So yesterday somebody keyed the living bejesus out of my brother's baby, his nicely modified 2000 Grand Cherokee. (Got the big V8, just about a third more horses, and still gets 2 mpg over stock. 3 inch lift. Armored belly plating and nerf bars are next. He actually goes boonie whomping in it. Lets Big Sis and Boo drive it when we're out in the dingweeds. Encourages them to take the puddles at speed etc. Big Sis got mud clear over and up on the roof.) Down past the metal, multiple times, on all the right side panels and doors. Then there was what happened today...

Medication. Either Too Much, Or Not Enough.

So today, (Monday) we get a naked crazy man across the street.

Your basic honest to goodness real woo-woo. Swarm o' cops pointing various implements of destruction at him and yelling at him to get down on the ground and he's yelling back at them in a merry voice to kiss his hienie. (With a physical pantomime) Not drunk at all from the sound of his voice. Started to get interesting when an officer with the beanbag gun showed up.

Now one of the cool things about the whole situation was the yard he was standing in had a high hedge around it and even though he was on the front porch of the boarding house he lived at, from my vantage point I didn't have to see anything I didn't want to. (Except for that "Kiss my heinie" part) It was like a natural censor. But the officer with the beanbag gun couldn't get a clear shot in, being at street level with the hedge in the way. So they were deadlocked for a while. Meanwhile I'm getting to know my neighbors who've all come out for the show. There are one, maybe two bajillion cops (ten cars worth) around the outside of the yard when Mr. Happy decides that maybe being nekkid in the rain might not be the good idea it seemed earlier. So he turns around to go back in when surprise, surprise his housemates not only shut the door, they locked it. Go figure.

Well now they might be standing out there still except for the timely arrival of Rin-Tin-Tin. (Yo Rennie!) And THAT took all the fun out of it for Mr. Happy. He suddenly decided to become very cooperative. Funny how a hundred pounds of fur and teeth makes the crazy go away. Must be a serious buzz kill.

After that it was just Hair! meets Cops. Nobody got shot or bit or anything. (I wanted to see the beanbag gun at work!) Wasn't even a smack upside the head. Sickenly professional. Though sort of glad my girls were back at there mother's house.

How was your day?

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"The beauty of that discussion of averages is that you don't have to be an expert in Apollo or in photography in order to see where this time study "analysis" breaks down. You just have to be, well...not an idiot." -JayUtah

Hey, Don, I wouldn't point this out if you hadn't started two threads with the word in the title--it's "neighborhood."

My cat is in disgrace for pooing on the carpet and then clawing one of my books to cover it up--and he knows that puts him in disgrace like nothing else. He's not even allowed on the bed right now, let alone my lap!

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Gillian

"Now everyone was giving her that kind of look UFOlogists get when they suddenly say, 'Hey, if you shade your eyes you can see it is just a flock of geese after all.'"

"You can't erase icing."

"I can't believe it doesn't work! I found it on the internet, man!"

How long you been in da 'hood, mon?



Was the nekkid guy named Bundy?

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A person's name, or a mark representing it, as signed personally or by deputy, as in subscribing a letter or other document.

Dude, you live in San Francisco. The time to worry is when odd things aren't happening.

Fred

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"For shame, gentlemen, pack your evidence a little better against another time."
-- John Dryden, "The Vindication of The Duke of Guise" 1684

Ah, my neighborhood is amazingly quiet for the area I'm in. No naked crazy people, just clothed ones. It's not unusual in the summer to see a nearly naked men walking down thier street with a 24 pack of Busch under thier arms. It's also not unusual to be able to tell they have a mullet going even tho they're wearing a hat. But as far as disturbances and "the law", our street is pretty quiet. I hear a few blocks down it gets pretty interesting though. *shrugs*

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I'm like one of those idiot savants...well, except for the savant part.

Theory of Zombie Relativity:
1) Everyone Else is a Zombie relative to You
2) Whether or not it matters is related to the inverse square of the distance between their teeth and your brain
(Quoted from Demigrog)

I would love to break it down to a day issue but it is clear that this drama is going to go on for weeks. Last week, my lovely Bella the Bulldog was very sick. She won't get out of her laundry basket, she won't eat, and has unimaginables spewing out of both ends. After four days, I got really concerned and brought her to the vet. They ran every test imaginable, 4 hours and $650 American later, they still don't know. As it always happens, we go home and she is suddenly fine. The doc concluded that the barrium coated her stomach. Sunday, the other three dogs get it. Odd as it sounds, the vet doesn't think it is a contageous illness (sorry I am just a firm believer in keep it simple but I guess he didn't go to the same school). He insists that it is something I am feeding them, despite the fact that I have been using the same brand for 11yrs. The problem is the oldest dog has a hard enough time holding it. I spent half of yesterday outside and the other half moving from mess to mess with the carpet cleaner. Needless to say, I had zero tolerance for any upset in my emotional stability yesterday. The slightest alteration brought me to tears.

Did they rule out Parvo? Are any of your dogs puppies? It certianly sounds contagious to me, unless it's something they're all getting into like a household plant or something. I've only gone through this twice, and both times it was just one dog. The same one both times, actually. The first was a few weeks after I got her, and it was Parvo. Vet said if it's not caught in time it was something like 80% chance to be fatal, but also said she had never seen it get caught soo early. Doggie lived. But said doggie also has seizures, which progressivly got worse from about one short one every 2 months to lasting 10-15 minutes once or twice a week. So I took her to Dr.Vet and they gave her some meds. The meds worked wonders except they gave her constant diariahha. So took her off the meds after about a week and a half. She went months without any seizures, but then they came back and again got progressively worse. He last seizures would last 15-20 min grand mal, before she'd reach the dazed and scared phase. So as soon as I had the money we went back. Now she's on potasium bromide, is seizure free, and has none of the side effects of the other drug. Yay.

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I'm like one of those idiot savants...well, except for the savant part.

Theory of Zombie Relativity:
1) Everyone Else is a Zombie relative to You
2) Whether or not it matters is related to the inverse square of the distance between their teeth and your brain
(Quoted from Demigrog)

Hey, Don, did he have long hair/a mullet, and was he wearing a trucker cap? He sounds like the "naked redneck" character on Reno 911!. Fortunately for you, it sounds like your local police are more professional than those on the show.

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"How many times have you gone rooting through your junk drawer, muttering to yourself, 'where'd I put that gun?'"

My mother's back in the hospital, averaging one trip per month these days. Seems her blood pressure fell to around 60/30, which the last time I checked, was close enough to dead to start the paperwork. Not been a fun ride watching this woman fall apart by inches. She's already to the point where some of her ribs no longer connect front to back, her knees have worn the ball off and begun to splinter lengthwise, and she's got cracked lumbar vertebrae. They tried weaning her off the steroids and the result of that was the degradation of lung capacity from about 45% to slightly over a third, so she's on home O2 (finally).

So at this point, I take it day by day, wondering when I'll get "The Call" from someone who finds her at home, or from the hospital. I'll give her this, she's been through hell in a handbasket, is on 20 some odd medications, but somehow manages not to let it keep her completely immobilized.

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I'm not completely heartless, the doctor who removed it told me he'd never be able to get it all.

Doodler, really sorry to hear about your mother.

Ditto about your dogs Closet.


Mr. Tirebiter (Any relation to Porgy?) Yes he did have a mullet but no Ballcap. You guys know each other?

Matsukov where I live its much more like the barrio than the 'hood.

Thanks Gillian, does that mean I only get a B+?

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"The beauty of that discussion of averages is that you don't have to be an expert in Apollo or in photography in order to see where this time study "analysis" breaks down. You just have to be, well...not an idiot." -JayUtah

Three weeks ago they finally arrested the drunk driver that killed my nephew and a friend - that happened more than six months earlier. Today the guy was arraigned on manslaughter charges, and in theory he could get eight years, but from what we hear, he's unlikely to get more than a few months, if that much. Of course, I have no idea how long it will take for them to get through the rest of it.

It has been bringing back some too recent, painful memories, and I have been feeling just a tad bitter.

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I say there is an invisible elf in my backyard. How do you prove that I am wrong?

Disclaimer: Avatar is not an official NASA image and does not imply any specific interplanetary or interstellar capability.

The Leif Ericson Cruiser

Well the biggest thing in my life the last few days is my niece who is about 16 months learned to crawl up the stairs ( live same house as my mother sister and her two girls), having a daily battle to keep the cats out of the kitchen, and my father who has been away for 27 years moved into the town I live outside of.

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If it's just us, it seems like an awful waste of space.
Contact Carl Sagan

Things are quiet over here.

... Too quiet.

Nah, not much is happening these days. I'm pretty much settled into my new house. The first anniversary of my moving in is coming up in just a bit over two months. I'm halfway through my first winter and no nasty surprises. Everything is working the way it's supposed to.

On the minus side, my grandmother finally had to be placed in a home (Alzheimer's) this week. I'm told she's comfortable enough. Some of her friends volunteer at that home, so between my aunts and her friends, she'll be just fine.

On the further minus side, my cat's really slowing down. The poor thing is suffering from liver disease, the same thing that killed my previous cat. She's still reasonably comfortable, though, but she has some difficult days. Today seems to be one of them. Poor puss.

Other than that, fairly smooth sailing.

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[Dr. Horrible]___________________________[Penny]
Listen close to everybody's heart________And you believe there's good in everybody's heart
And hear that breaking sound_____________Keep it safe and sound
Hopes and dreams are shattering apart____With hope you can do your part
And crashing to the ground_______________To turn a life around

Well in general my neighborhood is fairly quiet, usually the most excitement happens when some dies, or an aminal shows up were not suppose to be or someone is on or doing stuff on your property without your permission (usually cutting down trees etc...), prefer it to living in a city any day, even with the little inconviences.

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If it's just us, it seems like an awful waste of space.
Contact Carl Sagan

Moose, I know about that liver thingy in cat's. Sid got it but survived though for a while he looked like walking road kill. He's all white and turned yellow during the illness. Twice I though for sure he was dead. Laying in the driveway he looked flat and then he would get up and move and still be flat on one side.

Now he has cancer, (melanoma) and my sister has spent an embarrassing amount of money in his treatment. He's 17 years old, has no ears, and my oldest is making an Internet celebrity out of him on her myspace site. Where he is known as "Resident Evil Kitty" and that was before the vets had to removed his left eye a month ago. Now he also has a lysing tumor going on his left nostil. Going to take more pictures. I'm afraid they will get me in trouble if I post them here though. That's one ugly cat.

BUT he still eats, and even though it creeps me out, I can still get him to purr when I pet or stratch him. He is a good cat. 17 years ago there wasn't a decent lawn at all in the cul de sac where my parents (and Sid) live. Gophers from the open space nearby were running amok. Sid single handedly took it upon himself to drive off the gopher hordes. Often getting as many as 12 in a day.

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"The beauty of that discussion of averages is that you don't have to be an expert in Apollo or in photography in order to see where this time study "analysis" breaks down. You just have to be, well...not an idiot." -JayUtah

*whistle* Now _that's_ a mouser. Mine's nowhere near that "advanced" yet, and (no judgements from me) I doubt I could bear to let her struggle to that degree. She's lived a good life, and she still seems to be content overall. She ate some tonight, so I'm hoping her rough patch is over for a little while.

I'm sort of hoping she'll hold on 'till summer. She's camped out on the mat near the screen door right now. Waiting patiently for fresh summer air.

__________________
[Dr. Horrible]___________________________[Penny]
Listen close to everybody's heart________And you believe there's good in everybody's heart
And hear that breaking sound_____________Keep it safe and sound
Hopes and dreams are shattering apart____With hope you can do your part
And crashing to the ground_______________To turn a life around

I had to forcefeed a cat with a liver condition a few times--I don't know how it happens, but my friend Heather has this incredibly bad luck with the health of her pets. One of her ferrets has cancer!

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Gillian

"Now everyone was giving her that kind of look UFOlogists get when they suddenly say, 'Hey, if you shade your eyes you can see it is just a flock of geese after all.'"

"You can't erase icing."

"I can't believe it doesn't work! I found it on the internet, man!"

My excitement was weekend before last. On Saturday my mother blacked out and bounced her head off the, sharp, edge of her kitchen counter and then ping-ponged between it and the table a few time before finally hitting the floor. She ended up with seven stitches to her temple. (But proved that she doesn't have brittle bones.)

My father's deceased, so she was home alone. We estimate she was unconscious for 30 minutes to an hour. Then it took her 2 hours to crawl to a phone where she called us. We live 5 minutes from her house, but, of course, I was 80 miles away. My wife called me on the way over there and both our cell phones are still listed for a different town so calling 911 would have rung up the wrong call center. However, most of the county population is relatives of some sort so I started dialing them up. As I said, we live 5 minutes away and my wife called me on the way, yet by the time she got there it was looking like our family Thanksgiving dinner gathering.

The hospital kept her for a few days and still don't know what caused it for sure. Her doctor is very skeptical with the, final, verdict of the hospital docs. I say final because they had the reason-of-the-hour going. As soon as we found out a cause, they had changed their minds. CAT scans and EKGs say no stroke or heart attack, but her doc wants an MRI/MRA ran.

Then on that Monday I hit ice in my driveway and over-rev the engine. Minutes later the oil light comes on and I smell hot oil. Stopping, I see oil pouring from the engine. I know I had just blown a head gasket or cracked the block as it was a 17 degF day and the engine was cold. Thankfully I'm just a mile from home so I get the car back.

Thankfully, it was neither of those two scenarios. The oil change place hadn't ensured that the old o-ring had come off with the old oil filter, which it didn't. So when they screwed on the new one, there were two. Typically you find out real quick, like inside a block. However, I had driven for a week before the o-rings blew. I had gotten the car shut down before all the oil had been evacuated, so no damage had been done to the engine.

And, that Tuesday we found out our 2 year old had a double ear infection.

With all that fun, I'm glad for a peaceful week. (With 2 projects due and 3 tests. Wheee!)

Your event reminds me of a story from my old job. About 20 years ago, one of the engineers cracked. One minute he was working like normal, then he calmly organized his desk and walked out without saying anything. He was arrested minutes later for running naked down the city streets.