This is a little bit of a rant, so be forewarned.

I love to go walking in my neighborhood and in the two neighborhoods that adjoin it. I do not so much love the way people treat their sidewalks, often forcing me to walk out in the street.

A few simple rules:

Do not park your vehicles in the driveway so that they block the sidewalks. This is not just my opinion, it is a county ordinance! Even worse are those who park straddling the sidewalk or ON the sidewalk. This defeats the entire purpose of even having a sidewalk.

Do not place your trash, lawn clippings, branches, boxes, Christmas trees, etc. on the sidewalk. This is not the place for them, thankyouverymuch.

If you have trees that produce round hard fruits, remove them from the sidewalks. There are a couple of houses on my regular walking circuit that have this kind of thing going on, and trust me, it is like walking on marbles. Someone could get KILLED.

Do not allow your children to position their portable basketball hoops, bicycle/skateboard ramps or other toys on the sidewalks. Once again, not the place for them and dangerous to pedestrians.

And of course there are other more minor transgressions, such as letting the grass grow completely over the sidewalks, letting sand pile up on the sidewalks, leaving dog poop on the sidewalks, etc., but the ones listed above are the major ones.

Please. Practice a little sidewalk etiquette.

Well 2005 is drawing to a close, and all in all it has been a good year. We have all stayed relatively healthy and happy and have made some good progress along the way. Here is the year in review:

We finally got our pool project finished early in the year. What a relief! It was a major hassle and we dealt with problem after problem, but the result was ultimately good and the backyard is a happy place to be now. We got a lot of use out of the pool throughout the spring and summer.

Andy spent most of the year on second shift, which has now come to an end, as he will be joining me back on first shift and be at home with me in the evenings. Yay!

In July we finally experienced the joy of a successful space shuttle launch (and landing) at work as part of out "return to flight" initiative. We hope to launch again by mid year 2006.

One of our dogs, Cody was diagnosed with diabetes this summer. He is now doing fairly well with his current diet and injections of insulin.

We bought a lovely piece of property in Maggie Valley, North Carolina in September where we plan to build a log cabin as a vacation home. The property is on a mountain and has a gorgeous view. We are still narrowing down our choices of log home companies. We would like to begin construction before the end of the year.

We adopted Annabel, our one year old toy poodle after Hurricane Katrina. Although she did not come from a hurricane ravaged area, adopting her left more resources available for other pets needing homes and helped to ease the overall burden of pets without homes.

We made it through Hurricane Wilma as it swept through South and Central Florida, basically unscathed, and were really lucky that it was our only close call this year after last year's one-two-three punch of Charley, Frances, and Jeanne.

And that my friends is our 2005, in a nutshell. I hope that 2006 is even better.

You know how sometimes when you dream at night people that you talked to during the day appear in your dreams?

Well, last night I dreamed that I was in an unfamiliar mall shopping with one of my blog friends, Glitter of GlitterGlamGirl05. We had e-mailed earlier in the day and I guess that is why she was in my dream. It is funny because I think that the dream wouldn't be very far from reality if we lived closer together. We would probably hang out and be shopping buddies then.

I think it is interesting to feel as if you know someone that you have never even met in person. I actually think it is quite incredible to have the opportunity to meet and know people that I would never encounter if it weren't for the internet.

The Christmas tree was driving me a little batty as it took up a lot of space. I was finally forced to take it down yesterday, and that signals the beginning of the end. The end of vacation, that is. There are only five days left of our Christmas vacation from work, and that is a little sad, because I think both Andy and I could get used to this not working thing.

I mean, it is not like we have been laying around on the couches and eating bon bons or anything. We have been quite busy getting a lot of things done. For instance, we have now taken Cody to the vet ten times this holiday break in an effort to get his insulin dosage correct. Tomorrow will be the eleventh and hopefully the last time. We have shopped for stone and tile for an upcoming bathroom remodel, gone out to eat a couple of times, drove around the island looking at houses, cleaned out the clearance aisles buying next year's Christmas lights, and we took trips to Orlando and Melbourne.

Andy has completed several projects in the garage, like painting and hanging new racks and hooks to hold things like ladders and gardening tools. He has spent countless hours configuring his new laptop the way he wants it and also put up new trellises for our allamanda plants to replace some that broke in the hurricane this year.

In the meantime, I wiped clean an old laptop and readied it for sale, then listed it on eBay as we were up to four laptops in a house with only two people. I planted a new plant, walked 21.41 miles (not all in one shot), and took lots of photos. And then of course I have been busy with posting on this site and also my new blogging job researching and writing about gadgets for Mobility Site.

So all in all we are having a busy but fun vacation, and I hope everyone else is too. This is just the kind of change of pace we need to get us motivated for the year ahead.

You know with all the crap we have been through with our neighborhood and all of the scumbags that live here, Andy and I have been dreaming of living in more of a non-neighborhood kind of environment. I mean really, we just lost our only good neighbors a couple of months ago, the the morons at the front of the neighborhood painted their house bright orange, the drug dealer loser has been slipping back into his old patterns, and there are several other houses in great disrepair that make the whole neighborhood look bad. Why should we stay?

We went looking around in North Merritt Island, near the Kennedy Space Center for available properties with more land, just for the hell of it. I was particularly enamored with a stretch of road that was canopied in huge Australian pines, forming almost a tunnel over the road. I could absolutely live there. I have really missed being in the woods for a while in the neighborhood we are in. It is all just grass and landscaping, but hardly even any mature trees. I would so much love to be able to go on a walk around my home and feel like I was immersed in nature, with the birds and frogs and bugs and snakes all around.

From what we saw while looking around, we would probably have to build a house of our own to be happy. There wasn't much out there that was up to our standards. And I don't think it will happen, because generally one has to sell their house before they can get a construction loan on a new one, and with all of our animals it would be too difficult to find somewhere else to live. That, and the fact that land is so insanely expensive. But it was an interesting thought.

Click on the pictures for big.

For those of you who don't know, today is a holiday known as Christmas Second Day, as it is celebrated in the U.S. Virgin Islands and apparently no where else in the world. I found it very interesting when I lived in the the Virgin Islands that they had so many holidays. Some of them were extremely ridiculous, too. Here is the list, according to Fodor's Travel website of holidays recognized by the USVI:

New Year's Day
Three King's Day (January 6)
Martin Luther King's Birthday (Third Monday in January)
President's Day (Third Monday in February)
Transfer Day - the day of transfer from the Danes to the U.S. (March 31)
Holy Thursday
Good Friday
Easter Sunday
Memorial Day (Last Monday in May)
Organic Act Day - V.I. constitution created by the U.S. Congress (Third Monday in June)
Emancipation Day - Von Scholten emancipation declaration (July 3)
U.S. Independence Day - (July 4)
Hurricane Supplication Day (Fourth Monday in July)
Labor Day (First Monday in September)
Columbus Day / V.I. Puerto Rico Friendship Day (Second Monday in October)
Hurricane Thanksgiving Day (Third Monday in October)
Liberty Day - D. Hamilton Jackson Day (November 1)
Veterans Day (November 11)
Thanksgiving Day (Fourth Thursday in November)
Christmas Day (December 25)
Christmas Second Day (December 26)

Add to that "October Sunday" which isn't a real holiday but they have lots of parties and events for it, and the four days in the spring when "Carnival" is held, and you are up to twenty-six days of holidays, one day for every other week of the entire YEAR! Talk about crazy (but in a good way, I guess, unless you need to go to the bank or something). There are a lot of French people there too, so Bastille Day is also celebrated, and then there are wild "Full Moon Parties" on one of the nearby British Virgin Islands (Tortola) which are held, of course, on every full moon. People go over there to bars where they are served psychedelic shroom tea, hallucinate, and then pass out on the beaches.

Anyway, of the list above, the absolute stupidest holiday is Hurricane Thanksgiving Day. It is held on the third Monday in October and it is a holiday to give thanks for making it through MOST of the hurricane season without a major hurricane. I guess when they get wiped out by one, they don't hold a Hurricane Thanksgiving that year? I mean it is fine to have a Hurricane Thanksgiving and all, but why not have it at the END of hurricane season?

Since it is just me and Andy here, and no other family, we tend to have rather unconventional holidays. Take today for example. This morning while everyone was huddled around their respective Christmas trees, we were at the beach, of all places. We got up this morning and took a little ride over to Cocoa Beach and stood in the sand, watched the birds, and listened to the waves. The water wasn't even THAT cold on our feet, but it was way too cold for swimming, although there were a couple of crazies out there in the water.

I love the beach in winter, it is so relaxing and beautiful. I know it seems weird to most people to go get all sandy on Christmas Day, but there is just something cool about it. And there was no pressure to get in the water because it was cold. I love swimming and all, but it seems like every time Andy and I go to that beach and get in the water, a HUGE fish will bump into my leg or brush up against me sending me running screaming out of the water. You know we have lots of shark attacks around here, so you can never be too careful.The part that bothers me the most is that you can't see what is swimming in the water all around you. If I could just see, it wouldn't be an issue for me. Like when I lived in St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands. There was all kinds of life in the water there, but since I could see it through the crystal clear water, I was okay with it.

So even though we are having a weird Christmas here, I hope you are having the Christmas you've been dreaming of, whether it is a white one, or sandy like mine. Merry Christmas everyone!

I have been seeing a lot of those commercials on TV lately that feature people giving a Lexus with a huge bow on top to their loved ones for Christmas. Can the average person really do this? If Andy bought me a car as a surprise without my knowing it, I would KILL him. I mean, for one, cars are really expensive, and I don't think that there are too many people out there who can just go out and pay cash for a Lexus. So there would probably be a car payment involved, and that seems to me to be more of a decision a couple should make together. Shoot, we discuss any purchase that is not part of the regular budget.

Then there is the thought that maybe the person driving the car would like to choose the color and the options and such. I mean choosing a vehicle for someone is a little controlling, a little too "Sleeping with the Enemy" for my taste.

And lastly, where do you go to get one of those giant bows for the top of the car? Do they actually make those or are they just for the commercials? I know, here I go overthinking things again, it is just a TV commercial, after all. But it makes me wonder.

Andy recently e-mailed his parents some photos from my sister's visit here last month. You know, the one where she brought my adorable niece and nephew. This was his mother's response:

Hi. The pictures were really good. I didn't realize how much Jen and her sister looked alike. You look good holding a child. Maybe it's time you thought about that. Love you. XXOO Mom

Is it just me or is that e-mail wrong on so many levels?

Cody (my diabetic dog, for those of you who don't know) has been having some problems with his blood sugar lately. I think it is partly because he has lost so much weight. He was nearly fifteen pounds originally, and now he is down to under eleven pounds.

I have taken him to the vet four times in the last few days to get his glucose checked. We have been adjusting his dosage of insulin accordingly, and I have a feeling that the answer to his problems might be going to two shots a day of smaller amounts of insulin, instead of just one. I think the vet is trying to avoid that, to make it easier on us, but I think that is what we will end up doing eventually anyway. Poor little guy, I know he must feel just like a pincushion.

UPDATE: Ha! Just got off the phone with the vet, he wants to us to give Cody two injections a day now. I guess I saw that one coming.

I have been offered and accepted an incredible opportunity, and that is to be a contributing blogger on a newly reborn website, Mobility Site. It is described as "A weblog covering mobile gadgets and technology. PocketPC, Smartphones, MP3 Players, and more!" by its founder, Chris Leckness. Chris is the founder of the very popular Aximsite and iPaq Headquarters as well as several other sites. So thank you very much to Chris for giving me the opportunity to blog about the gadgets I love, and everyone please stop by www.mobilitysite.com to check it out.

Sorry to any non techie readers, but my true geekery is going to shine in this post, so just bear with me.

In addition to my laptops, I like to have a handheld deivce or Pocket PC to take with me for internet connectivity on the go, or even in the house. I used to use my Pocket PC, a Dell Axim X30 to check my e-mail and comments early in the morning as I was sitting at my vanity getting ready for work. The "instant on" feature was nice in that there was no waiting for it to boot up. But alas, it was not a perfect system and the tiny screen with its low resolution left me scrolling back and forth just to see each webpage. I ended up selling it and all its accessories on eBay to fund the next gadget in line. But what would it be?

I starting looking for an upgrade and I found that the newer Dell Axims are now up into the $500 dollar range, and still lacked a lot of the accessories I would want. That was a big jump for me because previous Pocket PCs I had were only about $350 including a few accessories. And then there were the issues with the new operating system. I read thread after thread on forums talking about how difficult Windows Mobile 5, the new operating system was. Dealing with that just didn't seem to fit into my overall migration away from Microsoft products either, with my new iBook and all.

And then there was the Nokia 770, Nokia's first non-phone device. It is called an internet tablet, and it has both Wi-fi and bluetooth for connectivity. Most importantly, though, it has a gorgeous 800 x 480 pixel screen which is perfect for viewing the tiniest details on webpages in a way I have never seen on a handheld. And the price, oh the price. A mere $359 from NokiaUSA.com. Not surprisingly Nokia is sold out of the things, and I had one on order, but then a few started appearing in CompUSA stores, and I tracked one down in Orlando. The sales people didn't even know what it was.

So, I picked one up, and let me tell you, it is impressive. First it runs a version of Linux as the operating system, and comes with Opera as the preinstalled browser. I can post to my Movable Type blog from it, and check my stats using CPanel from it and various other things I could never do from Microsoft Pocket PCs. It doesn't have the fastest processor or very much memory, but it does what it is supposed to do very well. It uses Reduced Size Multi Media Cards (RSMMCs) for storage, and they can be found in sizes up to a gigabyte currently. The battery life is pretty good- I get nearly four hours of browsing on a charge at close to full screen brightness, and the batteries are replaceable so it is easy to carry a few spares. The unit has a neat brushed metal cover that goes over the front to protect the screen, and then can be flipped around to cover the back when the unit is in use. It is definitely a nice touch.

All in all it is just really cool to see my blog in miniature and be able to surf from anywhere in the house without lugging a laptop around. Do I NEED the Nokia 770? Probably not. But its cool factor won me over as my handheld device of choice for 2006.

Andy and I have been terrible procrastinators this year, or if you ask him, I have been a terrible procrastinator. We just got our Christmas cards in the mail today, after much bickering. He blames me for not sending the addresses to his computer for him to print out the address labels, and I blame him for the fact that I had to make one of those horrible Christmas newsletters that everyone hates.

I made the mistake of making a newsletter for Christmas the first year we were married because I found the neatest paper in the entire world to print it on. It actually came out pretty cute. Now every year his family nags me to do one of those damn newsletters. The stupid thing is that they already know everything in the newsletter, because they are constantly calling or visiting, so it isn't even news.

Since I was forced to make one, I titled it Another Stinkin' Newsletter, which Andy didn't exactly love. I just wasn't into it. Then we had issues this morning with the label printing software and we were both a little bitchy because we were up so early working on the cards. I managed, as always, to get a paper cut on my mouth from licking envelopes, and at one point I even licked a self-adhesive stamp before applying it. Suffice it to say that I am really glad that ordeal is over, though Andy and I still have bits of glitter all over us from the cards. At least the cards are in the mail!

I have been having some site issues with how a few of my templates (skins) are displaying lately, but only in Internet Explorer. Everything appears fine in Firefox, Safari, and Opera browsers. The issue is being worked on, so bear with me. If the page displays funky for you, go to the sidebar (where ever it may be, possibly at the bottom of the page) where it says "skin this site" and click on the orange and blue skin, as it is displaying properly in all browsers, until I get everything fixed. Thanks.

I am not here at all to slam Microsoft products, but after receiving my iBook a few weeks ago, and Andy finally getting his Dell XPS laptop after returning the first model he got, there are a couple of differences I have noticed. First, when I started up the iBook initially, it immediately connected itself to our home wireless network without me having to do anything. This is not that big of a deal, because it only takes a few steps in XP to do the same thing, but it was appreciated.

Here's a bigger one though. We have an all-in-one printer, an HP that has wireless features built into it, and it appears on our network as its own item, and it is not connected physically to any of our computers. Pretty slick, huh? Well when I first wanted to print something with my iBook, I just clicked "print" and it asked me if that printer was the one I wanted to use. I proceeded and it went ahead and printed, easy as pie. Not so with the windows laptops. We had to dig out the printer software CD, install it on each of the computers first, and then we were able to print. Again, not a big deal, but given the choice, the first way is a hell of a lot easier. I have to say that I am enjoying the simplicity of Apple. Andy is probably getting sick of me bragging about how easy everything is on the iBook by now.

Our parrot Charley has quite an extensive vocabulary of phrases and is always learning to say new things. Most of his new stuff is built on something he already knows; like he knew "What are you doing?" and then he learned "How are you doing?"

Every once in a while he busts out with something completely different, though. Last night while we were watching TV, I kept hearing him repeat the same thing over and over but I couldn't discern what it was. Andy turned down the volume on the TV, and he was the one who figured it out. He was saying, "you stink like fruit." We had a good laugh at that one.

Okay, yes, this is a weird thing for a bird to say, (or anyone for that matter) but we feed Charley a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables and he always seems to smell like it. So, I guess sometimes when I pick him up, I tell him he "stinks like fruit," but I never thought he would pick that up. Now he says it constantly. He is the best.

Today was my last day of work before Christmas. I have the next seventeen days off, yay! The guys at work are having a campout (also known as Drunkfest 2005) all weekend at a park on the space center property. I may stop by there tomorrow during the day, but it is going to be way too rough at night. When the guys get drunk, they either end up fighting, or they are all "I love you, man." It is a tough crowd of heavy drinkers, and they used to do these campouts several times a year, but it has been about four years since the last one. They are still telling stories from those trips, so I can't wait to hear the tales from this one.

People and their priorities crack me up. Picture this: an unkempt house with mold growing all over it, a yard full of overgrown weeds, the mailbox that has been duct taped to the post for months, seven or eight soggy newspapers squished in the driveway. And then there are Christmas lights.

It just amazes me how someone who can't even bother to bend over and pick up the old newspapers from their driveway can motivate themself to hang Christmas lights. And no, they aren't still up from last year, they are freshly hung. I guess everyone's priorities are different. I could have found about a hundred better ways to spend my time if I lived in such a place. Hanging lights on such a house is like decorating a turd.

Today at work we had our annual training exercise where we have some sort of evacuation. Every year it is a different scenario, either a simulated fire, a simulated toxic release of propellants, etc. Today it was a chemical release and a simulated "man down" that had to be rescued.

For a chemical release they set off the "warbler," which is a siren that is different from the fire alarm. It is a very eerie sound, if you ask me. We have wind socks placed strategically all around and you are supposed to look at a wind sock when you exit the building and remain upwind of the toxic vapors. We have "marshalling areas" where everyone has to be accounted for, and the fire department comes and there is an incident command vehicle with a green light on top that you go to to report any pertinent information about the emergency. It is a whole big production but we have to go through it to make sure we know what to do in the event of an emergency, as we are working around some extremely dangerous chemicals.

In the work areas, we have these things called ELSAs which stands for Emergency Life Support Apparatus, or something like that. They each consist of a little tank that holds ten minutes worth of breathing air, and is connected to a tube with a clear plastic "hood." If we were to be in an area where a chemical release occured, or even a fire, we could grab ELSAs, hang the straps around around our necks, and put the plastic bags over our heads to allow us to get to a safe place outside. It is one of the few times it is okay to put a plastic bag over your head. We go through annual ELSA training as well. It is amazing how much damn training we go through. What kind of safety requirements or equipment do you have where you work?

The house is starting to drive me a little nuts. I am a super neat freak and while it looks pretty clean, there is hidden dirt and dust that can't be reached without a lot of trouble. I can't see it, but I know that it is there and it bugs me. You know how your house is never as clean as when you first moved in? I want that just-moved-in clean again. What I need is a service that would come in, move all the furniture out, and then scrub and clean and even repaint if necessary, and have everything back in place in a day's time. They could call the business "A Clean Start" or something like that. I would pay big bucks for something like that. The idea of doing all that myself really overwhelms me and as time goes on and I know that the funk is piling up behind the furniture it overwhelms me as well. I wish there was some kind of machine that could attach to one of the doors or windows and it would just suck all the dust out of the entire house. I mean I dust and all, but it seems like only hours later it is back. How do you fight the house funk?

If you are a regular reader here then you know that Andy and I adopted our fourth poodle back in October. We got her from a wonderful group called Coastal Poodle Rescue that is made up of volunteers and subsists solely from donations. Much to Andy's chagrin I still check out their website frequently to look at the dogs available and I am forever whining to Andy how I want this one or that one, but he is convinced that four and a parrot is more than enough. I was looking today and saw an adorable little nine year old black poodle that has diabetes, just like our Cody. I have noticed that there is a high percentage of poodles available for adoption that are diabetic, which leads me to believe that their owners must give them up due to their disease, or that it must at least be a contributing factor. I just can't fathom it, though. How do you just give your dog away because it has a medical problem? I could never do it- it seems like it amounts to laziness more than anything else. The poodle rescue organization has a policy that the owners who give their dogs up for adoption will remain anonymous, and I can see why, as quite a few of them have been abused, neglected, or just given up because the owner was "done" with them. A lot of these owners should be embarrased by their behavior. Now of course, there are people with situations beyond their control that must give up their pets, and it would be nice if that is all that the rescue organizations had to deal with. Instead there are people that should have never owned a dog in the first place, mistreated it, and then leave it to the generosity of of the rescue group to take care of the mess they have made. Some of the dogs that come in have never gotten their vaccinations, some have heartworms, etc. There is a little male they just got in who has a broken leg and a dislocated hip and is having to be transported to an animal hospital in another city to get it taken care of by a volunteer. It is really heartbreaking. I just want to scoop them all up and take them home.

Here's a goofy one I got today:

The poem is very true, unfortunately.

CASE 1: Kelly Sedey had one wish, for her boyfriend of three years, David Marsden, to propose to her. Then one day when she was out to lunch David proposed! She accepted, but then had to leave because she had a meeting in 20 min. When she got to her office, she noticed on her computer she had some e-mails. She checked it, the usual stuff from her friends, but then she saw one that she had never gotten before. It was this poem. She simply deleted it without even reading all of it.

CASE 3: Richard S. Willis sent this poem out within 45 minutes of reading it. Not even 4 hours later walking along the street to his new job interview with a really big company, when he ran into Cynthia Bell, his secret love for 5 years. Cynthia came up to him and told him of her passionate crush on him that she had had for 2 years. Three days later, he proposed to her and they got married. Cynthia and Richard are still married with three children, happy as ever!

I am not even going to post the dorky ass poem, but I just want to ask, what the hell possesses people to start these damn things, and why on earth do people keep spreading them around? What a crock of shit. Please, if you get these things, break the cycle and delete them. There is no magic or karma associated with e-mail, trust me. Shit does happen, and people may try to blame it on a chain letter or e-mail or karma, but after all it is just shit. I mean haven't you seen really bad things happen to good people before? Like little innocent children that get deadly diseases; what horrendous thing could they have possibly done to deserve it?

Last year I had a horrifying experience with a new Dell laptop that I ordered. It dragged on for months and I went through five motherboards and three complete system replacements. It was extremely inconvenient as repair techs had to come to the house four times, Dell reps in India called our house in the middle of the night (2:30 am) twice because they didn't understand the time difference. The wrong parts were sent several times, other parts were found broken inside when techs were replacing things, and various other shit happened. I vowed never to buy another Dell, but Andy needed a new laptop, and after much searching and review reading, etc., he ordered a Dell, and then waited two weeks to receive it. He finally got it today after obsessively checking the tracking number for days, and the damn thing has a big problem. The power button does not work. The only way he can turn the thing on is to pop the battery out and then back in. I tell you, Dell might have been good at one time, but their quality has really gone down as of late. I mean really, they supposedly check all of the computers out before they ship them; how could they have possibly missed the fact that it won't turn on? Poor Andy, now he is going to have to deal with Dell's horrendous customer support. I sure hope they can clear this up quick and send him a new one. We have the worst luck sometimes.

I don't know why my mind works this way, but sometimes I learn things and then overthink them. For instance, in school as a kid I learned how our sense of smell works. It was illustrated with a bottle of perfume and showed how the molecules entered the nasal passage and all that junk. Being the weirdo that I am I started thinking of other smells, ones that aren't as nice as perfume and the whole smell thing started to really gross me out. You see, it is like this, if you smell dog poop, it is because there are actual molecules of shit inside your nose! Isn't that horrific? When someone farts and you smell it, it is because the molecules that were just inside their ass wrapped around a turd are now in your nose! It almost makes me mad to smell a fart now, how dare someone put their nasty rectal molecules into my nose! Gross!

One thing I learned from working night shift on Sunday is that I could not do it on a regular basis. It is all well and good if you can sleep during the day, but when I got home and tried to go to sleep, it was like trying to fall asleep in the middle of a zoo at feeding time. Charley (the parrot) was happily yapping away at the top of his lungs, "tickle, tickle, tickle, tickle, tickle, tickle" and so on was his favorite that morning, over and over again. The dogs were in their active phase, and were thundering up and down the stairs and hallway. Annabel kept jumping on the bed and licking me in the face to let me know she wanted to play. Louie was barking. Needless to say I got very little sleep and hopefully I won't have to go through that again anytime soon.

Okay, so I went to work last night at eleven and didn't get home until about eight-thirty this morning, but I will be back on day shift tomorrow. You see, when you are one of only five people on the space center who can do a certain job, and they decide to work around the clock, you have to be flexible and work weird hours sometimes. It is tough, but it is kind of expected, so I do it. I had to go and work away from my normal work area, and instead reported to the Orbiter Processing Facility, Bay 1. We were doing thruster valve signature traces, but I don't want to bore you with that, so instead I will post a couple of photos I took from the area. In the first one you can see the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) nozzles, then there is a shot overlooking the open payload bay looking from the aft of the ship. The last is a shot inside one of the SSME nozzles. Click on the pictures for big.

Well, I saw from my post the other day how strongly a lot of people feel about punishing children, but what about the barbaric things that people the world over do to animals? To me the practice of tail and ear docking is one of the most cruel and unusual things one could do. Really, why are we still doing this to dogs? It started out that it was done centuries ago (I guess) to keep working dogs from getting their tails and ears caught in brush when they were running through the woods and such. Now I think it is just cruel to continue such practices. Three of my dogs have docked tails. The breeders have it done when they are only a few days old, so most poodles that you can get have short tails. One of mine, Louie, has a wonderful long bushy tail. When we got him as a wee pup, the woman who owned his mother said that her daughter had begged her not to have his tail cut. I am so glad that she didn't have it cut; it is wonderful! His tail is so expressive and it makes me wonder what my other dogs would look like if they had their proper tails. And those poor dogs like boxers and rottweilers that get their tails chopped off and half their ears too! What a horrible thing for them. I have even heard that such practices can make an aggressive dog even more so, because it can't express itself as well. I could never do that to a dog, but it is seen as totally acceptable and commonplace in our society. It seems like it should be considered animal abuse to me. I mean really could you look at this gorgeous thing and have its tail cut off?