26 November 2008

some dog news

this past weekend went back to typical dog problems again.  i ended up calling the sheriff’s office twice this weekend due to late night dog barkings.  on saturday night, neighbor put dog up.  but they left town for thanksgiving vacation it seems on sunday, and they left doggy free to roam outside all night every night since then.

dog woke me up four times sunday night/monday morning.  i put a call into animal control again monday afternoon.  this would be the fourth call to them.  i reported the address and the problem again.  then later that afternoon i got a call back from them.  they wanted some more information about the dog and its barking behavior.  as it turns out, they came by on monday but didn’t see the dog.  since it was raining, abby usually stays indoors and rarely wanders out.  since she barks at night, it’s also possible she was napping for her big night life.  they recognized her to be a night time barker.

i asked them what was next.  they had left a note on the neighbor’s door requiring the owner to call them upon receiving it.  they would discuss the complaints with the the owner and suggest the use of a shock collar.  they would monitor that progress and go from there.  worst case scenario for owner is a citation, which looks like it might cost the neighbor over $100.00 for the noise problem.  that might get his attention to addressing this problem.  (shock collars cost from $25.00 up to $150.00 depending on model.)  they will have a nice surprise when they get back from their holiday vacation time.

i have some hope now that my neighbor will be motivated to action.  i thought getting the sheriff involved to begin with would be enough.  it amazes me that it would not make a difference.  i know if i had a neighbor complaining about a dog i owned, it would be enough to deal with it just from that encounter.  law officers would only scare me more.  doesn’t seem to have made a dent in my neighbor.  as my family has expressed, we just don’t get it.

14 November 2008

quantum of nasa



just got through seeing the latest bond movie.  i like how they are producing these films.  less cheese, less comic book, more action, more character development.  as long as they don’t end up back how they were making the movies before, it will continue to be good stuff.

after bond, i went to stir fry cafĂ© for some sushi and to do a little christmas shopping.  and after that, i’m headed home to put up the christmas tree and watch the shuttle endeavour launch.

and that is how my half day off ends up.

10 November 2008

two week goal

ok, i’m well into november, and i have zero christmas shopping done.  i like to be done with at least the bulk of it before thanksgiving.  my past goals have wanted it done well before, but i’ve always fallen miserably short.  perhaps it’s not realistic to make this attempt since history shows i can’t achieve it.

nevertheless, i am going to make the attempt again.  for the next two weeks i will endeavor to get as much of if not all of my christmas shopping done.  evenings will be spent on the couch with laptop on lap searching and pricing the gifts for my friends and family.

on a side note, my sis has already put up her christmas tree.  i’ve been tempted pull down the decorations and go to town too, but i’ve always set it up the week of thanksgiving.  now, i wonder if putting it up this early might not capitalize on the work it takes to lug that big, bulky tree-in-a-box out of the attic and assemble it.  i might go ahead and get those gears in motion.  maybe i’ll try it this year.  and next year, i’ll pull it down the day before halloween.  if the stores can do it, why not me, right?