Darn Dog

Ace was a superhero at Halloween. If I made him wear this every day, he wouldn't be able to chew on his bug bites.
(Matt was a good sport about it because I only put the costumes on long enough to take a photo.)

I love my dogs - both of them. However, one of them has a special knack for driving me crazy sometimes.

We had to install a shock fence to keep him from digging in the flower beds after he destroyed hundreds of dollars worth of my plants (c'mon, I can kill them on my own; I don't need any help). We now have to keep the tall trashcan in the kitchen on top of a chair so that he can't get into it every single day. When we took both of the dogs to obedience classes, Ace immediately became the class's "bad kid" because he doesn't get along with other dogs. He whines constantly when he wants something and nudges your hand whenever you stop petting him. He is also a little hyper and a bit of an attention hog.

Well, his recent favorite past time (obsession) has become bee hunting. He stands next to a patch of lamb's ear in the back yard, waiting for them to congregate near the plants. Then he tries to catch him. They sting him. He doesn't care; he tries to bite and catch them in the air anyway.

Since he's extremely OCD, he started chewing and scratching the bites earlier this summer. At first I didn't know what it was until I actually saw him get stung and then tear into a new piece of flesh on his front leg. Because he won't leave them alone, they get bigger and uglier. Simple bee stings should heal within a few days, but it's now been a few weeks.

I've tried everything on this dog to get those wounds to heal: liquid bandage, Benadryl, medical wrap. He's relentless and as a result, he's got some scarring and constant open wounds. He wakes us up in the middle of the night chewing and licking them. Some nights he starts crying as he's scratching them.

I called last week to get an appointment for him to see our vet, but with the holiday, they weren't able to see him until this week. I took him in Tuesday and was prepared to pay an unhappy amount. I was pleasantly surprised when we left though. I got some great advice and Ace got a cortisone shot and some antibiotics for around $46. There's no way that could I get all of that from my doctor at that price!

Now we've just got to use some of the tricks the vet showed me to keep him from chewing until those darn bites can heal. I'd thought about putting a clown cone on him, but the vet said that he wouldn't recommend that method for a dog as "intense" as Ace. He sure would look funny in one though; I think it'd cheer me up after having to deal with his obsessions!

What's Up With

What's the deal with getting inmates to pick up trash on University Drive (on the inbound lanes packed with cars coming into work) during rush hour?!

I don't normally take this road to work, but started a few weeks ago because my normal route is closed due to construction. This means that the road is even more congested than normal. Now, I know Matt always says that we do not have bad traffic (like Dallas and Cleveland did), but it still seemed way too busy to have people picking up trash on the side of the road.

Are they trying to get an inmate run over and then have to settle a big law suit or what?

Speak Spanish

Touchy subject!

I agree that learning new languages is extremely important. I disagree, however, with telling the nation that we should make sure our children learn Spanish after talking about immigration.

Into The Wild

Over the weekend, we watched Into The Wild, the film based on the same-titled book about the adventures and death of Christopher McCandless. Matt read the book a while back and I knew that he would like the movie too.

After graduation from Emory, Christopher decided to give almost all of his life savings to charity and take a cross country trip. When his car broke down, he burned the rest of his money and hitchhiked. He canoed down the Colorado River, all the way into Mexico. He moved all over the Midwest, meeting several eccentric characters along the way and took several short odd jobs to earn enough money to move around. He eventually decided that his ultimate goal was to go to Alaska to hike the Stampede Trail and live off of the land.

He was apparently extremely naive about the Alaskan adventure. He hitchhiked into the area and only had a 22-caliber rifle and rain boots because the guy who dropped him off insisted that he take them (who goes into the wilderness for a long-term stay without a rifle?!). He only took with him ten pounds of rice, some camping supplies, a camera, several boxes of ammunition (I assume given to him by the guy with the gun), and a few books.

He hiked into the wilderness in late April and found an abandoned bus used as a shelter by hikers. By July, he decided to hike out but was trapped in by the rising river water. He died some time in August and was discovered by moose hunters a few weeks later. He weighed less than 70 pounds when he was found.

The movie was less about his death (and starvation) and more about his travels all over the country and the poor relationship that he had with his parents. He was really anti-materialism and just wanted to have an adventure. Christopher got to see and do some really incredible things, but in the end, he died alone on an abandoned bus in the middle of no where because he was naive and stubborn.

I Told You

Matt and I were watching "A Cemetery Special" on APT Sunday evening. It was actually very interesting, and gave a lot of the history of the first American cemeteries, their designs, and identifying characteristics.

Matt was most impressed with the downtown Atlanta cemetery (historic Oakland Cemetery), just a couple of blocks from his brother's house. He told me that he was eating at the restaurant across the street from the cemetery, called Six Feet Under, when the tornado that ripped off the roof of the Georgia Dome during the SEC basketball championship came through the neighborhood this past spring.

But, back to cemeteries. Did you know that America's first "cemetery", Mount Auburn in Boston, was built in 1831? It was the first to use the term cemetery, from the Greek koimeterion for "place of sleep," rather than burial ground. The only U.S. President whose casket is visible is President Garfield, who was shot just a few months after taking office (all of the other presidents are either buried or entombed). Garfield is "buried" in Cleveland, Ohio, at Lake View Cemetery in a monument where his casket is on a raised bed. Atlanta's Oakland Cemetery is the final resting place to almost 3,000 Confederate soldiers. It filled up quickly though; it sold its last burial plots back in 1884. If your family owns one of the unfilled plots, it's worth a LOT of money!

My favorite was this epitaph, found at Key West Cemetery. Apparently B.P. was a bit of a hypochondriac, but it appears she got the last word.

"I TOLD YOU I WAS SICK"

Design a Tote

Over the weekend while we were running errands, Matt asked me what I'd like for my birthday. Now, my birthday is nearly two months away, but it never hurts to start making that list early!

On the list so far are a James Dean watercolor of Toomer's Corner, some cute Chacos, and the ever present staple: a purse. Matt informed me that he is not qualified to (ever) pick out a purse for me on his own. So, I pulled up my favorite purse manufacturer's website to peruse the (much too expensive) non-outlet items.

Then, I saw this. Coach is having a contest where you can submit your own purse design. Winners could win a Coach shopping spree or party, and the grand prize winner will have their actual design manufactured and sold in select stores. (This is where all of the guys can yawn).

I think I would do just about anything for a free Coach, let alone to have my own design. Anyone have any suggestions for my future winning entry?

A Mighty Heart

Our Netflix viewing has been REALLY slow lately, but I enjoyed the movie that we watched last night.

A Mighty Heart is the film based on Mariane Pearl's memoir about the kidnapping and death of her husband, Wall Street Journal reporter, Daniel Pearl.

I thought that Angelina Jolie did a wonderful job and brought the story to life. In fact, Mariane Pearl personally requested that Jolie be cast for the lead role.

The Pearls were both journalists living in Karachi, Pakistan, to cover aspects of the War on Terror when Daniel Pearl set up a meeting to speak with Sheikh Mubarak Ali Gilani. The Sheikh was never in on the meeting and used as a ploy to kidnap Daniel.

The kidnappers were really supporters of Ahmed Saeed Omar Sheikh, who later admitted to masterminding the whole event. They sent emails with photos of Daniel with several demands, including the release of all of the prisoners at Guantanamo and the removal of U.S. presence in Pakistan.

As Mariane sought help from Pakistan's government, there were soon accusations that Daniel was an undercover CIA agent, posing as a journalist, and that he was also working as a spy for India (I didn't know this beforehand, but apparently there are some serious rivalries and deep mistrust between India and Pakistan). These accusations were, of course, completely false, but they still damaged Pakistani public opinion of the Pearls.

Nine days after his kidnapping, Daniel Pearl was killed by his captors outside of Karachi. A video of his brutal murder was sent to Pakistani and American agencies. Three people were arrested after the police traced down the IP address of the computer that sent the ransom e-mail. Omar Sheikh turned himself in and was later sentenced to death; he is appealing his conviction.

Even with several people in custody who admitted their involvement, the Pakistani president, Pervez Musharraf, later wrote in a book that Daniel's murderer was a British MI6 (British Intelligence) agent.

The captors found out that Daniel was Jewish by birth, which I think motivated them even more to kill him instead of holding him for ransom longer.

In the video released by the kidnappers, he says:

"My name is Daniel Pearl. I am a Jewish American from Encino, California USA. I come from, uh, on my father's side the family is Zionist. My father's Jewish, my mother's Jewish, I'm Jewish. My family follows Judaism. We've made numerous family visits to Israel. Back in the town of Bnei Brak there is a street named after my great grandfather Chaim Pearl who is one of the founders of the town."

Daniel's family said that the last statement could not have been known by the kidnappers, and that they believe Daniel used it as a coded message to tell them that he was alright and speaking in his own words.

One of the last scenes in the movie shows Mariane (Jolie) with all of the people who helped her try to find her husband (American journalists, CIA agents, Pakistani police, etc.). She tells them that they did not fail and that the terrorists whole goal is to terrorize them. "I'm not terrorized and you shouldn't be either!"

Do the Chickens Have Large Talons?

Another oldie but a goodie.

Heathermomster recently posted about watching Napoleon Dynamite for the first time. She included this as one of her favorite quotes from the movie:




Here is a kid from the National Spelling Bee a few years back pulling a Napoleon when asked to spell "chinook".

New Job!

I'm starting a new job in about two weeks and am really excited about it!!

If you use my current work email address, you'll have to change over to my permanent gmail account to reach me after the 11th.

One funny story from my interviews last week happened on Friday: I arrived a few minutes early and took the time to run to the restroom beforehand and wash my hands. During my interview, I suddenly realized that my fly had been down the ENTIRE TIME! I was in the room with three other people but tried to scoot close enough to the table to zip it up as inconspicuously as possible. HOW EMBARRASSING!

This, just a week after I was telling my mother-in-law all kinds of stories involving the realization that you're unzipped in public. At least this didn't happen to me:

Ball Girl

An old co-worker sent me this video. It's GREAT!!



Apparently it's just a Gatorade commercial (sorry for the spoiler), but it's still pretty funny.

Airshow Disaster

Here we are, dripping wet and muddy, waiting on word about the air show.

Matt and Wade went to the Airshow on Saturday, spending almost the entire day in the sun while I helped Manda cook and clean. :) Since I missed the show on Saturday, Matt agreed to go back on Sunday so that I could see the Blue Angels.

After church, we grabbed lunch and ran a couple of errands. By the time we got back to the house, I was whipped. I had to talk myself into getting dressed and heading back out into the sun instead of lying down to take a very tempting nap. We lathered up on sunscreen and headed out of the house with the top down. As we were driving up to the air field, one of the aerobatic shows was just beginning to start.

We parked as close to the street side entrance gate as possible (since Matt and Wade were stuck in traffic for a very long time the day before trying to leave), and started our 25 mile hike to the air field. About half way there, we could see a thick rain cloud in the distance. I lamented that I goofed and forgot to grab the umbrella I keep in the car door. Matt said that we probably wouldn't have time to make it to the car before it started raining anyway, so we just accepted the fact that we were about to get soaked.

Matt had to take a few weather classes as part of his Aviation Management degree at Auburn, so he informed me that it looked like it would rain really hard for about ten to fifteen minutes and then be over with. All right. I might as well get ready for it, since I pretty much have no choice in the matter.

It started raining. And boy did it rain. It started out as the nice soft fat drops, then turn into the stinging sideways rain that felt like a million tiny needles on my legs and arms. Matt, being the gentleman that he is, walked upwind from me and shielded me from a good bit of the rain needles.

People were running out towards the parking lot (they must've gotten there early and grabbed some of those parking spots that weren't a 20 minute hike away). Families were huddled under a single umbrella. Matt and I were completely soaked by this point and kind of over the fact that it was raining. A lot of kids were just screaming in fear and wailing at the top of their lungs (which, I have to admit, probably was a pretty traumatic experience for them).

Matt and I couldn't help ourselves and just started laughing. Yep, it's raining! Yep, it's windy! But, there wasn't any thunder and we felt pretty safe. After all, my clothes would eventually dry out when this was all over with.

As we finally got to the gates, the rain started to settle down and the sun came back out almost immediately. We walked through the cargo planes and helicopters (it's much cooler when you take a Black Hawk familiarization course for work and actually get to climb on top of those things!). As we made our way towards the other end of the airfield, ambulances started racing past us. Lots of ambulances, police cars, fire trucks, and even a swat team vehicle pulled onto the run way. We looked over and could see a lot of poles sticking up where tents should be.

We sat around for a while, hoping to see the air show (after all, it was nice and sunny by now). Then a guy came through the crowds yelling, "If you have your party, return to your vehicles!" Matt said that if the show was canceled, we'd leave. Otherwise, we were staying.

We finally got confirmation that there were some serious injuries in the tents when they blew over and that because of that, the show was canceled. :( We started the long hike back to the car.

When we got home that afternoon, we turned on the tv and saw the news reports that a 5 year old child had died in the storm, and 12 other people were injured. Matt told me that it's hard to understand what God's got planned for us sometimes, and this was especially hard to understand.

Right now, I'm just thankful that we only had to deal with a few minutes of stinging rain, and no structures collapsing on us. I sure was wishing we were under one of those tents when the bottom fell out, but am now so glad that we got wet instead.

Wadey Pie is 27 on the 28th

Wild Man Wade is having a birthday today!

Happy Birthday, Mr. Pie.

Good Luck, Amy

Amy's got her LAST EXAMS EVER this morning!

If you know anyone who needs a good marketing/advertising/sales employee, give her a call!

Good luck, Amy Beth. :)

Finally!

The Supreme Court finally made a ruling that was strictly based on the Constitution's original intent... in this case, the (individual's) right to bear arms.

I disagree with a lot of the Court's rulings, mostly because (whether I agree with the end result or not), in my opinion, they're often not founded on the Constitution. The whole purpose of the Supreme Court is to interpret the law and determine whether or not it conflicts with the fundamental rights given to us in our Constitution, not to decide (based on their own personal preference or politics) which laws are allowed to be enforced or not. But, I'm probably preaching to the choir here.

Anyway, it really bothered me that there were/are several places in this country that do not allow you to own a gun in your own home. Or, if you do own one, you have to have prior government approval, register the gun, keep it unloaded and disassembled or locked. In Washington D.C., if you unlocked your own gun in your own home, it instantly became illegal. How can you possibly defend your own home if you're not even allowed to unlock your gun?!

I believe that the Second Amendment gives citizens the right to bear arms - whether they're in the militia or not (this interpretation has been touted recently by some who want us to think that the founding fathers only intended for those in the military/militia to be able to bear arms). I believe there is good evidence to support that the intent of the Second Amendment was to allow individual citizens to protect themselves from intruders, including their own government. When you only allow the people with all of the governmental control the power to arm themselves, the rest of us are at the mercy of our officials.

I also think that some laws restricting citizens who've passed background checks and earned concealed carry permits to carry their guns in certain places have also proved to be deadly. Whenever we write laws restricting gun use by approved citizens, the only people who obey the rules are the law abiding citizens. If someone wants to go on a shooting rampage, do they care if there is a law barring them from carrying a gun on a school campus? No! But, as a result of the law, all of the potential victims are sitting ducks because no one else is able to defend themselves.

I understand that we do need some restrictions - obviously criminals convicted of violent crimes and the seriously mentally ill do not need access to guns, but that doesn't mean that any state or city has the right to use that as an excuse to keep law abiding citizens from exercising their second amendment rights.

I wish I could readily give you all of the current statistics on the number of crimes prevented by armed citizens. I know they are high. I had an economics professor in college who made us chant, "More guns, less crime!"

John Lott, author of a book with that title, said in an interview a few years ago, "For each additional year that a concealed handgun law is in effect the murder rate declines by 3 percent, rape by 2 percent, and robberies by over 2 percent.

"Concealed handgun laws reduce violent crime for two reasons. First, they reduce the number of attempted crimes because criminals are uncertain which potential victims can defend themselves. Second, victims who have guns are in a much better position to defend themselves."

Regardless of the controversy over carrying concealed guns in public, the Supreme Court's decision to uphold every American's right to protect their own home from intrusion is a major victory.

Honk for Anger with High Gas Prices

Did you see this article yesterday? After their mother had to cancel the cable TV (resulting in a loss of their cartoons) because of the higher prices at the pump, two sisters in Salt Lake City decided to do something about it.

They made their own signs on the back of old campaign signs and picketed the rising gas prices. One of the girls' signs read, "All of my mom's monny[sic] goes to the gas tank!"

They got a few honks and waves from supporters. I know these two really can't do anything about the global oil prices, but they sure are cute!

Maybe we should send them to Congress to protest the laws against drilling off of our own coasts (especially since other countries are starting to do it here themselves)!

Daytona

We had a great time on our trip to Daytona, Florida, last week. Matt's uncle, John, and his wife, Cathy, have retired to Daytona from Cincinnati and have a beautiful place right on the beach. It was nice to have no worries for a few days and to just be able to get to know his (our) family better.


This is the view of the river from the guest bedroom that we stayed in. The kitchen, den, and bar all face the beach with gorgeous views of the ocean.


Cathy is a professional hand engraver and engraves several of the Daytona NASCAR trophies. She scored us some free tickets to the museum, complete with a tour of the road track (which was really neat!). Here are Diane, Cathy, Matt, and Michael with one of the trophies that Cathy works on each year.


We're not big NASCAR fans, but I really enjoyed the museum and learning about the history of the sport. Matt was quite impressed with the old Beamers that used to race right on the beach before the super speedway was built.


Michael, Matt, Becca, Diane, John, and Cathy enjoying some fresh seafood. Yum!


John and Cathy have traveled more than anyone else I know. I'm jealous of the trips all over the world that they've been able to take. Here we are with the jade recreation of one of the famous terracotta soldiers that they purchased on their recent trip to China.

Interviews this Week

With my (lack of) singing talent, I could definitely do this.

I hate interviews. I get really nervous on most of them and tend to babble. I stress myself out beforehand wondering if I'm prepared enough, and afterwards as I replay the whole thing over and over while analyzing everything I said.

At least I have one down and only two more (this week anyway) to go.

I need a drink!

Back In Town

Matt and Michael with John and Cathy's jade Chinese warrior.

We got back into town last night from a nice (but not nearly long enough) trip to Daytona Beach Shores to visit Matt's uncle, John.

I'll get photos and stuff up soon.

Blue Angels Next Week

Matt and I are planning to watch the Blue Angels when they come to town. Is anyone else interested??

Matt said that we can find better places to watch it if we don't go to the airfield (I don't know where though... you'll have to ask him if you'd like to join us.)

Peaceful Ambitions?

My dad sent me this earlier this week, but I just hadn't gotten around to posting it yet. It's from a post on National Review.

I know Iran's nuclear ambitions aren't 100% (if at all) peaceful, but I don't really know what the best solution is. I don't, however, think that we can just talk our way through this. I know the U.S. still has nuclear capabilities, but we're also not calling for the complete destruction of the nation of Israel (among others) on a daily basis either.

I think the following sums it all up better than I could, so I'll just post the content and refrain from too much comment.

Khatami aide admits strategy of nuclear deception [Michael Rubin]
The former spokesman of the President Mohammed Khatami’s government (1997-2005) acknowledges in a debate that a goal of the reformism was to lull the West into a false confidence so that Iran could pursue illicit nuclear activities:

Abdollah Ramezanzadeh, Khatami-era government spokesman, on a panel with Mehdi Faza'eli, general secretary of the Muslim Journalist Association: "We did our outmost to prevent the case of Iran being sent to the Security Council, whose judge is the United States.... During the confidence building-era, we entered the nuclear club, and despite the suspension [of uranium enrichment] we imported all the materials needed for our nuclear activities of the country...We were not subjected to sanctions regime during the reform era, but today, even our ophthalmologists are not allowed to import laser products [needed for operations]... If we pursue the right to nuclear energy for bombs, it is clear that the world does not want this, and if we want it for electricity, they say 'you don't have nuclear power plants, what do you want nuclear fuel for?' Just take a look at what the Russians have done to us in the Bushehr nuclear power plant.




With the current speed of enrichment, it will take us 25 years before we reach enrichment self-sufficiency. And who knows where we want to find nuclear fuel? And our reserves are unknown... The solution is to prove to the entire world that we want the power plants for electricity. Afterwards, we can proceed with other activities... The peak of our goal is an honorable life for the people. Do we want to become another North Korea…?




There are only two ways of coming through the current crisis. One is what Khatami did by winning the election of 1997, and the other what [he did] after September 11th, which both guarded the country against war. Today, the solution is to marginalize the Ahmadinejad government from political decision-making in the nuclear energy field, with decisions be taken elsewhere.




As long as we were not subjected to sanctions, and during our negotiations we could import technology. We should have negotiated for so long, and benefited from the atmosphere of negotiations to the extent that we could import all the technology needed. The adversary wanted the negotiations to come to a dead end and initiate a new phase. But we wanted to continue negotiations until the U.S. would be gone from the circle of negotiations. We had one overt policy, which was one of negotiation and confidence building, and a covert policy, which was continuation of the activities...




We consider access to all sciences and technologies of the humankind a necessity, but we also prioritize confidence building. Today, in the field of confidence building, Japan is the most advanced country in the world, but Japan can produce a nuclear bomb in less than a week...We achieved to divide the Europeans from the Americans, but today it has come to a point that the Europeans and the Ameicans have harmonized their policies.

Thanks to former Royal Danish Defence College analyst Ali Alfoneh for finding this story in his scan of the Iranian press and providing a pre-dawn translation.