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 03:56:35 +0000

“Why in the hell are you doing this?”

“Because we’re the good guys.”

Oh, yeah.

Sons of Anarchy is back for Season 3 on September 7. Can’t wait.

(NaBloPoMo | July ’10: 27 of 31)

Gonna be a long thirtysomething days… is a post from: Rottweilers Ate My Laptop
Copyright © 2008-2010 K. Wilson except where otherwise noted. All rights reserved.

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Colors that no one knows the name of

kathi — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 04:52:40 +0000

I missed Mad Men last night, so I’ve been avoiding spoilers all day. It was easier than I thought; all I had to do was stick to the Comic Con posts in my feedreader (for those who were wondering if there is any audience overlap between Glee and Sons of Anarchy, that would be… me).

Now, following the Monday night replay, I’m caught up. Instead of writing about what I thought of it (short version: I liked it but sometimes this show sure takes a while to get going), or getting back out there on the ‘net to see what everyone else thought of it, I’m staying stuck in the ’60s and watching Easy Rider. To give you an idea of what I might actually remember about the ’60s, in Mad Men time and place, I’d be a little bit younger than Don’s son, and I was eleven years old when Easy Rider came out.

This song will definitely have a place somewhere in the soundtrack of my life:

And then she’ll know the things I learned that really have no value
In the end she will surely know I wasn’t born to follow

The Byrds, Wasn’t Born to Follow (Carole King/Gerry Goffin)

(NaBloPoMo | July ’10: 26 of 31)

Colors that no one knows the name of is a post from: Rottweilers Ate My Laptop
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WellBites conspiracy over?

kathi — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 04:21:13 +0000

They’re back! I can once again buy Wellness WellBites in the Chicken and Venison variety at the Pet Supplies Plus closest to the house!

As you may recall, I was convinced there was a conspiracy to keep that flavor, the favorite one to both Freya and Axel, out of my hands. Or at least force me to drive a few miles farther to buy it. Why, I don’t know. I didn’t think we were that important in the big picture of conspiracies.

I never did find out why they were not being stocked in my neighborhood store for the last several months. Freya and Axel do like the other flavor varieties, but the Chicken & Venison is a clear favorite. So I’m glad to see them back, whatever the reason!

(NaBloPoMo | July ’10: 25 of 31)

WellBites conspiracy over? is a post from: Rottweilers Ate My Laptop
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You can never have too much kittyweiler

kathi — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 12:59:17 +0000

I’m happy to report that kittyweiler Oliver is now moving about more freely when outside on his leash. We even caught him almost running:

He still has his moments of lesser motion, but he’s now putting them to good use and helping Axel guard the front gate:

(NaBloPoMo | July ’10: 24 of 31)

You can never have too much kittyweiler is a post from: Rottweilers Ate My Laptop
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Saturday Pet Blogger Blog Hop, Week 12

kathi — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 05:09:31 +0000

It’s a rainy Saturday here for Week 12 of the Saturday Pet Blogger Blog Hop! Brought to you once again by co-hosts Life With Dogs, Two Little Cavaliers, and Confessions of the Plume.

Saturday Pet Blogger Blog Hop, Week 12 is a post from: Rottweilers Ate My Laptop
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Update: Lora Hunt sentencing

kathi — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 04:53:24 +0000

We all know the wheels of justice turn slowly. Sometimes I wonder if they are really just spinning out and going nowhere.

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know that I’ve been following two court cases for the last year. One was that of Mary Wild and the show dog heat stroke deaths which resulted in a shockingly lenient sentence for Ms. Wild including no jail time, far from the eight years in jail plus $8,000 in fines that could have been imposed.

The other was that of Lora Hunt, who could have been sentenced to five years in jail for reckless homicide in the death of Anita Zaffke. Ms. Hunt is the nail polish killer, who, because she was painting her fingernails while she drove, rear-ended and killed Ms. Zaffke, who was stopped at the light on her motorcycle.

Sentencing was yesterday. And in this case, too, I am saddened and disappointed by another too-lenient sentence. Ms. Hunt received only 18 months of jail time. Not only is this far less than the maximum penalty of five years asked for by the prosecuting attorney, Ms. Hunt is also allowed to leave during the day for work, community service, and counseling. What the hell is that?

Here is a link to news coverage at ChicagoBreakingNews.com: Woman whose nail painting caused fatal crash gets 18 months

I’m also dismayed by some of the public comments on news reports and blog posts about this case. “Ms. Hunt is truly remorseful” and “is also suffering” and “people committing worse crimes on purpose are getting lighter sentences” — these statements may all be true, but none of them are reason not to impose the maximum possible penalty in this case. I truly cannot think of too many things more reckless than painting your freaking fingernails while driving, and if that caused someone’s death, it should be punished with an appropriately long jail term. Then again, these are probably the same people who had no problem with Ms. Wild’s suspended sentence because “it was dogs that died, it was not like she killed people.”

I especially fail to understand the thinking that because we have problems with more serious crimes, lesser ones should not be punished appropriately. I definitely agree that more serious crimes are a problem. I live in a city where three police officers were shot and killed in the last two months, so yes, there are huge problems. Punishing all crimes appropriately should be the issue. And in Ms. Hunt’s case, the maximum penalty allowable would have been most appropriate.

I truly admire Greg Zaffke II and the entire Zaffke family for their grace and class throughout this whole ordeal, and they remain in my thoughts.

(NaBloPoMo | July ’10: 23 of 31)

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Why didn’t I think of this before?

kathi — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 03:39:07 +0000

Apparently one bad commuting day was not enough. This one started off with my car displaying the low tire pressure indicator light. I am happy it did this in the garage, rather than several miles down the road.

There were several contraptions featuring air hoses scattered about the garage, so fortunately my husband was still home to tell me which one to use (note to self: later, ask if we really need that many things with air hoses). The one I needed was tucked out of plain sight, recharging so it would be ready when we needed it:

The air compressor part of this device solved my immediate problem quickly and my commute was saved for the day. But why didn’t I think of having this thing with me on my out-of-town dog show trips? Especially since some of those were during the dead of winter, when low batteries and low tires definitely have a high chance of happening. This is why I am not the person you want to have around in case of a real emergency; I never think of these things!

(NaBloPoMo | July ’10: 22 of 31)

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Update: CLEAR 4G Wireless Internet

kathi — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 04:01:34 +0000

You might have seen where I started a free trial of CLEAR’s 4G Wireless Internet service at the beginning of the Fourth of July weekend, when our Comcast cable internet had some downtime (once again, contrary to the phone support person’s opinion, the problem was not our modem).

I’m happy to report that the two-week trial period of CLEAR’s On-the-Go mobile service went very well. The software installation was quick and super easy on all of the laptops we wanted to test: two running Windows Vista, one running Windows XP, and one running Mac OS X Snow Leopard. We tested service in several locations in the city of Chicago and in a few suburban areas. I can report that signal strength and speed were good in the spots where we would most need to use the service. My husband and I both liked the service enough to keep it, so the service was upgraded to a 2 On-the-Go bundle.

During our trial period, I also took some time to check out comments online from other Chicago area CLEAR users. Most of the negative reviews seemed to be about the home service or weather-related downtime. My only experience with the home service is in the Honolulu market, where my mom has used it for almost three years. When we helped her set it up, modem position in relation to the windows and electronic equipment in the room was very important. We have not personally had those issues with the mobile modems in Chicago. We also had several stormy days during the trial period, and our connectivity did not appear to be affected.

CLEAR’s home service is not yet available at our address, so we will also be keeping Comcast cable internet unless we find a better solution. We will most likely cancel our other wireless internet service as soon as that contract expires.

I also want to mention Marcos, the sales associate I spoke to at CLEAR’s Harlem-Irving Plaza kiosk. He was friendly, professional, and very quick in getting me set up and on my way, both in my initial visit and when I went back to upgrade to the 2 On-the-Go bundle.

So far, I’m a satisfied new CLEAR customer, and also glad that Comcast has given us no problems since the outage I mentioned at the beginning of the post.

I have not received compensation for this review, and neither I nor my husband has any connection to CLEAR except as paying customers. Our CLEAR contract is at the standard rates and promotions offered in the Chicago metro area during July 2010.

(NaBloPoMo | July ’10: 21 of 31)

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