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You are here: Home / Pet Blogging / Dog Blogging / Afternoon Thread

Afternoon Thread

by Tim F|  August 24, 20115:00 pm| 67 Comments

This post is in: Dog Blogging, Open Threads

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You have to wonder why anyone would put the awesome Nikon 180mm f/2.8 on a micro four-thirds camera. The focal length is a bit long to hand-hold, a bazooka lens looks silly on my little camera, the LCD makes manual focusing a bear and camera shake is horrendous.

Still, it is a pretty nice lens.

Max the barbarian

This game involved me shaking the log away from a ninety-pound dog while holding the big lens/little camera with my free hand, tossing the log towards the one sunny spot and then running backwards to get enough distance to frame the shot while manual focusing at the same time. Once I got far enough back I hoped the dog would run to me even though I just stole his toy for the eighth time.

I guess this is why people own dogs and not, say, Canada Lynx, which would maim you and then carry the stick somewhere more private.

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Reader Interactions

67Comments

  1. 1.

    Linkmeister

    August 24, 2011 at 5:03 pm

    His expression IS sort of “Tell me, why are we doing this again?”

  2. 2.

    Scamp Dog

    August 24, 2011 at 5:04 pm

    Sounds like you two were having fun! Miss Biscuit, my Border Collie, loves to fetch things, but not bring them back. She’s good for three or four throws, and then just wants to lie down and chew on the ball.

  3. 3.

    RandyH

    August 24, 2011 at 5:05 pm

    I wonder just how good a lense it takes to take a simple picture of that beautiful dog.

  4. 4.

    Martin

    August 24, 2011 at 5:06 pm

    I guess this is why people own dogs and not, say, Canada Lynx Tunch, which would maim you and then carry the stick somewhere more private consume your nutrient rich organs.

  5. 5.

    anonymoose

    August 24, 2011 at 5:08 pm

    if you don’t like the lens I would take it off of your hands….especially if it is an ED version :)

  6. 6.

    Josie

    August 24, 2011 at 5:09 pm

    Max is such a good dog. My son’s pug, Miss Emma, is happy to go get the toy and bring it back. She’s not so good on “release,” however, and wants you to play tug of war to get the toy for the next throw. You wouldn’t believe how hard it is to get the toy from a 16 lb. pug.

  7. 7.

    jeffreyw

    August 24, 2011 at 5:09 pm

    Thread needs moar kittehs.

  8. 8.

    Tom Levenson

    August 24, 2011 at 5:10 pm

    I had that lens for a while (or rather, an AI version of it from the 70s). Sold it after I found I never ever carried it more than fifty feet from my house. I am truly impressed that you got such a sweet photo, given the size/contortions required to use it on an E-P1.

    As it happens, I was playing with my 28mm Nikkor AI 2.8 this a.m. on my own m43 camera. Nikon and Olympus seem to talk nice to each other.

  9. 9.

    Josie

    August 24, 2011 at 5:12 pm

    @jeffreyw: awww, Homer is so sweet. I’m glad that he wants to be friends.

  10. 10.

    Anne Laurie

    August 24, 2011 at 5:18 pm

    My personal “fetch” favorites were my friends’ Afghan Hound and Irish Setter, who tag-teamed. The Afghan Hound was rocket-propelled — as a sighthound, she could not be faked out, but once that stick left your hand she’d go after it so fast her feet wouldn’t touch the ground. She’d snatch the stick in mid-air, “break its neck” with a single fierce shake… and drop it, because she was a hunter, not a godsdamned porter. By which time the Irish Setter would have lolloped up, to grab the stick & run it back to you, hula-ing her hips with joy all the way. The two dogs didn’t have much use for each other off the field, but they took genuine pride in their close working relationship in this area!

  11. 11.

    Villago Delenda Est

    August 24, 2011 at 5:21 pm

    OK, this was touched on in the last thread, toward the end, but it appears, at the moment, that Irene is headed for the Big Apple and nearby areas.

    So, what hurricane preparedness tips do folks have to offer? Like stocking up on containers of water, some basic foodstuffs, batteries for flashlights, that sort of thing…

  12. 12.

    RandyH

    August 24, 2011 at 5:22 pm

    @Josie:

    I love Pugs. I want one SOOO bad. I used to have a neighbor that had one and she would come over and bark at me until I played with her whenever I went into my front yard. She was just the best dog. Then she had a batch of puppies and they were all so adorable but I didn’t even think to buy one of them before they were gone. Big mistake. It just never even occurred to me until they were gone. But they sure were cute and playful.

  13. 13.

    lamh34

    August 24, 2011 at 5:27 pm

    I have no animals to blog about and I’m sure someone has already posted this link in one of the other threads, but I loved reading this press release from the National Zoo on yesterday’s earthquake and what their “residents” reactions were:

    National Zoo’s Press Release of Animals Reaction to Yesterday’s Earthquake

    Great Apes
    The earthquake hit the Great Ape House and Think Tank Exhibit during afternoon feeding time.
    About five to ten seconds before the quake, many of the apes, including Kyle (an orangutan) and Kojo (a Western lowland gorilla), abandoned their food and climbed to the top of the tree-like structure in the exhibit.
    About three seconds before the quake, Mandara (a gorilla) let out a shriek and collected her baby, Kibibi, and moved to the top of the tree structure as well.
    Iris (an orangutan) began “belch vocalizing”—an unhappy/upset noise normally reserved for extreme irritation—before the quake and continued this vocalization following the quake.

    Small Mammals
    The red ruffed lemurs sounded an alarm call about 15 minutes before the quake and then again just after it occurred.
    The howler monkeys sounded an alarm call just after the earthquake.
    The black-and-rufous giant elephant shrew hid in his habitat and refused to come out for afternoon feeding.

    Reptile Discovery Center
    All the snakes began writhing during the quake (copperheads, cotton mouth, false water cobra, etc.). Normally, they remain inactive during the day.
    Murphy, the Zoo’s Komodo dragon, sought shelter inside.

  14. 14.

    Josie

    August 24, 2011 at 5:28 pm

    @RandyH: I am keeping Miss Emma for a year while son finishes law school and gets a job. I was sort of resentful of the task and didn’t want a small dog to take care of. Needless to say, she has completely won my heart and taken over my house (even sleeps in my bed). I will miss her terribly when he takes her back. They are such clowns and so playful and cuddly.
    Edit: I hope you can have one some day.

  15. 15.

    lamh34

    August 24, 2011 at 5:29 pm

    Here’s more from the National Zoo:

    National Zoo’s Press Release of Animals Reaction to Yesterday’s Earthquake

    Invertebrates
    One of the volunteers at the Invertebrate Exhibit was feeding the cuttlefish and it was not responsive. The water is normally very calm in the tank, but the earthquake caused the tank to shake and created waves, which distracted the cuttlefish during feeding.

    Beavers
    Keepers were feeding the beavers and hooded mergansers (a species of duck) when the earthquake hit. The ducks immediately jumped into the pool. The beavers stopped eating, stood on their hind legs and looked around, then got into the water, too. They all stayed in the water. Within an hour, some of the beavers returned to land to continue eating.

    Great Cats
    The lion pride was outside. They all stood still and faced the building, which rattled during the quake. All settled down within minutes.
    Damai (a female Sumatran tiger) jumped at the start of the earthquake in a startled fashion. Her behavior returned to normal after the quake.

  16. 16.

    bystander

    August 24, 2011 at 5:29 pm

    @Anne Laurie:

    because she was a hunter, not a godsdamned porter

    You got that right. Love it.
    Love this shot of your dog, Tim.

  17. 17.

    SRW1

    August 24, 2011 at 5:31 pm

    I occasionally use a Minolta 250mm f/5.6 mirror tele on a Nex-5 body. The 1.5 crop factor makes that effectively a 375mm lens. Shake prone indeed, and of course manual focus, but great under the right light conditions. Good example: portrait shots in a crowd. Because the relative short physical length of the lens people generally don’t pick up on how powerful a tele is being aimed at them.

    And apparently a pretty sought after piece of glass. I have seen Ebay auctions with almost twice the price the thing was new 25 years ago.

    Btw: Great pic.

  18. 18.

    Jewish Steel

    August 24, 2011 at 5:35 pm

    @Anne Laurie: Ha! What a great team.

    You can play fetch with a basenji if you stand where the basenji was going to anyway.

  19. 19.

    kindness

    August 24, 2011 at 5:38 pm

    Yeay! Max will save us from ourselves!!!!

    @jeffreyw: If he was using kittens instead of a stick this blog would explode….C’mon now!

  20. 20.

    PurpleGirl

    August 24, 2011 at 5:39 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est: NYC prepared a guide about hurricanes.

    Contrary to popular belief among many New Yorkers, coastal storms, including hurricanes, can and do impact the City. Ready New York: Hurricanes and New York City includes general tips on how to prepare for any emergency, instructions on how to develop a hurricane disaster plan and secure your home before a storm, and a map of New York City hurricane evacuation zones.

    http://www.nyc.gov/html/oem/html/ready/hurricane_guide.shtml

  21. 21.

    trollhattan

    August 24, 2011 at 5:39 pm

    @Anne Laurie:

    Hilarious, I can really envision that pair at work. Afghans aren’t much on the brain side of the equation but are blazing fast and so graceful I could watch them run for days. A smart setter (some are, honest) are wonderful dogs and also quite impressive in the field.

    Neither, mind you, would I be able to keep up with on the coat care.

    Had one Dal that had such a fetch drive he would fetch until dead if I let him (being serious here) while the current one loses interest while the fetch thingie is in the air. SQUIRREL!

  22. 22.

    lamh34

    August 24, 2011 at 5:40 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est: if you have a cell, make sure it’s fully charged and if you have a spare cell battery, make sure it’s charged too. The big lesson we learned from Katrina, was that cell phone calls may not work, but text messages do.

    Make sure you have a radio or clock radio that can run on batteries and electricity just in case electricity goes out and to save energy on your phone, you can still hear updates from radio.

    If you do have a land line, then make sure you have a non-cordless phone or a phone that doesn’t need electricity for connection. The is no point in having cordless phones but no electricity to allow them to connect. The phone lines may still work, but if you only have a cordless, then you are without any juice to power it if the electricity is out.

  23. 23.

    lamh34

    August 24, 2011 at 5:42 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    hopefully it will dissipate before actually coming ashores, I hope not just for the residents of those areas, but also because Sunday is the MLK Jr Washington Memorial Dedication, and I would hate to see that postponed.

  24. 24.

    Yutsano

    August 24, 2011 at 5:43 pm

    My parents’ old lab Kasha would fetch the ball once. After that, she would run to the ball, stand over it, and look at you like you were stupid. “Look, I done got it for you once hairless ape. If you didn’t want it why did you make me get it?” She was awesome like that.

  25. 25.

    trollhattan

    August 24, 2011 at 5:43 pm

    @lamh34:

    Good stuff. As an addendum if your land line is digital, make sure the backup battery is up to snuff.

  26. 26.

    arguingwithsignposts

    August 24, 2011 at 5:47 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est: As a former Gulf Coast dweller (Texas, part hit by Ike and Rita), my best advice for preparedness would be to make sure everything’s secure and get out of town plenty early. I can’t imagine what a nightmare evacuating NYC would be.

    Find friends, family or whoever to stay with well inland (we evac’d to a place three hours from the coast most of the time and even lost power there a couple of times) and bring along 3-4 days worth of clothes.

    I say that because if it hits NYC directly (I’m not sure the models), it’s going to be a mess, and you really don’t want to be there unless you have to be.

    YMMV.

  27. 27.

    Sasha

    August 24, 2011 at 5:48 pm

    Beautiful dog.

  28. 28.

    PeakVT

    August 24, 2011 at 5:49 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est: Don’t forget your own cell phone tower.

  29. 29.

    lamh34

    August 24, 2011 at 5:50 pm

    I concur with arguingwithsignposts

    #1 LESSON LEARNED FROM KATRINA If you can evacuate early. As a hospital lab employee, I understand that some employees are on call and have to stay at the hospital if a weather emergency is called, but if you are not considered “essential personnel”, then my understanding is that in cases of weather emergencies you do NOT have to go into work.

  30. 30.

    dmsilev

    August 24, 2011 at 5:57 pm

    @Yutsano:

    My parents’ old lab Kasha would fetch the ball once. After that, she would run to the ball, stand over it, and look at you like you were stupid. “Look, I done got it for you once hairless ape. If you didn’t want it why did you make me get it?” She was awesome like that.

    The standard poodle my parents had when I was a kid did that. He’d fetch once, and then if you threw the whatever again, he’d look over with a “I brought it back to you, and you just threw it away. Pick it up yourself” expression on his face.

  31. 31.

    Linkmeister

    August 24, 2011 at 5:57 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est: Here’s one of our local TV station’s list:

    http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/10854923/disaster-supply-kit

  32. 32.

    PurpleGirl

    August 24, 2011 at 5:57 pm

    Having lived through a number of hurricanes in NYC, it’s better to be someplace secure and not try to evacuate unless you are in a flooding zone. (There really isn’t anyplace, or many places, outside the city you can go.) Stay inside. Have a flashlight and batteries. You should have water and basic food, depending really on what you usually eat.

    I will bring in the chairs from my terrace. I will check batteries and flashlight. I’ll get food for the weekend. I will stay indoors over the weekend.

    (I took a MetroNorth train to Peekskill while Hurricane Gloria was hitting NYC. It had already hit that section of Westchester the night before and doubled-back to get the City.)

  33. 33.

    efroh

    August 24, 2011 at 6:00 pm

    Damai (a female Sumatran tiger) jumped at the start of the earthquake in a startled fashion. Her behavior returned to normal after the quake.

    Yes, but did she jump like this?

    If you guys are into photography, can we have a photo gear thread? I bought my Dad a GF-1 last year for Xmas, but he wants to use his manual Nikkor lenses with it. Not sure which adapter is best to do this?

  34. 34.

    Violet

    August 24, 2011 at 6:00 pm

    All the hurricane preparedness suggestions are great. I second the stuff about the cell phone and texting. Make sure your phone is charged up and DON’T LEAVE IT ON. It could be awhile before you can recharge it.

    Landlines with the old non-cordless phones are great. Both hurricanes I’ve been through, the landlines were the only thing that kept working. Took three hours to get into my cellphone voicemail. Landlines and its voicemail never went down. Texting was even slow the day after the hurricane went through. Landline always worked.

    As far as stocking up on water, bottled water is great, but you can also refill milk bottles and other plastic containers and even fill your bathtub at the very last. You might not want to drink water from the bathtub, but it works fine for washing your hands or even taking a sponge bath.

    And for those who live in tall buildings, like many do in NYC, the windows can get blown out of those. That happened in Hurricane Ike in Houston. If you are hunkering down at home and the window gets blown out of your high-rise apartment, that would be bad. So think about it and plan your hunkering-down location accordingly.

  35. 35.

    Villago Delenda Est

    August 24, 2011 at 6:00 pm

    @lamh34:

    but if you are not considered “essential personnel”, then my understanding is that in cases of weather emergencies you do NOT have to go into work.

    This reminds me of a story one of my superiors told me about snow emergencies in DC; the Pentagon would call up local radio stations, and ask them to broadcast that “non-mission essential” personnel need not report in when some snow emergency hit the capital.

    The result of this call was that the usual number of people showed up, as no one wanted to be considered “non-mission essential”.

  36. 36.

    Linda Featheringill

    August 24, 2011 at 6:01 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est: #11

    So, what hurricane preparedness tips do folks have to offer?

    I looked at the projected path and it seems that there is a really good chance of a significant storm surge, both at the Annapolis inlet and at NYC. I don’t know what your elevation is.

  37. 37.

    Villago Delenda Est

    August 24, 2011 at 6:04 pm

    @Linda Featheringill:

    I don’t know what your elevation is.

    Approximately 453 feet, 3000 miles to the west of NYC :)

    I’ve successfully been community minded here by prompting everyone to provide links and tips, so I’ll go back to waiting for a huge earthquake and a bunch of erupting volcanoes.

  38. 38.

    Chat Noir

    August 24, 2011 at 6:04 pm

    @jeffreyw: Those pictures are adorable. Homer has grown into such a handsome boy (I remember his kitten pix last year) and Bitsy is beautiful. Calico cats rule! OK, all cats rule in my book, but you get my point.

  39. 39.

    PurpleGirl

    August 24, 2011 at 6:05 pm

    I just checked. Where I live is not in a hurricane evacuation zone.

    What I could do to protect myself further would be to tape my windows with duct tape. Buy the tape tomorrow and wait until we see what the storm track is over the weekend.

  40. 40.

    quannlace

    August 24, 2011 at 6:06 pm

    Max: Throw it again…throw it again….throw it again!!!

  41. 41.

    A Mom Anon

    August 24, 2011 at 6:06 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est: If you can,find a flashlight that has LED bulbs. I have an emergency one that has a whistle on a little elastic band on the body of the flashlight. It also takes any size battery except a 9V or a D cell. There’s a little adapter inside that lets you use AAA,AA or C batteries.Handy,I use it alot when I take Abby out after dark. Extra batteries are a must,and a small weather radio isn’t a bad thing to keep around either. Quarters and dollar bills are nice for laundrymats and vending machines if you end up having to stay away for a few days. The water bottles with their own filters are good to keep around too.

    I lived in FL for awhile,I’m in GA now,but I still have a little emergency kit I keep around. You never know when it’ll come in handy.

  42. 42.

    trollhattan

    August 24, 2011 at 6:08 pm

    @efroh:

    The cheap option:

    http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=micro+four-thirds+to+nikon+adapter&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1&safe=active&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=11785356306255831451&sa=X&ei=THVVTsnSI8PXiALK6tz4DA&ved=0CCgQ8wIwAQ#

    The costy option:

    http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=micro+four-thirds+to+nikon+adapter&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1&safe=active&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=330465776766941685&sa=X&ei=THVVTsnSI8PXiALK6tz4DA&ved=0CCoQ8wIwAg#

    You’d need to know which Nikon mount the lenses are before taking the plunge. BTW, if he doesn’t have the EVF attachment for the G-F1, manual focus can be a real challenge, especially with fast lenses.

  43. 43.

    jeffreyw

    August 24, 2011 at 6:09 pm

    Something like this is handy. It’s an external battery pack that will charge/run your cell phone for extended periods.

  44. 44.

    Violet

    August 24, 2011 at 6:12 pm

    @PurpleGirl:
    Taping your windows doesn’t really help much. If something hits your windows, you end up with broken glass with tape on it. Other than that, it’s pretty much useless and a complete mess to clean up.

  45. 45.

    Meredith

    August 24, 2011 at 6:16 pm

    Here’s a report on Irene from a weather blog I follow. It’s technical in places, but the main point is made in the last sentence. “Everyone in the area should continue following this storm very closely.”

  46. 46.

    John O

    August 24, 2011 at 6:17 pm

    That is a beautiful dog, Tim, and thanks for the laughs.

    Also, too, a fine camera shot.

  47. 47.

    Linkmeister

    August 24, 2011 at 6:17 pm

    What tape did for my floor-to-ceiling windows during Hurricane Iniki (my story here) was remove the film that had been cooling the rooms once the storm was over and we took the tape off. Not a good result.

  48. 48.

    a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)

    August 24, 2011 at 6:19 pm

    Max! Homer! Bitsy!!

  49. 49.

    PurpleGirl

    August 24, 2011 at 6:21 pm

    @Violet:
    @Linkmeister:

    Did the tape make it easier to pick up broken glass, if there was any?

  50. 50.

    jeffreyw

    August 24, 2011 at 6:22 pm

    @Chat Noir: Li’l Bit is having fun learning about her new place. She’s fast! Homer who? LOLZ

  51. 51.

    Arclite

    August 24, 2011 at 6:36 pm

    You have to wonder why anyone would put the awesome Nikon 180mm f/2.8 on a micro four-thirds camera. The focal length is a bit long to hand-hold, a bazooka lens looks silly on my little camera, the LCD makes manual focusing a bear and camera shake is horrendous.

    This is a great point I hadn’t really considered. Looking to buy a micro 4/3 now, and also looking at DSLRs.

  52. 52.

    Linkmeister

    August 24, 2011 at 6:37 pm

    @PurpleGirl: There wasn’t any at my house. Oahu got a glancing blow out on the west side; Kauai got hammered. I think a couple of hotels never did reopen.

  53. 53.

    trollhattan

    August 24, 2011 at 6:41 pm

    @Arclite:

    Oly µ4/3 bodies have IBIS (in-body image stabilization) while Panny relies on OIS (optical image stabilization). This makes the Oly Pen series ideal for legacy glass and Panny, not so much. FWIW I can handhold 180mm with no problem on my Oly DSLR, which has the same system.

  54. 54.

    de stijl

    August 24, 2011 at 6:51 pm

    Here’s my list of emergency supplies:

    A pan of boiling water and some clean towels to help out any dames with their birthing process

    A pot of hot coffee

    Brown liquor (rye is always a good choice and a snort will give you a second wind when you really need it)

    Unfiltered cigarettes (believe me, you don’t want to worry about tearing off the filter when you’re really in a jam)

    A gat

    Toothpicks (round)

    A stoic demeanor

    A porterhouse steak in case anyone gets bruised

    Some liniment for your right hand in case you need to slap any hysterical dames to calm them down

    Three days change of wifebeater undershirts

    A handkerchief for flesh wounds

  55. 55.

    Violet

    August 24, 2011 at 6:51 pm

    @PurpleGirl:
    We boarded up so no tape and glass. If hurricane force winds hit your house and knock out windows, you’re not going to find a nice pane of glass lying just under the window with easily-picked-up tape pieces on it. The glass will be everywhere. You probably won’t find most of it.

    The real issue with glass is it doesn’t protect at all and it’s a total pain to take off.

  56. 56.

    PeakVT

    August 24, 2011 at 6:58 pm

    I put together a post on interchangeable lens cameras (mirrorless, SLT, DLSR) that may be useful to anyone thinking about buying one soon.

  57. 57.

    PurpleGirl

    August 24, 2011 at 7:00 pm

    @Violet: K, thanks for the comments.

  58. 58.

    Mnemosyne

    August 24, 2011 at 7:15 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    If you really wanted to be community-minded, you would remind everyone what to do in case the hurricane triggers the zombie apocalypse.

  59. 59.

    pat

    August 24, 2011 at 8:08 pm

    surprise, suddenly on this blog (my favorite. You are all so… civilized) I am getting all sorts of ads for cameras and lenses. (I have a Canon 7D with 400mm prime lens for bird photos.)

  60. 60.

    Jo

    August 24, 2011 at 8:09 pm

    Interesting use of a Nikon 180. As far as I’m concerned, one of the best lenses Nikon ever made; I still shoot my 180 manual focus on my D300s, and get beautiful results.

  61. 61.

    Jo

    August 24, 2011 at 8:09 pm

    Interesting use of a Nikon 180. As far as I’m concerned, one of the best lenses Nikon ever made; I still shoot my 180 manual focus on my D300s, and get beautiful results.

  62. 62.

    And Another Thing...

    August 24, 2011 at 8:15 pm

    @PeakVT: That post you linked is excellent. I’ve got the Nikon D90 and I love it. The next thing to buy is the 18-200 lens. It’s pricey but it’s sweet. It covers most situations and you want to minimize swapping lenses to keep the camera innards clean.

    I’ve bookmarked your post for future reference. Thanks.

  63. 63.

    peej

    August 24, 2011 at 8:37 pm

    Hurricane preparedness: Make sure you have bottled water and food that you don’t need electricity to prepare on hand. When Isabel hit the DC area several years ago, I lost power for all of about 3 seconds, but I had to boil water for 3 days afterwards because all the water treatment plants for the county lost power and had their backup generators knocked out. A number of people at work lost power for a week due to the storm.

  64. 64.

    Sko Hayes

    August 24, 2011 at 8:47 pm

    The thing with hurricanes is they always knock out the power and so you need to be prepared for that – charge laptop, phone, everything, buy batteries for radio and flashlight, candles can be dangerous.
    Water.
    Get some coolers ready with food/drinks/ice already in them. If the power goes out, you don’t want to be opening and closing the refrigerator or freezer doors.
    Have something to do while you wait for the storm to pass.
    Love that gorgeous dobie, Tim. I went to a “Pet Appreciation Day” at our local farm store and they had a dobie rescue there with an albino dobe. He wasn’t white, but a very bleached out red and tan, huge dog. Easily over a hundred pounds.

  65. 65.

    PeakVT

    August 24, 2011 at 11:01 pm

    @And Another Thing…: Thank you.

  66. 66.

    General Stuck

    August 24, 2011 at 11:17 pm

    I loves the Maxster

  67. 67.

    The Tim Channel

    August 25, 2011 at 11:51 am

    @Martin:

    Kudos to that bit of editing.

    On the dog-blog side of things, my two US expat dogs, Lizzy and Bandit appear normal and healthy. The question at hand is, what are their thoughts? Are they ok with the Euro-version doggie lifestyle? Lizzy is now officially older than Methuselah, yet still retains the sprightly energy of youth (when her arthritis isn’t acting up). Her movements are much more restricted over here.

    Lizzy used to free-roam the neighborhood back in the US. Does she truly appreciate the ability to sit under our table at an upscale restaurant over here more than she misses her unbridled “gin & juice” gangsta-bitch lifestyle back home?

    The mail carrier in our old neighborhood, a diminutive yet stout woman, seemed an unlikely candidate to curry favor for roaming dogs, ended up running tandem with Lizzie on her morning delivery route for a couple years back in the late 90’s. Lizzy had a lot of friends in the neighborhood (way more than me!) because her gentle demeanor belied an uncanny discrimination between friend and foe.

    One memorable example was her out of character response of literally backing down a carload of guys who had just pulled into the driveway of a neighbor lady. My attempted apologies upon retrieving Lizzy from the scene of her ‘crime’ were quickly overwhelmed with expressions of appreciation and relief by the lady. Lizzy was actually interceding on the neighbor’s behalf against a group of people the lady didn’t want to see!! She THANKED me for letting Lizzy roam the streets.

    Lizzy is/was so good with kids that another neighbor used to bring their two year old daughter outside just to visit with Lizzie on her daily rounds. I found out much later that Lizzy was so special in their lives that they often let her inside the house to visit.

    My favorite Lizzy ‘protection’ story? One night, a philandering buddy of mine is at my house during our weekly video-golf tournaments. You know THIS guy. He keeps two cell phones so he won’t get caught by his telephone history log. We’re constantly waiting on him when it’s his turn to play because he’s always focused on his phone like a hungry hawk on a field mouse, tap tap tapping away sextmessage after sextmessage. So frequent were the delays caused by his enthusiastic phoned-based finger banging that I coined the phrase “Tappy Doo Bullshit” in reference to it. But I digress. Halfway through the weekly tournament, Lizzy goes into full alert mode at the front door. We all look out the window but there’s nothing there. Back to the golf. Lizzy won’t relent. We look out the window again…nothing.

    At this point, philandering dude says “hold on a minute” and gets up from his tappy do bullshit. He steps onto the front porch outside my house where he spots his wife’s car sitting at the bottom of the hill, a good ten houses down the street from mine. She is stalking him to catch him cheating, and he waves at her! She drives up the street and I invite her to come inside, since she’s already in the neighborhood….lol. Sensing her concern that we might have “whores hidden somewhere up in this crib” she is offered the full house and garden tour. Witnessing my totally banal lifestyle firsthand may have slightly harshed the mellow of her relief in the lack of hookers. She hung around just long enough not to appear rude and then she left. Philandering buddy is overwhelmingly impressed that Lizzy could sniff out possible trouble (his wife at the bottom of the hill….lol) that he dam near adopted Lizzy as his own.

    It’s too bad Lizzy couldn’t protect the glove compartment of his car, because that’s where he ‘hid’ his ‘super secret double life cell phone”. That would be the very same phone his wife retrieved from said vehicle glovebox while he was in the shower at home a few days later. Fast Forward to the scene of philandering dude’s possessions being flung out the window of his recently purchased home (on a golf course no less) by angry wife. He’s single now. We still keep in touch. I tried to tell him that “Teeny Bopper Bullshit” (another term I coined…1979) wasn’t worth it. Whocouldanode that painting the toenails of your teeny bop girlfriend might seem a tad boring to a guy over forty when the sex is done? Cue Steely Dan…Hey Nineteen….”she don’t remember the Queen of Soul”

    FWIW, then as now, I strongly advise against cheating on your spouse. Ferchrissakes, is it stretching the bounds of human decency to just get permission beforehand?

    I’m out.

    Enjoy.

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