Lucy: 8 Weeks

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I’m only a few hours from the end of my Weekend Alone with an Eight Week Old Puppy. I think it’s gone very well and Lucy and Ripley have expressed no opinion on the subject. Ripley is getting more comfortable with the pup every day. They both want to play but need a little more time to get there.

And for those that need one more Life Lesson: Life is like our big back yard/woods. Dog shit everywhere. You know it’s there and you do you best not to step in it… but you do. And you will again. Just clean off your shoe and keep going.

Odometer of Life

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The photograph was –I believe– taken on my fifth birthday. John bought the cake at the annual Rotary Radio Auction. I’m guessing it was created by Causbie’s Bakery and intended for a wedding. But it made a hell of birthday cake. This image captures the essence of the 50’s for me. Ward, June and the Beaver. Seemed fitting for tomorrow’s 56th birthday. Christ, (sorry, Mel) how is it possible I have a photograph of myself that’s more than half a century old?

Lesson learned during the past year? It’s a good thing to count your blessings but you can’t use the math you learned as a child. I have all of these wonderful birthday presents, so if I break or lose one, it’s okay because I have so many more. One would think. Unfortunately, you might have one hundred items in the Blessings column and just one in the Other column…and find you are overdrawn in your Life Book. One drop of pain can be so concentrated, it needs an ocean of Good Things to dilute it. And it never goes away entirely. How did I miss this awful truth?

SoundCover phone app

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“Did you wake up late for work and you want your boss to think you’re caught in traffic? Select the Traffic Jam background and give him a call from your bedroom. He will hear your voice on top of (traffic sfx). Is one of your mates a chronic talker that just doesn’t know when to stop? Use the Phone Ring background and your friend will hear a phone ring 6 times, 15 seconds into the call. Tell him that your other phone is ringing and that you have to go. Pretend you’re at the dentist, in the park, on the street, caught in a thunderstorm, near heavy machinery or at a circus parade.”

St. Louis Traffic and Weather.

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I finally got around to listening to the new “local weather & traffic” channels on XM Radio. Twenty-one cities to start, including St. Louis. I can’t speak to the accuracy of the content but it sounded like most other weather and traffic reports to me. For that matter, I have no way of knowing –without being in it every day– the accuracy of such reports on local stations. I did like the continuous feeds. If I didn’t want to wait 10 minutes for the next report on KMOX, I could punch up XM 218 and get it almost immediately.

Body by Traci

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With birthday #56 looming, I’m proud to report that I have never been in better physical condition. Ever. As a child, I wasn’t this fit. And I owe it all to very nice lady named Traci Booth. Yes, I have a personal trainer. I started working out with Traci more than two years ago. It’s my one great extravagance. No way I’d keep at this without our weekly sessions. If you have trouble sticking with an exercise program, here’s your answer.

CNN to stream live on mobile phones.

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“CNN International is going to be streamed live on mobile phones in Austria starting in March. This is the first streaming mobile deal for CNN; other channels such as CNBC have been experimenting with streaming video clips.” CyberJournalist.net has some links and sample audio. Is this sort of “radio” that I can get anywhere, anytime I want?

NYTimes editorial on Google

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What Google also reflects is our changing sense of the dynamism of the Web. Nothing captures how statically we used to see the Internet as well as “information highway,” an old phrase that embodies pure linearity and the smell of asphalt. That stasis is also captured in the increasingly outmoded notion of an Internet portal like AOL, much of whose dynamism comes from offering a Google search bar. The fact is that many of us have grown comfortable within the amorphousness of the Web. We no longer need a breakwater like AOL when a good search engine promises to make the sea itself our home.

— NY Times editorial

Lucy: 7 Weeks

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House-training a new puppy builds character. Like computers, this experience teaches patience. While Lucy is not fully house-broken, she’s well on the way. Sleeping through the night tolerated by Ripley (our other Golden). Next weekend I solo when Barb goes on firm retreat.

I don’t like kids

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I don’t like kids. There. I said it. Some people don’t like dogs or cats… I don’t like kids. No need to get into all the reasons because it doesn’t matter. This is a very socially unacceptable view but I suspect there are others who secretly share it. People with children must pretend they like your children so you will feel obligated to pretend you like theirs. As you might have guessed, I don’t have children. And, I have been told countless times: “If you had children of your own, you’d feel differently.” I think that’s probably true.

I have this theory that all parents undergo a molecular change the moment their children are born. This change in brain chemistry is what keeps them from murdering the little darlings in the first few months. Yes, I know I was a child once. That only supports my position. I’m willing to admit this is a serious flaw in my character and I’ll work on it. And you can help me. When little Brad is screaming at the top of his lungs in the restaurant, take him outside. Or home. Don’t bring Tiffanie to the Lord of the Rings unless she’s old enough or well behaved enough to watch it quietly. If not, spring for a baby-sitter.

I’m happy to pay property taxes to help educate America’s children. Your job is to try to keep them from turning into drug dealers, priests, politicians and other dangerous adults. If you succeed in rearing a decent human being, send them around. I’d love to meet them.