Sir Walter Baffin

Spring and Summer Walter

2007-06-18T21:02:00.001-05:00

Here are a few pictures of Walter over the last couple of months. First he showed off his boy scout look for us.

Then, he got to be the star at a fashion show for the humane society.

He had his first encounter with an escalator. He's such a good dog!

We've also been playing lots of fetch. Lots and lots of fetch.

He had some fun hanging out with the Sady Monster.

And he is ALWAYS ready to be the handsomest doggie I know!

HAPPY EASTER!!!

2007-04-08T13:00:00.000-05:00

Turtle Creek Ranch

2007-03-06T13:34:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday!!!

This past weekend was Mr. Klink's birthday. I took him to Turtle Creek Ranch for a quiet get-away. These are the pictures from this weekend. Enjoy!

The "cabin" we stayed in was on one end of a renovated pole barn.

This was the main living area . . .

. . . the view from the bedroom doorway.

Some general scenery around the ranch.

The ranch had all sorts of animals around. The horses lived the back and side the pole barn.

The goats lived on the other side of the ranch.

And then there were the pot bellied piggies . . .

Walter tried to make friends with the various animals.
The pigs didn't seem to mind him.

The horses didn't seem to mind either.

Walter was especially brave with the horses when his people were around.

The goats were another story . . .

One in particular didn't appreciate Walter's curiosity and butted him right in the head.

Of course, we made friends with the animals too - we especially liked the horses.

This was "Huck" - one of the resident dogs.

And of course I had to take a bunch of family and Walter pictures to remember the weekend.

The End!!!

Cuddling With Walter

2007-02-19T14:05:00.000-06:00

Walter? Spoiled? I don't think so. ;)

Please Move Over

2007-02-09T15:17:00.000-06:00

I don't have enough room . . .

Happy Gotcha Day Walter!!!

2007-02-07T19:33:00.000-06:00

Wake UP!!!

2007-02-01T12:07:00.000-06:00

Slideshow - FETCH IN THE SNOW!

2007-01-23T21:03:00.000-06:00

View Show | Create Your Own | Playlist

She's Baaaaaack!!!

2007-01-23T20:10:00.000-06:00

The Sady-Lady is back and seems quite happy to be here. Her mom is in the process of moving so Sady's world has been a little chaotic lately. When Sady-Mom gets back from the Bahamas, hopefully they are both well rested and de-stressed.

She's already stealing Walter's toys though . . . "Back off Walter, the ball is mine now!!!"

Snow Dog

2007-01-23T14:11:00.000-06:00

In Another Life . . .

2007-01-16T10:42:00.000-06:00

Winter Walter Adventure

2007-01-16T08:52:00.000-06:00

If you can't tell, Walter loves adventures. And we love taking him on adventures!!! Today was our first trip back to a dog park on Larpentaur and Dale. This was Walter's first dog park ever. There is a pond and "wet land preserve" in the middle of it which makes it a mess in warm weather. Now that everything is frozen, it is safe for Walter Adventures again!

I love this stuff . . .

. . . except when it gets all over my face. *SHAKE*

Wait, who's this little squirt?

(Jasper) - I got a stick!!!

Wha? Wha? I want that!

I got it - its MINE!

It's ALL MINE!!!

OHHHH - a BIGGER Stick!!!

Must . . . eat . . . big . . . stick!!!

The End!

Honk-Shuuuuu

2007-01-08T19:36:00.000-06:00

Shhhhhhhh - Walter is sleeping!!!

Dumb & Dumber . . . & Walter Too!

2007-01-08T19:11:00.000-06:00

I LOVE MY DUCK!!!!

2007-01-04T21:02:00.000-06:00

Walter and his Christmas Presents

2007-01-03T20:57:00.000-06:00

Walter sends a big sloppy "THANK YOU!!!"

Walter Likes to Help

2007-01-02T20:45:00.000-06:00

Walter is a good little helper, he really likes to help Eric tie his shoes:

What Walter Did on His Christmas Vacation

2007-01-02T20:01:00.000-06:00

He was spoiled rotten . . .

He got to explore on a christmas day hike,

and nosed his way into a picture.

He also helped me celebrate my birthday!

He demonstrated his newly perfected door opening skills and helped himself to some cookies and garbage in the garage.

He also played with his new toy,

and even napped with it.

"Can't wait to come back to Wisconsin!!!"

Walter the Mighty Mighty Hunter

2007-01-02T19:36:00.000-06:00

On a trip to South Dakota, we got to see Walter's superior hunting skills . . .

Poor Walter, he had no idea what he was supposed to do. His hunting insticts were further confirmed later at a local dog park.
"HUH? I'm supposed to do what?"

"Oh - the BIRDS. Get the BIRDS!!!"

Things I Like - New Makeup

2006-12-04T16:29:00.000-06:00

I realize that I haven't been very good at posting lately. I haven't had very much motivation to get my camera out to take pictures. When I do get out the camera, they all seem to look like all the pictures I've taken before. Right now I'm waiting for some snow to get the camera out again. Until then, I've decided that I don't necessarily need to have a new picture in order to make a new post.

So - as the title of my post suggests, I got some new make up. I like it - I like it a lot. I have to admit that I feel a little sheepish buying a product that has been advertised on one of my favorite shows. But what can I say? I like "America's Next Top Model" SO much that I must go and buy the products that I advertise. Actually - not really. I needed some new makeup. And I really like it. It is CoverGirl True Blend Whipped Foundation:

I also got some new Aveda makeup. It is very nice. Thanks mom for the cash. :)

A boy and his dog

2006-11-04T18:00:00.000-06:00

Sir Walter, King of the Dog Park!

2006-11-04T17:32:00.000-06:00

And later that night . . . one tired puppy.

A Little Suprise

2006-10-22T10:46:00.000-05:00

Do you see the suprise hiding in the trees?

How about now?

Here is a close-up.

(click on any of the pictures to see a larger version)

Fall Colors

2006-10-21T14:35:00.000-05:00

Most of these pictures were taken at the Minnehaha Falls Dog Park.

Walter and Bear

2006-09-25T09:36:00.000-05:00

Walter had the pleasure of showing his friend Bear around the Minnehaha Falls dog park.

They played and swam and fetched balls.

Bear said it was the best day ever!!!

GO HUSKERS!!!

2006-09-24T09:42:00.000-05:00

Walter is a big husker fan. Can you tell?

Things that Make Walter Sad

2006-09-03T19:56:00.000-05:00

My finger

2006-09-03T19:35:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I cut my finger in the lab. It required 4 stitches. The first picture I took today. The stitches have been out just over a week. The second picture was taken the day I got the stitches. Hope nobody is squeamish - I think its a pretty cool picture.

A Week With a Sady Monster

2006-08-20T12:36:00.000-05:00

My old roommate Sady got to spend the last week with us. We don't think Walter was very happy to share us with this new little monster, but he was a good sport.

The first thing we did with them was take them straight to a dog park.

Sady likes to jump for tennis balls. I think she especially looks like a sea otter in this picture.

On one walk, Sady found a cat hiding under a pine tree:

That cat was NOT happy with Sady.

"Where did that cat go?"

Later during that same walk, Sady got a little too interested in what Walter was sniffing . . .

Yes, she got peed on. Unfortunately, that was not the only time that happened during the week. We secretly think Sady has some sort of sick fetish. We'll let her mom worry about that one . . .

She wasn't very to have her head washed, but she got over it eventually.

Here she's jumping for tennis balls again. I think she strangely resembles a piranha in these two pictures!

They were very good little monsters and even posed for pictures.

I think I really captured Sady's personality in this picture.
SADY: "you want a piece of this? Huh?"

When they were tired, they would *almost* lay close enough to cuddle with each other.

And sometimes they even acted a little silly . . .

WALTER: "Sady, did you fart?"

SADY: "SOMEBODY rub my belly!"

They do make a pretty good looking pair of monsters!

WALTER: "She goes home today?"

Beautiful Wedding . . . Dancing Fools

2006-08-12T16:23:00.000-05:00

Nasses in the Sculpture Garden

2006-08-08T21:20:00.000-05:00

Destroying the Toy

2006-08-08T21:13:00.000-05:00

Fetch . . .

Nibble . . .

Tug.

Rip!

Slurp!

ARMP!!!

PULL!!!!!

POOF!

Walter Monster

Happy Belated Birthday Emily!

2006-08-08T21:09:00.000-05:00

If you can count the candles on the cake - you'll know how old she is!!!

Smile birthday girl!

Apparently I screwed up the pose . . . oh well!

Playing in the Rain

2006-07-25T11:10:00.000-05:00

Yesterday it was pouring rain when we headed home from work. By the time we got to our apartment, we were soaked! So - instead of waiting for it to let up, we took walter out to play in the rain. Sorry, don't have any action shots since I didn't want to get my camera wet - but I do have some cute after shots. And yes, but the time we got back from our walk it had basically stopped raining.

Walter Misses Someone . . .

2006-07-17T08:58:00.000-05:00

Walter and YouTube

2006-07-14T10:24:00.000-05:00

Just trying out this whole YouTube thing. This was Walter fetching at the park this morning. The first one is when we first got there. You can see how excited he is by how he spins circles. He also shows how well he can "sit" and "down". Sorry if the sound is a little off.

4th of July Weekend

2006-07-05T09:57:00.000-05:00

We spent a lot of time at Minnehaha Falls this weekend. These first pictures are of Walter exploring the wooded paths. Of course we had to take some "posed" pictures along the way.

Hey - where did that waterfall come from?

Is this the river? I seem to remember it being a lot wider than this?

Still looking . . .

Yeah - we finally found the water!!! Can we play fetch now?

"Alright, I'm ready . . . you can throw the ball whenever you are ready."

And the creature emerges from the depths of the river . . .

"Playing fetch is the best game EVER!!!"

When we weren't at the dog park, Walter got to lay around the back yard. Here he is very very happy to chew on a part of a knuckle bone.

And here he is being his handsome self resting in the wood chips.

Hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July weekend!

The Door Project

2006-07-05T09:23:00.000-05:00

A while back, we decided that it might be nice to have a door between our kitchen and dining room. We also decided that it might be nice to get an old door and refinish it. That's where this project began. We got an old 5 panel oak door from an old cafe that was being remodeled for $50. It was in pretty rough shape, but we thought it had potential.

So I sanded and varnished and sanded and varnished. Then we had to actually hang the door. If you've ever hung a door before, you know that it isn't as easy as it looks. And let me share a secret with you as well: old doors are even harder to hang - especially this one. However, after several different plans of action, several trips to the hardware store, and some help from a relative with a power planer, we now have a door that is hung AND functional!!!

Walter has Pride

2006-06-28T09:51:00.000-05:00

Walter was the "Kissing Booth" dog at the Humane Society booth at Pride Fest this past weekend. Most people simply donated $1 and gave Walter a big smooch on the top of the head. One of the other volunteers was more brave and "bribed" him with a piece of food.

One of his "customers" got a little too friendly here . . . if you look closely you can barely see one of Walter's paws.

One of the four legged friends at Pride Fest was all decked out for the event. Don't worry, the purple dye is perfectly safe. It's a vegetable based dye called Manic Panic.

Walter did a wonderful job as a Humane Society representative and alumni. He wants to know if anyone out there is "looking for love?"

Father's Day Weekend

2006-06-21T12:30:00.000-05:00

Saturday of father's Day weekend was spent with the dogs. We met Gunther and Oscar at Minnehaha Falls. Walter took a face plant in the sand trying to fetch a ball. He doesn't seem to phased by all the sand.

Gunther and Oscar enjoyed themselves. Didn't snap any pictures of Oscar, but I got a really dirty one of Gunther here. Gunther also likes to swim! We made sure that we had plenty of BIG sticks for him to fetch.

I took this picture just for Molly. Look, Walter is friends with a pug. Well . . . the pug was interested in Walter and he didn't seem to mind the short little friend. This one's name is Pugsley.

Sunday we did work around the house. Walter seemed perfectly content laying around in the backyard with me while I worked on sanding and polyurethaning a door for our kitchen.

WEDDING!

2006-06-20T10:05:00.000-05:00

Wonderful wonderful wedding pictures. These first couple are before the wedding. I'm happy to say that my attempts at being a useful personal attendant were successful! YEAH!!

This is obviously a photo taken during the wedding. I wish I could have gotten one of the entire wedding party. The black and white was stunning.

Some dinner time mug shots . . .

I think we make a rather cute couple - don't you?

No? How about us?

We're almost as cute as these two:

These two are pretty cute too:

Before the night got too crazy, we had to get a group shot of all the MAKECKL ladies. We're a bunch of sexy bitches if I do say so myself.

The Bride says: Quit taking pictures of me and DANCE!!!

So we did.

CONGRATULATIONS JILL AND RYAN!

Picture of Us

2006-06-19T20:51:00.000-05:00

Just in case you guys were wanting to see a picture of us.

Walter in Wisconsin

2006-06-19T19:22:00.000-05:00

On a recent trip to Wisconsin, my mother spoiled Walter with a homemade carrot muffin. Don't worry, those are carob chips on top - not chocolate.

My mother then insisted on having a picture taken with Walter.

And on the way back to St Paul I just had to snap this picture with the giant orange moose. Walter felt the need to cool off in the pond there. He also got dive bombed by a crazy bird when we walked around the lake. Don't worry, no one was hurt. :)

Human Update

2006-06-05T16:55:00.000-05:00

A friend recently pointed out the fact that while she knew LOTS about Sir Walter, she really didn't know much about what was happening with me and my wonderful husband. I have a few minutes of waiting around in the lab currently, so I thought I would try my best at writting in my blog about something other than Walter.

"The Klinks" have been doing very well. If you can't tell by my other posts, our lives do really revolve around our dog. It isn't such a bad thing, and it wouldn't have to if we didn't want it to. But since it does, we are really very boring people who spend lots of time outside throwing tennis balls around. Anyway . . . a typical day for us starts off with a walk with the dog and usually a game of fetch at a near-by park. We still take the city bus to the "U" on most days. We spend the days in our respective labs, usually seeing each other for lunch. Being the boring (cheap) people that we are, we almost ALWAYS bring a lunch with us. We take the city bus back home at the end of the day and repeat our morning routine of taking a walk and playing fetch. The rest of the evening usually involves making dinner, watching TV OR reading, taking Walter out one last time, and going to bed.

We really are that boring. We spent a lot of time this past weekend at Macalester for Klink's 5 year college reunion. My wonderful husband got to see lots of his old friends and spend an evening getting drunk in a dorm. Both saturday and sunday I went home hours before he was done with his partying . . . to take care of the dog of course. I swear I really must be getting old. Midnight is really starting to seem late. Overall it was a good reunion. Klink's friends are very nice people. It always seems a little weird that we are the "white american" couple. He has friends from Ghana, Peru, Bolivia, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia . . . its the freakn united nations when these guys get together. No seriously, it really is. See the guy on the picture above? Kofi Annan? Yeah, he's the uncle of one of Eric's friends.

Anyway, this past weekend we make the trip back to the land of beer and cheese (aka Wisconsin). The 5th of the MAJECKL ladies tied the knot. It was a very beautiful wedding and we had lots of fun. I was the personal attendant and I was determined to be useful. And guess what? I think I was!!! I had a variety of useful items along with me such as a Tide Pen, Advil, water, safety pins, bandaids, tissues and snacks. I'll try posting some pictures as soon as I get my lazy buns around to doing it.

If anyone is curious if/when we'll finally be done with school, we are expecting to be finishing up in ~1 year. That will put us at 5 years in graduate school and we'll both have our PhD's in chemistry. You'll probably need to call us "Dr" at that point - if you forget I'll try not to hold it against you. The two major areas of work for people with PhDs in chemistry are academics (teaching at a college/university) or working in Industry. We are both leaning towards industry. We would like to stay in the midwest, even thought there are exponentially more jobs on both the coasts. Ideally, we would both love to work at 3M in St Paul. We could finally get a house with a yard. We even joke around about getting matching mopeds so we can commute on those in the warmer months.

I'll really try to be better about keeping a few posts more about US and less about Walter. I've been told that I may have lost a reader with the posting of the slideshow below. :( Maybe I can entice her back with fun wedding pictures . . .

Walter's South Dakota Adventure

2006-05-31T09:48:00.000-05:00

Action Shots

2006-05-26T08:33:00.000-05:00

Whisker Whirl

2006-05-24T19:51:00.000-05:00

The Humane Society for Companion Animals hosted a fundraising event this past weekend. We were volunteers. I took lots of pictures.

Family pics:

Some of the honored guests:

The smallest guest . . .

. . . and the biggest . . .

. . . and the cutest couple.

Well, at least he closed the door . . .

2006-05-24T09:06:00.000-05:00

Some of you have expressed concern that Walter's cheese-eating binge may have killed him. I am happy to say that he is definatley still alive and fetching balls. There is, however, a "day two" to his fridge explorations. Thursday morning I decided to go into work late so that I could clean and make sure that Walter gets a few extra bathroom breaks. If you remember, that last time he binged on his food we had poop, poop and more poop . . . while farting. This time actually wasn't that bad. We think the cheese actually helped to firm him up.

Anyway, I spend the next morning cleaning up and making sure that the new appliance latches were still sticking to the fridge. Thinking it might be a good idea to block the fridge as well, I decided to put a chair in front of the fridge.

Well, either Walter is very determined, OR the chair was just too much of temptation for him. He got into the freezer. He tried to munch on ground coffee and flour. The flour made several trips though the apartment before he realized that it wasn't very tasty.

Here is some picture evidence of his escapade.

And some of the comments made by the good people on the craigslist petforum:

Why would you think he had anything to do with that mess? I see right away it's impossible for him to be guilty.
Callilab

How do you know it was walter? Maybe a robber came in and was going to steal everything and when walter when to corner him he threw flour in his face! Walter saved your life and this is the thanks he gets?
MorrisandEttaMOM

He's not guilty! Smart as hell, but not guilty!
Pennys_mom

hmmm...i smell a set up. that face is too sweet to have done all that damage.
crystalsalem

clearly Walter is asking you to challenge his intelligence.
Try putting the flour in tupperware inside a cabinet with a padlock.
Would like pics before and after new strategy please.
karolysgirl

"what!?!?! Meeeee!?!? Now mom I know you think I did all this, but listen. Robbers broke in and in order to disguise myself I put the flour all over me. You should have seen me, I blended right into the wall and when he wasnt looking......well, lets just say he isnt here anymore, is he!??!"-Walter to mommie
platomommy

"I Swear on my undead mothers grave that I didn't do it."
Karma-Meathead

Hahahaha! It's the last one that gets me! What a thorough job, and what an innocent face!
eahamel

What a face!! There is ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY no way that that innocent face created such a mess. I'm goin' with the robber story. ;)
MrsKravitz

damn he's cute! :-) if i came home to that mess and that face i would just laugh :)
nycstray

Hiding the Cheese

2006-05-18T14:13:00.000-05:00

Imagine that you are an 80 lb Labrador retriever. Your name is Walter. You enjoy eating, fetching balls and sticks, being close to your people, and sleeping (in that order). Your people are pretty wonderful, and they do a pretty good job taking care of you.

Since food is very important to you, you take every opportunity to be near your people when food is present. You've realized that you can easily snatch loaves of bread off the counter. Since you've made this wonderful discovery, you've noticed that the bread now lives on the top of the fridge. Drats.

Recently you've become aware of what your people call a "fridge". It is a large white box that makes a constant humming noise. Your people often retrieve wonderful smelling food items from the fridge. Sometimes they give you some, but mostly they don't share. Due to a growing curiosity, you've begun investigating this fridge in your free time. You've figured out that the you can knock the pictures and magnets off of the fridge, but you haven't unraveled the mysteries of how to get INSIDE the fridge.

Then, one fine spring day, you decide to give it another go. You paw and scratch and push your nose into the opening. Joy of all joys - you've gotten it open!!! All the wonderful food just waiting to be eaten!!! *sniff* *sniff* *sniff*

You start by checking out a grey colored carton. Not sure what these white hard ball thingeys are, you decide to try one out. *crack . . . splosh* EGGS!!! Wonderful eggs - wow, even the hard outside part tastes yummy.

*sniff* Is that cheese you smell? Using your superbly honed doggie skills, you remove a drawer from the interior of the fridge. You've hit the jackpot!!! Cheese, cheese, and more cheese. And . . . what's this? . . . bacon and beef jerky? You've now entered doggie nirvana. You immediately eat all of the beef jerky. This is followed by several slices of american cheese. You are so happy that can hardly contain yourself.

Looking around you, you notice that the floor is quite littered with your carnage. Feeling that you want to enjoy eating the rest of you food in a more comfortable setting, you pick up the bacon and make your way into the rest of the apartment. Since the male human that takes care of you is very fond of bacon and sometimes lets you lick the bacon tray, you decide that you will savor this sweet meat on the floor by his side of the bed. You leave the bacon wrapping there hoping that he appreciates the gesture and licks the packaging clean if he wishes.

You journey back into the kitchen and choose the shredded cheese as your next victim. You decide to give it a quick taste, to be sure it hasn't spoiled. As a dog, you do not possess the opposable thumbs needed to open the zip lock bag. However, you find that the thin plastic proves no match for your doggie teeth. YUM! The cheese is still fresh! You decide that the couch will be the perfect place to enjoy this wonderful dairy product. In your heightened state of euphoria, there is little that can stand in your way. The baby gate that normally protects the couch is no match for the Cheese Eating Walter Monster. Quick is a wink, the baby gate is on the floor and you are enjoying the wonderful shredded cheese on the couch. You have conquered the baby gate once again!

In the midst of your cheese eating, you find that you are very thirsty. Stashing the remaining cheese behind a couch cushion (for later), you head back to the kitchen for a drink of water. Your water bowl is empty. You need water. Since Walter Monsters are very resourceful creatures, you decide to see if your newly found kitchen skills will assist you in getting water out of the kitchen sink. You grab a bowl out of the sink and try to turn on the water . . . oops . . . *thunk* . . . too heavy. It fell to the floor. You are not phased by this minor set back. You try again. This time you manage to knock a wisp and a spoon to the floor in your attempt to get a glass. If only you could find a pan, you could use the wisp and spoon to make the remaining eggs into an omelet. Anyway, you succeed in grabbing a glass and . . . oops . . . thunk . . . the glass is on the floor. DOH!

You are about to regroup for a 3rd attempt when something catches your eye. In your egg, bacon, cheese, and jerky eating craziness, you've somehow overlooked a chunk of cheddar in the drawer. Oh what Bliss - CHEDDAR!!!

There is only one place wonderful enough for eating a block of cheddar - your chair on the front porch. The first few bites are amazing. You absolutely love cheese. However, you start to notice a strange sensation. You feel a tightness in your middle section. It is uncomfortable and you are starting to feel like you really have to pee. What is this strange feeling? You try to ignore the new sensation and continue eating your cheese, but somehow you can't eat any more. Oh the humanity!!! You are very confused by this new feeling. You decide to stash this cheese down into the chair cushions so you can enjoy it later after you've had a chance to pee and this weird feeling has gone away.

Not too long after that, your male person comes home. For some strange reason, he doesn't seem very happy with the mess you've left in the kitchen. He must not have found the bacon wrapper you've left for him yet. You still feel wonderful from all the yummy food you've eaten though. All in all, you've had a mighty fine day.

Rule #47: No Sex

2006-05-15T13:31:00.000-05:00

Mexico was fabulous. No, we were not there for two weeks - I just suck at blogging. The weather was beautiful. It was in the 90s all week - mostly sunny with some clouds. The pool was heavenly, the beach was awesome, and the food and drinks were . . . free!

The wedding was beautiful. Hopefully I'll be posting some of my pictures soon. It really seems weird to think that I have a brother (in-law) now. I guess my husband's sister's husband is also my brother in-law . . . but he seems almost too far removed to think of that way.

Walter survived without us for the week. From what we heard, there wasn't anything disasterous that happened while we were gone . . . well, unless you don't count the dog/house sitter getting drunk the first night there and having sex on our bed. That's awesome. Mental note - be sure to put "NO SEX" in the list of rules for future reference.

So, aside from the tan, life is pretty much back to normal.

Hasta Luego!

2006-04-28T14:54:00.000-05:00

Tomorrow morning when you are all are snoozing in your warm cozy beds, we will be making our way to the airport. Our flight leaves at 6:20am. Our final destination is the Iberostar Resort - Paraiso Del Mar. Thursday is my sister's wedding!!! All week is our extended honeymoon.

Backpack

2006-04-27T10:54:00.000-05:00

Walter is the coolest dog ever. Wanna see proof? He has a bran-spankn new backpack! We don't really think he likes it, but I have a feeling that he'll come around. It was actually quite pathetic to see him in the store almost looking embarrassed to have it on. He'll get over it.

Not only does it make him look super-cool, it is also functional. We got two 1L water bladders for each side so he can carry his own water with him when we take him climbing. And for those of you who have never had to lug around several liters of water - it is heavy. On a hot day, Walter could probably drink nearly 2L on a climbing trip all by himself. :) Stay tuned for actual pictures of wearing it while hiking at Redwing!

Walter the Flying Dog!

2006-04-25T16:39:00.000-05:00

Walter LOVES to fetch balls in the water. He has a terrific jump too. Check out the pics below from this past weekend.

(video requires flash 8 or newer)

Poop Poop and More Poop . . . while Farting

2006-04-24T08:49:00.000-05:00

Walter got into his food last week. He at A LOT. And then he pooped a lot. And he farted a lot. I believe the count was 8 poops in just over 24 hours. I got out of bed the first night TWICE thinking that I was going to have to clean up some sort of accident. NOPE - he was just farting. It was awesome.

That was basically the excitement of last week. Before the pooping and farting started, I was warned that there would be poop, poop, and more poop . . . while farting. She was a very very wise woman.

In other news, I am sore. We went to the climbing gym yesterday morning. I think we only did ~4 climbs, but I think we managed to do a good job challenging ourselves. The last route was on some of the natural surface they have in the gym. They have a shallow crack up a corner. We attempted to climb that using only the natural surface. It sucked a lot. Remarkably, it is very much like climbing outdoors. You don't have rainbow colored tape telling you where to put your hands and feet. You don't have the equivalent of a neon flashing sign telling you that if you struggle through this crappy hold, there is a great bommer jug just above. NO . . . if you are anything like me, you find a decent place to hang on, and then you struggle there for ~5 minutes. Occasionally you might find yourself getting ambitious and moving quickly through some semi-crappy holds only to find that there is no light at the end of the tunnel and you've climbed yourself into a very bad place where the only two options are to let go or scramble like mad to find something good to hold onto. It really makes you think AND it really makes you plan ahead.

I have also made a promise to myself that next time a weekend comes along with beautiful weather and nothing to do, we WILL go climbing OUTDOORS by ourselves. We will NOT depend on someone else to help us out. We have the rope, we have the draws, we know how to lead, and we even have a backpacking dog (pictures to come)! I even have picture proof that we've lead there before.

Wanna guess what this route is called?

Frequent Flatulance (very appropriate for this picture)

I also took some pretty sweet pictures of Walter this weekend. I will post them as soon as I stop procrastinating . . . or after we get back from Mexico!

New Friends In Bloomington

2006-04-16T14:10:00.000-05:00

Saturday morning we packed up the pooch and headed down to Bloomington. There we met Gunther, Oscar and Chance . . . along with their owners. Everyone seemed to have a great time.

Chance is the adorable mutt on the left, Gunther is the goofy Dane on the right, and Oscar is the boxer in the back.

Chance, Walter and Oscar . . . *sniff*

Oscar says "pwthppppth"

OHHHH, water and mudd . . . YEAH!!!

As you can see, while the other doggies chase around, Walter only wants to fetch.

Big Dog . . . Big Stick

"I'm a big dog too!!! GAH GAH GAH"

Those are some tired, happy pooches . . .

. . . and tired, happy pooches make for very happy owners!!!

Good Friday Dog Park

2006-04-16T13:39:00.000-05:00

Dog Park? Dog Park? Dog Park?

Walter LOVES that water so much that he pauses for a Dance Break . . .

♫ Shake Shake Shake ♫

♫ Shake Shake Shake ♫

♫ Shake Your Booty, Shake Your Booty♫

After all the excitement of swimming, the only thing left to do is ZOOM around the park . . . not even fallen trees can stand in the way of the WALTERNATOR!!!

ZOOM!

Alright - time to slow it down now for some serious poses.

Those are some good looking beasts . . . if I do say so myself.

Backyard Crazyness

2006-04-16T13:33:00.000-05:00

This is a typical afternoon for us when we get home from work.

Getting the "crazies" out with a good tummy rub.

"OK, thanks guys . . . how about a walk?"

Oliver the Muttly Monster

2006-04-16T13:21:00.000-05:00

Yes, Oliver is a "doodle." Labrador Retriever + Poodle = MUTT . . . or Labradoodle. He's a 1 year old crazy fool. Walter puts up with him. The first time they met we think that Oliver kinda pissed Walter off. This is the 2nd time they were together and they did really well.

Handsome Fellows. By the way, that white line across Walter's forehead is Oliver hair. The Doodle is shedding on the Lab . . . quite ironic if you ask me.

synchronized Goofs

"Uh, Hi-ya . . . uh . . ."

Dog Park

2006-04-12T09:31:00.000-05:00

Walter had an exciting weekend. Friday he got to romp around with Oliver the Labradoodle. (I'll have to add those pictures later). Saturday he got to play with Benson (aka White Devil) and have a short stop at the Uptown dog park. Sunday he had a play date with Sady. We went down to the dog park at Minnehaha Falls. He LOVED it!

Sady: "Come Back Soon!"

Nearly 5 Weeks!

2006-04-04T11:05:00.000-05:00

Alright - so apparently I have nothing interesting to write about except for Walter. He's almost 5 weeks out from the heartworm treatment. YEAH!!! I took some new pictures of walter yesterday. Actually got decent action shots. Don't worry - no cruel clothing on him this time.

Here he is looking all handsome in our backyard.

Close up of Mr Handsome Face.

There is a school field nearby that turns into a informal dog park in the evenings. It is fenced on 3 sides and most of the third side is the school. We took him there last night and he was such a good boy.

"Throw the stick, throw the stick, throw the stick!"

"I'm gunna get it!"

"Gah Gah Gah"

He's Taking Over

2006-03-30T09:34:00.000-06:00

We have an old hand-me-down chair on our front porch. We've been planning on getting rid of it for quite some time now. This porch is very poorly insulated, so the room is VERY cold in the winter. Throughout most of the winter, the french doors to the porch have remained closed. We only really use the room for storage and for the computer. Recently we decided to clean up the room and free the chair from all the layers of crap that was covering it. We got the room looking almost livable. We started making plans to sell the chair and eventually move a recently acquired CL weight bench to that room along with our meager collection of weights.

Since it was so beautiful yesterday, we left the blinds open and opened the doors. Since Walter likes to take over any piece of furniture we don't take efforts to block him from, we decided to just cover the chair with an old sheet and see if he takes any interest in the chair. (Not only has this silly dog decided that its ok to sleep on our bed when we are gone, he's also left evidence of laying on the couch on top of two rolled up rugs). Well - he took the bait. It seems as though this new chair is more favorable than the bed (for the time being at least). The seat was still nice and toasty warm when we got home. The sheet was covered in hair. Later that evening he curled up on the chair when Klink was on the computer.

So . . . since we are HUGE push-overs, the weights and bench might continue to remain in the basement so that our dog has a more comfortable place to sleep during the day. Sheesh - the things we do for our dogs.

Does he look comfortable to you?

How about now?

Random Walter Pictures

2006-03-29T14:05:00.000-06:00

Yes, I've been very bad with my posting lately. So today is catch up day. I didn't realize how many pictures I had that weren't posted. Here is just a random collection of a few cute ones of the Walternator.

Trying out his new red collar.

Pretending to be an angel while he lounges on our bed.

Tired smooshy face.

What a face!

"Pet me, pet me, pet me!"

He's doing really well at home. We tried boarding him at the vet for a few days to combat the housetraining issues. This ended up not being a very good solution. He started stressing out a lot at the vet, barking a whining. He spent 4 days at the vet (monday - thursday). Friday of last week we decided to keep him at home. While he was more whiney and needy than normal, he didn't have any accidents in the house. Over the weekend we were out of the house both days - also with success!!! He's been great all this week and we even put the rugs back down on the floor. We've been increasing the length of our walks. We are basically trying to spend more time with him outside. We're keeping the pace very slow - and if we find that he's breathing a little harder, we stop and rest. The important thing is to keep his heart rate down. We'll have two more weeks of restriction and then we'll be all over the dog parks!!! YEAH!!! Can't wait till Walter can go swimming for the first time.

Park and Fashion Show

2006-03-29T13:57:00.000-06:00

We went to a school playground over the weekend. Walter wasn't too interested, but he sit quite nicely for a photo shoot.

Then I decided to dress him up again. Klink wasn't very happy about it - but he couldn't stop laughing either.

Klink's old Estelline football jersey.

"Rub my butt - will ya?"

"Number #1 Husker Fan"

"Does this sweatshirt make my butt look big?"

A couple of weeks ago he tried being a Gopher fan. We don't think he liked it - just look at his face - he actually looks sad wearing the minnesota sweatshirt!

"Please take it off"

"No really . . . the Gophers suck."

"Maybe if I hide in my kennel no one will see me"

How did you wake up this morning?

2006-03-29T09:17:00.000-06:00

This is how we wake up every morning. Sometimes it is when our alarm goes off . . . usually sometime before the alarm goes off. Walter will put his silly little mug on the edge of the bed and look at you. Sometimes if you are lucky a cold wet nose will poke you in the arm. If you don't pay attention, he'll walk around to the other side of the bed and repeat the efforts. This may continue for several laps around the bed. If you are unfortunate enough to leave the bed, you will likely return to find that a large harry lab has taken your place. This morning he decided that 5:30 would be an appropriate time to wake up. Silly silly Walter Monster.

Kimmi TnT

2006-03-21T08:38:00.000-06:00

A friend of mine sent out an e-mail today. It should be pretty self explanatory. Just thought I would copy her e-mail to my blog just in case it helps her reach more people. She has a personal blog, Captain Cartwheel, and a TnT Training blog as well.

Hey Everyone!

This is my attempt at an email update on my progress and reminder of what I am doing. Most, if not all of you, hopefully, received my letter. If you have no idea what I am talking about let me summarize.

I have become a member of Team in Training with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. This means I am currently training for the Life Time Fitness Triathlon on July 15th, 2006. In conjunction with my training I am raising funds for the LLS. My personal goal is to raise a minimum of $2000, but I would love to raise more.

I have only been training just over a month but already my entire outlook has changed. The people I am meeting through my participation are amazing - my teammates, honorees, my coaches. I am feeling much fitter and healthier. I am eating better and sleeping sounder.

I would like to introduce you to some of the people I have met:

Rodger is a middle aged man who was diagnosed with leukemia in October. I met him on my team mission day when he volunteered to meet with us. He is currently in the process of having either a blood transplant or stem-cell transplants. Rodger is from the Twin Cities area, and has four children and a wife that visits him daily. His youngest child is 14 and will be spending a month touring Italy. Her trip was originally canceled after his diagnosis due to the cost, however, her friends and teachers donated over $4000 so she could make her trip despite her father's illness. His oldest son is currently serving in Iraq, and has been since September. Rodger hopes to see his son's safe return, as he has not seen him since before his diagnosis. Rodger's wife is an avid racquetball player, who once had her nose broken by his back swing pre-diagnosis. They have not been able to play since is diagnosis, which may be in his best interest depending on her revenge strategy, hehehe.

Mik is a guy whom I've been training with since Feb. He is roughly my age and has a quick humor. He is training in honor of his wife, whom was diagnosed with leukemia last year. She is currently in remission and just two weeks ago she returned to her job.

Lauri is my team honoree. Lauri was diagnosed the day before her sister's wedding. She is a small woman with fire in her eye. She tells us she wants to hear about our pains, our aches and our fears. We are her heroes, she tell us this first time we meet. I've never been anyone's hero.

Cancer is a horrific disease. It screws up families, personal dreams, and terrorizes bodies. Until visiting with Rodger and his fellow patients, I was unaware how cancer treatment affects the mind as well as body. Patients memories can be severely affected by treatment. They can actually lose memories, and never get them back. Judy, a volunteer at my work, is currently in remission from breast cancer. Occasionally her and her husband will reminisce about their past, and Judy will not remember the events. She has lost many of them forever.

The donations you make to LLS goes to a very good cause. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society uses donations for cancer research, patient support programs, educational efforts, and programs to reimburse patients and their families for costs associated with the disease.

I am writing to ask you again, if you have not done so already, to donate to my cause. My goal is to raise $2000 and I need your help. I have asked for a $30 contribution -$10 for each sport I am training for- but any amount, larger or small will go to help someone in need. If you are unable to donate yourself, but know someone who may be able to, feel free to forward this email - or my letter- onto them.

If you would like to donate, please visit my training website at:
www.active.com/donate/tntmn/Kimmi_mn_tnt

or send a check payable to LLS to me at:
Kim Mitchell
1614 Selby Ave #1
St Paul, MN 55104

Thank you for taking the time to share this experience with me.

Sincerely,
Kimmi

I'm an Aries.

2006-03-16T16:15:00.000-06:00

No, I'M not an Aries. "I'm an Aries" is a band that a friend of ours is in. Just thought I would blog about it since they are actually getting some local gigs.

Saturday, April 8
Uptown Bar
$5 cover 21+

9:30pm- I'm an Aries (that us) www.purevolume.com/imanaries
10:30pm- The Assault www.theassaultonrock.com
11:30pm- XOXO Judy www.myspace.com/xoxojudympls
12:30pm- Rank Strangers (I know nothing about these guys)

"This is a huge show for us, (the Assault is coming in from Brooklyn and
has had featurettes in SPIN and Village Voice) and we need everyone to
represent. I can promise the music will be pop punk/rock, 50% of the bands
are fronted by women, and 90% of the clothing worn will have been purchased
at vintage thrift stores.

If you can at all turn out for this I would be eternally gratefull.
Please tell all your friends and make sure they come!"

(That was a message from bandmember Paul . . . he's the one in the back on the first picture and on the right in the second picture.)

Some other things about Paul . . . he works with my husand . . . he was in our wedding . . . he has a bichon-cock named Benson . . . and his wife is pretty cool too.

Here he is at our wedding with is beautiful wife . . .

. . . being weird with the groomsmen . . .

. . . and the white devil - Benson . . .

ANTM - Week 2

2006-03-16T10:24:00.000-06:00

MAKEOVER SHOW!!! I think that is one of my favorite shows. Jade is still a big bitch. You don't need hair to be a good model!!! You are NOT a threat!!! Furonda is turning into a bit of a diva. Other than those two none of the other girls have really stood out in terms of attitude - which I think is actually a good thing. I still like Sara and Kari. I think Sara's new hair cut is pretty sweet - but she doens't seem to be into it. I like Joanie's hair too - but it wasn't much of a change.

Here are my three favorite pics from the photo shoot:

Making Progress

2006-03-16T09:33:00.000-06:00

So I think we are finally making progress with the big Walternator. Since his HW treatment we've been having housetraining issues. Approximately a week after bringing him home he started peeing on the floor while we were gone. It doesn't matter if we are gone for 1 hours our 10 hours. The problem is extra frusterating because we can't exercise him and we can't kennel him. The dangers of HW treatment mostly come after the treatment itself. The injections that he received at the vet killed the adult worms in his heart. After the injections, you must allow sufficient time for the body to break them down and clear them away naturally. If you allow the dog to exercise or get too worked up, you increase the blood flow through the heart. Increased blood flow can cause those "pieces" to block the pulmonary artery causing a pulmonary thromboembolism.

Two major ways to help a dog who has house training issues is to increase exercise for the dog and to kennel train the dog. As I already stated, we cannot give him regular exercise at this point. He is now two weeks post-treatment. For the first ~2 weeks we restricted him to walks to the back yard and down the block. Now that we are beyond those first two weeks, we have been increasing our walks to around the block. We'll continue to limit the length of the walks till at least 4 weeks. At that point we'll go back to the vet. We will probably wait 6 weeks to return to the dog park. The other option for house training is kenneling. Walter has made tremendous improvements with his kennel. He will go in on command, eat his food in there and will also lay in there during the evenings while we are watching TV. However, when we have left him in the kennel all day (before his HW treatment), he would bark continually and even work himself up enough to wear down a sore spot on his nose. We think it might be mild separation anxiety - especially coupled to the fact that he pees as soon as we leave . . . so this is something we really need to be careful with.

So - we've been working on training. One thing we've been doing is working on Sit - Stay. In my opinion, I don't think this is an obvious solution to house training and crate training issues. However, the theory behind it is very smart. The idea is that you work on getting the dog to sit for a treat. You increase that to sit and stay for 3, 5 or 10 seconds. Then you work on sit and taking several steps away from the dog. The end result is to be able to move to another room where the dog cannot see you. The dog should remain in a sit-stay and remain calm. The purpose is to teach the dog to remain relaxed and calm while you leave the room for certain lenghts of time. We are using a relaxation protocol that I got from a training on the CL petfo. It's been pretty fun so far. We are on day two. He won't let me walk half way around him yet, but I think he ejoys all the extra treats. The mental stimulation is also supposed to help a dog that has training issues.

We also have a Crate Training protocol that we're just starting. Apparently we've already been working step 1 (introducing the dog to the crate) and 2 (feeding the dog in the crate) without even knowing it. Last night we moved to step 3. Step 3 helps to get the dog conditioned to being in the crate for longer periods of time. You are supposed to sit quietly next to the crate for 5-10 minutes. Then you are supposed to leave the room quietly for a few minutes. Return, sit quietly for a short time and then let him out. We did this twice last night and Walter did great! The first time I left the room for ~5 minutes. The second time Eric did it and left the room for ~8 minutes. Each time you are supposed to increase the time you spend in another room. Work this time up to ~30 minutes. At this point you "should" be able to leave him in his crate while you leave the house. We are hoping to build up to 30 minutes by this weekend and MAYBE start doing full days in 1 - 2 weeks. By that time we should have been able to build up a good amount of time in the crate AND he'll be 3-4 weeks post-HW treatment.

Unfortunately, with separation anxiety, kenneling can make the problem worse. AND, our wonderful Mr-Pees-On-Floor decided that he wanted to pee on the wall through the kennel the other night after I fed him his kongs in his kennel. There are so many things wrong with that that I cannot even begin to tell you how frusterated and confused I was by that action. We will definately be keeping a closer watch with him while we are home for the next few weeks. Untill then we no long keep our rugs on our floor when we are gone. We place a few (easily washed) towels on the floor in strategic places and are prepared to clean up the floor each day when we get home.

Good thing looks go a long way Walter - otherwise we would have taken you back! Just kidding . . . we love our Sir Walter.

Walter in the Snow!!!

2006-03-14T09:21:00.000-06:00

Yesterday was a snow day. Don't believe me - check out this picture. Quite the winter wonderland.

We really tried coming into work. The bus we got on was an hour late. Turns out that she had passed 4 other busses on that route that had been stuck. We got a half mile down the road and we got stuck. That was awesome. We then decided to turn around and hoof it back home. We then brought walter outside with us while we started to shovel. He didn't seem to care about the snow until we got a tennis ball out.

(video requires flash 8 or newer)

He was so cute!!! Check out this pictures. He's basically up to his belly in snow - and the snow on his face is from rooting around in the snow after his ball.

Here is another cute video:

(video requires flash 8 or newer)

Random Stuff

2006-03-09T13:09:00.000-06:00

Don't really have any interesting to say right now, but a bunch of things have been happening that don't really fit under one specific post topic. So I've decided that I will just ramble.

Walter had an "accident" last night. He peed on a new rug before I got home from work. This was the rug we bought to protect the floor from his nails - so at least it wasn't one of our nicer rugs. Later, in the middle of the night, he started making funny noises like he had to throw up. He never threw up, and fell back asleep within a few minutes. We're hoping that he was just feeling icky - and are blaming his "accident" on that.

Today I think I saw my first robin!!! I'm not exactly sure, cause it was flying over the car this morning. But I'm almost positive it was a robin. Sure sign that spring is on the way, right? It was actually a beautiful morning. It's starting to really make me wish that Walter's HW recovery would just hurry up so we can start taking long walks again and go back to the dog park. Oh well. He needs at least another 3 weeks.

My parents are coming up tomorrow. We'll pack up the dog and head north ~2hrs to visit a cousin who lives in Glenwood, Mn. One of my mom's sisters and some of her other kids are visit for a b-day. Only 2 of them know we are all coming, so that should be fun. We're just planning on spending friday night up there - and maybe doing a little shopping on albertville on the way back. My parents will be staying at our place saturday night and then heading back to wisconsin sunday. My mom is very excited to meet her grand-dog. I'm sure my mom AND dad will both love Walter. There is a small chance that my mom might be allergic, but we're hoping that she isn't. I JUST got done telling her that he hasn't been shedding much. Then this morning we started to notice it getting worse. Must be another sign of spring - right? He doens't mind the brusing, so we'll just have to be on top of it more.

Other than that, America's Next Top Model just started. It is really one of those sick guilty pleasures - but I LOVE IT. I think I mostly like seeing the clothes, fashion designers, and the photoshoots with all the cool makeup and hair and locations. I'm predicting Nnenna to be in the top few. It's not hard to tell that she'll do well after just watching her for a little while. I also like Joanie (I think she takes beautiful pictures), Kari (she's from Brookings, SoDak and seems very down to earth for an 18 year old) and Sara (they found her at a mall and asked her to audition).

They did a photoshoot with baldcaps. It was so funny to see the girls reactions when they thought they were going to have to shave their heads. Funny girls. I think it would actually be pretty cool - at least in that context. The pictures are kinda sweet - some of them look like aliens - but that's ok, they are still cool. Shit, if you can look this good bald I think you'll do well. (clockwise starting at top right is Nnenna, Joanie, Sara, Kari)

Just a Dog

2006-03-09T09:01:00.000-06:00

Someone posted this on the Craigslist Pet Forum. It totally made me think about what I tried to say yesterday. I thought it was worth posting:

"From time to time, people tell me, "lighten up, it's "just a dog", or, that's a lot of money for just a dog. They don't understand the distance traveled, the time spent, or the costs involved for "just a dog". Some of my proudest moments have come about with "just a dog". Many hours have passed and my only company was "just a dog", but I did not once feel slighted. Some of my saddest moments have been brought about by "just a dog", and in those days of darkness, the gentle touch of "just a dog" gave me comfort and reason to overcome the day.
If you, too, think it's "just a dog", then you will probably understand phases like "just a friend", "just a sunrise", or "just a promise". "Just a dog" brings into my life the very essence of friendship, trust, and pure unbridled joy. "Just a dog" brings out the compassion and patience that make me a better person. Because of "just a dog" I will rise early, take long walks and look longingly to the future. So for me and folks like me, it's not "just a dog" but an embodiment of all the hopes and dreams of the future, the fond memories of the past, and the pure joy of the moment. "Just a dog" brings out whats good in me and diverts my thoughts away from myself and the worries of the day.
I hope that someday they can understand that it's not "just a dog" but the thing that gives me humanity and keeps me from being "just a man." So the next time you hear the phrase "just a dog" just smile, because they "just don't understand"

Roca (C) 2006"

Why we love Walter

2006-03-08T10:10:00.000-06:00

How could you not love this face?

Why do we love him so much? I guess we are just lucky. Love is an amazing thing. Its not something you run out of. In my opinion, the more you give the better off you are. That's why we love Walter. And I think we are better off because he loves us. Or maybe he just thinks we are cool cause we feed him and pet him . . . but either way he is always happy to see us!!!

Most of our close friends and family know that we are dog obsessed. We have been for quite a while - getting a dog eventually was inevitable. Then Walter came along. Medical problems aside, he's basically the perfect dog. Yes, he drools when he anticipates getting food. Yes, he gets water ALL OVER the kitchen floor when he drinks. Yes, he doesn't understand the concept of the snooze bar. But he's still wonderful. Somehow it seems like having a dog makes life more simple. I find myself caring less about insignificant things. At the end of the day, I'm always ready to head home and take Walter on a walk.

~check out how much he loves tennis balls too~

(video requires flash 8 or newer)

Married to the Sea

2006-03-06T13:44:00.001-06:00

So, I finally know for sure. Natalie (of Natalie Dee) and Drew (of Toothpaste for Dinner) are married. I've wondered about it for a while. But now I have written proof. It says so on their website. Anyway, they have joined forces opened a new website. It is called Married to the Sea. The drawings have an old world charm to them. The captions are still totally f-ed up and weird.

I like it.

Mullets 101

2006-03-04T15:20:00.000-06:00

So you think you want a mullet? Well, you are in luck. In this post, I plan on covering the delicate intricacies of cutting a mullet, styling a mullet, and wearing a mullet.

CUTTING AND STYLING THE MULLET

First, you must grow out your hair - the longer the better. I realize this may be a difficult process - but the end result is worth it . . . trust me. :)

To begin, some sort of facial hair is HIGHLY recommended. Shown here is a fu manchu. Another acceptable form of facial hair is the "molestache".

As you see here, the next step is what we call the "mullet line". You must be very careful to protect the "party in the back" as you cut the "business in the front".

In this example, we used a #6 attachment on a clippers to cut the hair to the front of the "mullet line".

To trim around the ears and up the sides, we used a #4 attachment. A scissors was used to do the delicate process of trimming around the ears.

Before we get to "styling the mullet" I think it is important to note two important features of this next picture. The process of cutting a mullet is greatly enhanced if you can share the experience with your dog and a choice of cheap beer.

While styling products are not necessary, that slept-on-greasy look can be achieved with GREECE:

The GREECE provides shine, luster, and appearance that you haven't washed your hair in weeks.

WEARING THE MULLET

CONGRATULATIONS!!! You now have a mullet. There is definitely an art to wearing a mullet. There are MANY things that can and should be done while wearing a mullet. This next section will cover the basic necessities.

First, the experience of "the mullet" is magnified if you are the the presence of other mullets. If this can be achieved, it is only proper mullet etiquette to compliment your mulletted friend on their high sense of fashion.

Similar to the experience of cutting a styling a mullet, wearing a mullet is also enhanced if the presence of your favorite k9 companion.

Seen here is a wonderful example of the curly haired blonde mullet vs the straight haired brunette mullet.

WARNING, it is important to note that the simple act of wearing a mullet can result in spontaneous burliness - as seen here.

You are now ready to meet the public. Mulletted and ready to go - it is important to always have your game face on.

For this excursion, a local Mexican restaurant named La Cucuracha was chosen. Like the proudly plumed male peacock, the mulleted male is a fine specimen to witness.

It is very important to note that even when you are seated, you must always be aware of the mullet. Shifting your position so the mullet is available for maximum viewing pleasure is a must.

The female is naturally drawn to the mullet. Being approached by beautiful women is a risk you must be willing to make.

Even when these women insist on public displays of affection, you must always be aware of the mullet.

Congratulations on attracting such lovely ladies. High-fives are a excellent way to express your pleasure with your mulletted comrades.

You have now experienced the joys of the mullet. Your evening has included beer, mexican food, lovely ladies, and most importantly - mullets. The overwhelming sense of fulfillment can only be expressed with loud shouts and singing as you wonder off into the night.

Business in the front . . . Party in the back.

Sir Walter has a new look

2006-03-04T14:33:00.000-06:00

So - here is my first attempt at any major customization. Please let me know if anything doesn't look right - or just isn't working.

The header I created in photoshop - I'm pretty proud of it. Be prepared for the header to change sometime in the future . . . I want to have as many as 3 different rotating headers.

walter on the inside

2006-03-03T13:58:00.000-06:00

The report from the vet was that Walter had an excellent reaction to his treatment. No coughing or wheezing. They really seemed to think he was a wonderful doggie - just like us.

They let me take pictures of his x-rays. This first on is a top-down view of his heart. The heart was not enlarged - but the pulmonary artery was. The PA is the thumblike structure on the right of the heart - about half way down. (I circled it in white).

Here is the side view. The vet pointed out the PA in this one too . . . I just can't see it . . . it is supposed to be coming out of the top right side . . .

And these are the first x-rays that we had taken of Walter's hips. The bbs are the bright white round spots. This one is a side view. You can see one in the chest, and two in the back end.

This is a top down view of the hips. You can see one bb in the left flank, and two more on the right side. You can also see the hips really well in this one too. The sockets aren't quite as deep as they are supposed to be - but not as bad as we had originally thought.

This is a close up of the right hip and the two bbs.

He's currently on pain meds and is doing great on them. We're hoping that after a month on them he'll have recovered sufficiently from the bb wounds (if they are recent like we think they might be).

So, we're up for a nice relaxing weekend celebrating klink's b-day and spoiling Walter. Sounds wonderful to me. :)

happy birthday klink!!!

2006-03-03T10:47:00.000-06:00

Today is my wonderful husband's birthday. Tonight he will turn his goatee into a fu manchu. I will also help him cut his hair into a mullet - well . . . . as close as we can get. Pictures will be posted.

In attempt to be a domesticated goddess, I had plans to bake a cake this morning AND make breakfast. Well, I succeeded in making the (box mix) cake. However, it turns out that I am not very good at making pancakes before 7:30am. Instead of mixing in 1 egg, I mixed in 3. I suck. It's the thought that counts though - right? By the way - these pancakes were from scratch . . . we could have just tripled the recipe, but decided to throw the batter away and move on to opening presents.

Klink got a whole slew of birthday presents. He received a two pack of peanut butter cups, a doggie picture frame, a candle (that we hope is walter-tail proof), a book with pictures of lab puppies, minty frikkin mullet lip balm, and a picture frame that says "family" with a black and white version of the picture on the profile. I will also be taking him out for lunch today. Oh, and Walter got a new red collar . . . we still really like his blue one, but we are going to try to customize the red one into a husker collar. :)

I think the present he enjoyed the most was that Walter came home last night. He was a little extra needy - but he was doing very well. I'll post pictures of his x-rays and recovery later.

By the way, Walter Loves Baseball . . . and Klink.

captain cartwheel

2006-03-02T10:21:00.000-06:00

My silly friend Kimmi has started a blog - THE ADVUNTURES OF CAPTAIN CARTWHEEL. Same Kimmi of "Kimmi TNT" . . . sister of shadoweyes. So - she's basically a minor celebrity on this blog.

Here is a pic of her doggie - Harlington J Barkington III

Someday Harlington J Barkington III and Sir Walter Baffin will be friends. Harley only wanted to bite Walter when they first met. He'll come around eventually . . . no one can resist the charms of Sir Walter.

And to add to the celebrity . . . here is a picture of us from my bachelorette party. From left to right is Kimmi (aka captain cartwheel), me (aka klinkette), and another super cool awesome friend Shea (aka that girl who needs to climb more).

what did he look like?

2006-03-01T15:05:00.000-06:00

In the 3+ weeks that we've had him, we've already wondered just what our Sir Walter looked like as a puppy.

So . . . I'm bored - and thought I would use my superior google skills and find some possibilites.

Was he full of adventure?

Did he like tennis balls?

Was this is sister?

Did he have baby sad eyes? :(

Did he wear cute little vests?

Could he have possibly been this cute?

Was he always a big lug?

Did he have the same black leash?

Did he have different color litter mates?

Either way he's wonderful now!!! Come home soon Walter!!!

another heartworm post

2006-03-01T11:13:00.000-06:00

I know I just posted on heartworm, but I found this site and thought it was EXCELLENT in using simple terms to describe the disease.

Heartworms, heartworm disease and heartworm treatment in dogs

Heartworm transmission

Adult heartworms, about six inches long. They live in the heart and large blood vessels. Adult male and female worms produce thousands of microscopic baby worms. These baby heartworms do not grow up in the dog where they were born. (If they did, the dog would quickly die and that would be the end of the heartworms.)

Next, a mosquito comes along and bites the infected dog, sucking up baby heartworms. This probably isn't too good for the mosquito, but is what the worms have been waiting for. During the next month, the heartworm babies grow into heartworm teenagers, a stage partway between baby and adult.

Now, the mosquito bites another dog, infecting the new dog with teenage heartworms, ready to develop into adults. After six or seven more months, the life cycle is complete: new adult male and female heartworms are busily producing thousands of baby heartworms.

Heartworms in the Northern Sierra foothills

The tree hole mosquito, which breeds in oak trees at our elevation, is very good at spreading heartworms. It lives longer than most mosquitoes, takes repeated blood meals, and even seems to remember where it found food the last time. Since it is likely to deliver teenage heartworms to the to the same dog they originally came from or to nearby dogs, we tend to see clusters of very severe heartworm infestation. If you look out your window and see oak trees, you are in prime heartworm territory.

In 1972, when the heartworm problem in this part of the United States was first being recognized, 25% of all heartworm infections which were reported in the state of California that year were reported by our hospital. Entomologists from U. C. Berkley came to Placerville to catch mosquitoes for their studies.

We have a lot of heartworms here. Unprotected outdoor dogs will probably catch heartworms. Indoor dogs going outside in the morning and evening will probably catch heartworms. If you think your dog's long hair will keep this from happening, forget it. Statistics show that long hair offers no protection whatever.

Canine heartworm disease

symptoms

There are no symptoms at all until the disease is very advanced. Then, the symptoms are those of congestive heart failure: dull coat, lack of energy, coughing, difficulty breathing, perhaps fainting spells and an enlarged abdomen. Waiting for symptoms to develop and then treating is not a realistic alternative to prevention.

prevention

There are three different drugs used for once-a-month heartworm prevention, plus a new one that is applied to the skin and also kills fleas. In cold climates, prevention medication is not necessary in the wintertime. In Placerville, we have mosquitoes year 'round, and although we could theoretically skip the medication when it is sufficiently frigid, the weather is different every year. Our recommendation is once a month, year 'round, permanently.

heartworm testing

No medication is perfect and none of us have perfect memories. Dogs should be periodically retested. Although the official recommendation is once a year, we think this is excessive. In situations where pet owners feel confident that the medication is being given regularly, testing every two years is adequate.

heartworm treatment

Although heartworms can be fatal and treatment for the disease involves risk, the condition is nearly always curable. Treatment requires careful medical care and complete rest at home afterwards.

The first thing we will do is evaluate your dog's condition, performing a physical examination, laboratory tests and chest x-rays to evaluate the condition of the heart and lungs. We might find other health problems that need attention first, or if the heartworm infestation is very severe, we might want to modify our treatment plan.

Adult heartworms are about six inches long and live mostly inside the heart. Baby heartworms are microscopic and live within blood vessels throughout the body. Each stage must be treated separately. First we eliminate the adult worms by giving a series of injections spaced out over a two day period.

When we finish treatment, your dog's heartworms will be dead or dying. That's good, but the heart is still full of worms. The worms gradually break into smaller and smaller pieces until the fragments are tiny enough for the body to eliminate them. The critical period is when worm fragments are small enough to disperse into the body but still large enough to plug small arteries in the lungs. Vigorous activity makes the heart pump faster, pushing bits of dead heartworm out into small blood vessels where they can cause trouble, so vigorous activity must be avoided.

home care

Your dog needs rest (indoors or on a leash) for five weeks. Dogs that are kept outdoors must have an enclosed kennel or other arrangement which prevents vigorous exercise. If you see any sign of illness such as poor appetite, depression or vomiting, there may be a problem. Check your dog's temperature using an ordinary human thermometer. Lubricate the thermometer with Vaseline or KY Jelly, insert halfway and read after two minutes. The morning temperature should be below 102.4. Dogs with a morning temperature higher than this should be examined. Early treatment will control most complications.

After five weeks, the adult heartworms are gone but there are still thousands of baby heartworms in the bloodstream. We will schedule your dog to spend a day with us about five weeks after the initial treatment. First we give a drug to reduce possible reactions. Then, about half an hour later, the first dose of prevention medication. Drop your dog off between 8:00 and 10:00 in the morning and come back about 5:00 or 5:30. Give the next dose of prevention medication one month later, at home. After the first dose, there is no further concern about drug reactions.

Because the heart and lungs are not yet completely back to normal, it is a good idea to avoid heavy exercise like hunting or ball chasing for an additional eight weeks.

follow up testing

Sometimes a few heartworms survive treatment. To detect these worms, we do a final test six months later. If any heartworms are still alive, the Immiticide injections must be repeated, which costs approximately half as much as the original treatment.

summary

* Hospital treatment for adult worms (about 3 days)
* Rest at home for 5 weeks
* Hospital treatment for baby worms (1 day)
* No vigorous exercise for 8 more weeks
* Give Interceptor once a month, permanently
* After 6 months, test for surviving adult worms

treatment cost

Although other drugs have been used in the past, practically all veterinarians use an arsenic-containing drug called Immiticide - safer than what we used in the past but more expensive. It is given by injection deep into the muscles of the lower back. Unfortunately, Immiticide is extremely irritating. Painful even when injected properly, the least bit of Immiticide injected in the wrong place causes great pain, sometimes for days. To prevent this, we administer xylazine, a potent pain killer and sedative, before injecting Immiticide. This eliminates injection pain, and because our patients are now sleepy and comfortable, there is no struggle and practically no chance of accidentally getting any Immiticide where it might cause trouble afterwards.

With proper pre-treatment evaluation, the use of newer and safer drugs, diligent control of pain and attentive nursing care, we can make heartworm treatment safer and a lot less miserable for our patients than in the past. Unfortunately, this also makes treatment a bit more expensive. The total cost for routine heartworm treatment, including the pretreatment workup and post treatment follow up, is usually around $500 for a medium sized dog (23 - 44 lbs.) or $600 for a large dog (67-88 lbs.). (Jun '04)

vet update #1

2006-02-28T17:28:00.000-06:00

Walter has been diagnosed with stage 2 heartworm. I believe this diagnosis is due to the fact that he has an enlargement of the pulmonary artery, but NO enlargement of the heart. His blood work looks good. He received his first treatment today. The vet told us that the injection is very painful, but Walter barely even flinched. Such a good doggie.

Here is some information that I've gathered from the American Heartworm Society (I'm making an assumption that this is what his treatment is based on the description):

ADULTICIDE THERAPY
Melarsomine Dihydrochloride

Melarsomine is administered via deep intramuscular injection into the epaxial lumbar muscles. Mild swelling and some soreness at the injection site may be present for a few days, but this can be minimized by ensuring that the injection is deposited deeply with a needle of appropriate length and gauge for the size of dog and body condition. Strictly adhering to the manufacturer’s instructions will minimize local reactions. Also, if adulticide treatment is elected for clinically ill dogs, an attempt should be made to stabilize the patient’s clinical signs with medical support before proceeding with treatment. Exercise restriction during the recovery period is essential for minimizing cardiopulmonary complications (see Pulmonary Thromboembolism).

Adhering to the manufacturer’s instructions and classifying the stage of disease will reduce the risk of pulmonary thromboembolism. The administration protocol of two injections separated by a 24-hour interval (= standard protocol) is recommended by the manufacturer for dogs at low risk of thromboembolic complications . . . Exercise restriction should be enforced from the time of diagnosis through the period of treatment.

Pulmonary Thromboembolism

Pulmonary thromboembolism is an inevitable consequence of successful adulticide therapy and may be severe if infection is heavy and pulmonary arterial disease is extensive. If signs of embolism (low grade fever, cough, hemoptysis, exacerbation of right heart failure) develop, they are usually evident within 7 to 10 days but occasionally as late as four weeks, after completion of adulticide administration. Mild embolism in relatively healthy areas of lung may be inapparent clinically. A pivotal factor in reducing the risk of thromboembolic complications is exercise restriction during the critical month following treatment. Administration of diminishing anti-inflammatory doses of glucocorticosteroids may help control clinical signs of pulmonary thromboembolism, but studies to evaluate the effects of glucocorticoids on the efficacy of melarsomine have not been reported.

All of that information is from their page for vets - I apologize if it was a little technical. There is more information on their pet owner information page.

Here is a pic of him in his kennel - just to help you envision him at the vet with his sad eyes looking out:

sir walter is at the vet

2006-02-28T09:26:00.000-06:00

Sir Walter Baffin is at the vet today. He is getting his heartworm treated. He'll have bloodwork done, an x-ray, and a series of HW treatments. He'll stay at the vet through thursday. We were a little sad this morning leaving him there.

This slideshow is dedicated to my wonderful husband. *SMILE*

favorite wedding memories

2006-02-27T14:44:00.000-06:00

This was a post on a craigslist wedding forum back in october. It was right after our wedding and someone asked me to talk about my favorite memories. Here is what I posted . . . if I remember I'll try to host some of the videoky pictures and videos and post them.

"The night before we had crazy videoky in one of our cabins. His friends and my friends got along sooo well. I love my pics and videos from that night. It was sooo fun.

On the wedding day, a friend came early to help with my makeup. We were staying at the cutest cabins. The weather was awesome so we took all our makeup outside and did it all out there. Some friends stopped by and the friend doing the video was there too. Once I was ready, we staged a meeting with me and my *husband*. He was waiting along a path (facing away from me) with his photographer friend in front of him. The video friend was on the path between us. As soon as I started walking towards him I started crying (hope i didn't make any terrible faces). I think the photographer was taking pics over Eric's shoulder. Then they told him to turn around and he started crying too. It was soo sweet - we hugged and had our moment - and then went on to do the rest of our pictures.

Everything at the church went off without a hitch. When my dad and I were waiting to walk down the isle (and I was crying), he said "suck it up" - it was so cute (he was being funny of course).

During the ceremony - I loved how my friends and family were crying. Most blamed me cause I was crying . . . so sweet. Then, we accidentally turned around (to be presented) too soon. Everyone laughed when the pastor had to correct us.

We stopped real quick at the cabins to grab something in between the service and the ceremony. His parents had brought their dog (vizsla) and I talked Eric into letting us take a few pics with her (didn't' want to do them before the wedding cause he was afraid she would ruin my dress). No one really knows about them - I'm pretty excited.

Pictures were lots of fun - and actually, I was the most frazzled when we got to the reception - I think because of all the people.

The dance was awesome. My mom's book/wine club was all there and just partying!!! (Picture 7 or 8 moms just dancing away). My husband commented a few times that they were the life of the party.

We had an anniversary dance - had to drag my old neighbor couple out there (they didn't know what it was) - but it was soo worth it. They were married 55 years. I cried when I introduced them and gave them my toss bouquet. Soooo sweet.

And - I love love love everytime I see the ring on my husbands hand. I don't know why - I just love it!!!

more wedding pictures

Julianne Prager

2006-02-24T16:42:00.000-06:00

I went to a Women in IT lunch today. The speaker was a woman named Julianne Prager. She is a retired 3M chemist and executive. She was the first female PhD chemist at 3M.

She had some advice for us. Some of it applies more directly science and one applies a bit more to women. But, I thought it was all insightful and I thought she was a very intelligent lady. Since these points are somewhat out of context, I tried to give my old spin on each of them when needed.

1. Establish Technical Credibility.
Do what you do well. Even if it doesn't seem like you are getting "big resuls", make sure that what you are doing is credible.

2. Work hard . . . and appear to work hard as well.
There is always more you can do. Use your time wisely.

3. Continue to Learn.
The different things you know are an asset to you. Take all opportunites to learn and disersify you knowledge.

4. Don't look for Discrimination.
Coming from this lady, this really meant a lot. She got her PhD in chemistry in the 1950s . . . she was the first female PhD chemist at 3M . . . she eventually was a 3M executive . . . and she never *looked* for discrimination and she never *found* it either.

5. Remember to have some fun.
Rejoice in the fact that you can do what you love!

6. Always be open to let things happen.
I've talked with many people about how I've felt fortunate about the way things have seemingly "happened" to me . . . sometimes feeling that I may not have "earned" or "deserved" those things. Julianne seemed to have a similar attitude. Her perspective on it really made me think. People say "everything happens for a reason." Could that "reason" simply be that you allowed it to happen? The twists and turns of Julianne's career were not calculated and planned out. However, she was open to new things . . . and she let them happen. Sometimes it takes a much stronger person to see changes as opportunities, even if that means letting go of what is familiar and safe.

7. Don't have regrets.
This is a very simple yet powerful statement. Definately words to live by.

sir moneypit

2006-02-24T14:27:00.000-06:00

Good news!!! The Humane Society is going to refund our adoption fee for Walter. When situations arise with the health of an adopted animal, it sounds like they help with whatever they can, provided that it is something they treat themselves. However, since they don't treat for heartworm, they cannot help with his treatment.

Looks like he's still a bit of a moneypit - but at least the adoption fee covers *most* of his first vet visit. :)

Group meeting in an hour - still working on the presentation.

confessions of a self admitted pooper

2006-02-24T10:41:00.000-06:00

I don't know why I find this sooo funny, but I do.

Snowball is my favorite, then Roxy, then Stewart . . .

"Poop on the floor . . . yeah, I've done it"
" . . . and . . . you know . . . then I'll go poop on it"
"I like the way the shag feels against my little bottom."

poop happens

I lied

2006-02-23T16:57:00.000-06:00

no - this is not my "tribute to chasing amy". i lied, i'm sorry . . . it'll be here tomorrow. i promise . . .

let me rant for a quick moment. why are so many blogs about politics? my husband says "its because everyone wants to be a political journalist" followed by "everyone wants to be a sports commentator". let me get one simple thing very clear here - i do NOT wish to be a political journalist nor do i wish to be a sports commentator. if you are looking for that type of blog - you will NOT find it here. well . . . maybe if you really want it, i could convince my husband to a be an occasional guest blogger. maybe

it just leaves me wondering though . . . are people that are into politics more tech savvy? . . . are political types more prone to feel the need to vent their views to the anonymous internet public? . . . do that many people find it interesting to read about other people's political views? . . .

rant over

that monkey in outbreak

2006-02-23T14:49:00.000-06:00

So - this really isn't a tribute to Chasing Amy. Sorry. More specifically, a line from that movie somehow evolved into a quote that we've used to describe the physical condition of Sir Walter.

Original Quote:
"I'm telling you that chick is probably a bigger germ farm than that monkey in Outbreak."

Klink/Klinkette Quote:
"She's got more diseases than that monkey in Outbreak."

Sir Walter Baffin Quote:
"Walter has more diseases than that monkey in Outbreak."

Here is the story of poor Sir Walter Baffin.
Walter came into St Paul Animal Control as a stray. Sad, hungry and alone, this poor sweet boy was wondering the tough streets of st paul for days . . . weeks . . . months. Ok, maybe not months . . . maybe not even weeks . . . but it was cold out. Anyway, St Paul Animal Control shares a property line with the St Paul Humane Society for Companion Animals (HSCA). The good people at HSCA often "rescue" dogs from Animal Control once they have been held for the required amount of time for their owners to come and claim them.

We first saw Walter (then Russel) on Thursday, Feb 2. We had stopped in that evening to say hi to the animals. Didn't take much notice of the 4 year old, 80 pound lab that night. We returned on Saturday to walk and bathe the other animals. Walter caught our eye that day. We took him on a walk and thought he was WONDERFUL. We placed a "HOLD" on him for adoption and came back Sunday. On Sunday, we decided that we still wanted to consider adopting him, but we wanted their vet to check him over for us. We thought we noticed a bit of a funny gate with his back legs, and wanted to do our best to avoid adopting a dog that could potentially have problems with hip dysplasia.

We came back to HSCA on tuesday. Their vet said everything checked out, but he did have kennel cough (doggie cold). We brought him home that night and began loving on him immediately.

Skip ahead to friday. My dear husband took him to Midway Animal Clinic for his *free* vet visit. Almost immediately, the vet was very concerned about the way he moved. She talked to klink about hip dysplasia and scheduled him to come back the next day for x-rays (the only way they can see the severity of the dysplasia). That friday night was absolutely HORRIBLE. We agonized over the thought that he was in severe pain, the surgery it may take to fix his hips, the costs involved in the surgery, the thoughts of whether we could afford the surgery, and the dreadful thought of returning him to the HSCA. I can't even express just how awful that evening was. We only had Walter for 4 days at that point - but we already loved the big lug. On top of it all, we canceled our plans to have some good friends from out of town come to visit for the weekend.

Saturday morning we took him back to the vet at 9am. He would have a mild sedation for the x-rays, and we could come back at 12pm to pick him up. The results were very suprising. The x-rays showed that while his hips were perfect, they were probably not the reason for the way he was moving. The x-rays showed 4 shotgun pellets (bbs). Two were in one side of his hip, one was on the other, and the 4th was in his side. Because they were all in muscle, standard treatment is to let them stay. Trying to get them out would injure the muscle more than leaving them in. They sent us home with much higher spirits and a bottle of pain meds for the dog. The pain meds worked WONDERS and Walter started moving around MUCH better. The Klinkers are still concerned about the poochie, but have resolved to keep the poor guy and give him the home he never had.

Skip ahead to the following saturday. Walter has been a wonderful dog all week. However, we still haven't finished his routine vaccinations. We return to the vet. His kennel cough is doing much better - only a few more days of those antibiotics. Walter had his rabies vac, a lyme disease vac and his blood drawn. A simple blood test showed that Walter was positive for heartworm (HW) and lyme disease. Enter quote here . . . "that dog has more diseases than that monkey from outbreak!!!" *Sigh* Monday we discuss with the vet the treatment options. Walter will be going back to the vet tuesday morning. One of the dangers with HW is that as it gets more advanced, the HW can cause physical damage to the heart. Walter will be having another set of x-rays. The treatment is then 4 injections over the course of 2 days. He'll be spending 2 nights at the vet's office . . . and he'll be costing us another $500+ in vet bills.

The one possible silver lining is that I've been in touch with the HSCA about all of the difficulties we've had. A supervisor is *supposed* to be calling me back today. It sounds like the might be able to help us out with the HW treatment . . . keep your fingers, toes, and paws crossed for us.

group meeting

2006-02-23T12:53:00.000-06:00

WHAT IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE:
a gathering of individuals in a research group to discuss their research. typically one member of the group presents while the rest of the group comments, questions and critiques.

WHAT IT REALLY IS:
a gathering of individuals in a research group to eat food. typically one member of the group drones on endlessly while the rest of the group eats, passes notes and/or trys to stay awake. people only ask questions when they feel like the *should* - very rarely because they want to.

I have to present at group meeting tomorrow. I am currently in a state of hopeless procrastination. Instead, I've been trying to come up with some sort of point system that our group can unofficially introduce to *score* group meetings. Points will be awarded for use of figures, ability to relate work to "big picture", ability to stay within a ~45 minute time limit, and ability to answer questions. Points will be subtracted for using complete sentences on slides, not using figures, failing to mention the PURPOSE of the research, number of people who fall asleep during presentation, and general failure to make research sound remotely interesting. Still working on a "bonus" points category . . .

*tomorrow's blog* - tribute to chasing amy . . . kinda ;)

my first blog

2006-02-23T09:45:00.000-06:00

Well, isn't this special? I have my own blog. I feel all warm and tingly inside. This site is dedicated to Sir Walter Baffin - he is a very very special boy.

Here are my two special boys together:

And a very special family pic: