What Made you Smile/What Ticked you off Today?

[prfsnl_gmr]

In our house, our older dog, Maroo - a 50 lb. mutt - is called Maroo, Roo, RooRoo, Roodie Toodles, and Wonder Dog. (He is really smart.) Our younger dog, Oscar - a 50 lb. brindle boxer - is called Oscar, Oscar-bo-Boxer, Osc-bo-Bosc, Oscar Proboscis, and Ambassador Ossu-bo-Bossu. (He is really cute.)

[Luke]

(He is really smart.)

This smart?



Ripley is amazing with object permanence and colors. She could know colors from repetition, but if I place a piece of carrot and a green bean on the floor and I say "Green!" she'll always go for the green bean. When I say "orange" she always goes for the carrot.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Yes. My mother-in-law taught him most of those tricks as a puppy, and - although he spends most of his time in the yard with his brother (and we spend almost no time reinforcing his tricks) - he still breaks them out at parties.

More importantly, however, he has very high "human" intelligence in that he quickly picks up on human emotions, understands most social cues, and complies with most commands even if he is never heard them before. So, for example, he will visit for a hug - which he prefers to petting - if you are sad or visit to play if you are happy. He will leave if his presence is awkward, and wait patiently for his turn to play. Finally, if you command him to "go lie down in the kitchen," "come outside and sit next to me," or "stop licking the baby", he will obey your command with alarming accuracy, a single verbal prohibition (such as "stop licking the baby") is generally all that is required for him to cease activity permanently. (The only one that has required reinforcement is "stop scrounging underneath the baby's high chair"...but he is just a dog.) It is all a bit uncanny, and his soulful eyes and furrowed brow give the impression that he is a relatively intelligent person trapped in a dog's body (fortunately or unfortunatly, depening on your point of view).

By comparison - both to him and to other dogs - his brother, Oscar the Boxer, is dumb as a brick and virtually untrainable. He is very sweet, though, and we still love him very much.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

All this dog-love is making me sad. Tomorrow I'm taking Grendal to my grandparents in Missouri. We're moving this summer (likely to a large condo downtown), and with me going off to college in the Fall, it's just not possible for us to keep her. But, my grandpa will spoil her rotten. He may even get her a companion dog to play with.

It still makes me very very sad. Grendal being my real first dog and pet and all.

[Luke]

It is all a bit uncanny, and his soulful eyes and furrowed brow give the impression that he is a relatively intelligent person trapped in a dog's body...

That's my Ripley as well. She's a mind reader that dog is. If I even think "treat" Ripley gets excited. If I feel sad, *boom* she runs upstairs to comfort me. I could walk her down a street made of bacon and she wouldn't leave my side until I said "release!". She learned how to "sing" with only one spoonful of chili.

That, and even at 13 doggie years old, if I give her an attack command she can still take down a grown man. I say "Victim" and her hair will rise, she'll foam at the mouth, and pull on the leash lunging to where I can barely control her unless using a heel command.

But when not in "protect mode" she's a peach.

[Blu]

All this dog-love is making me sad. Tomorrow I'm taking Grendal to my grandparents in Missouri. We're moving this summer (likely to a large condo downtown), and with me going off to college in the Fall, it's just not possible for us to keep her. But, my grandpa will spoil her rotten. He may even get her a companion dog to play with.

It still makes me very very sad. Grendal being my real first dog and pet and all.

Cherish those moments Ryan you still have left with Grendal. I think we can all relate, whether heading off to college or leaving home, our furred companions never forget us. It's saddening to think they still get older while we're away from them.

[indecks]

I hope this works, it's not on youtube, but facebook. Though the link should still bring up the video of Fenway scratching his butt.

Link

[REPO Man]

Bought another plastic drawer for my clothes. Aside from all my long pants (jeans and khakis), it and the smaller one I bought pretty much fits all my clothers.

My brother made me feel stupid by saying that it's stupid since apparently for the same price, I could have gotten a full-sized dresser from the thrift store. And no matter what I say (like not wanting a fullsized dresser, or a preowned dresser, or what have you) he and my mom just keep saying that I should have gotten a dresser from the thrift store. And my brother keeps saying "Oh, it's smaller and costs more so it must be a ripoff" and "Don't come crying to us when it breaks". Yeah, because everyone knows that there's NO CORRELATION BETWEEN PRICE AND QUALITY!! And he should talk, since there was a time he'd buy clothes from surf shops, despite the fact that he's just paying for a brand and that he'd get more for less money from department stores without sacrificing quality.

[SamuraiMegas]

I had a panic attack last night.

[Luke]

Smile: A/C for the second and third floors is fixed. Total damage was $130 (down from $200), which wasn't bad considering the amount of work that was done (new capacitor, new wires, new touch display fancy pants thermostat that doesn't require a textbook, freon).

The work was done by the same guy who fixed our first level heat issue this Winter. The guy is a pro and always educates me and makes sure every question I have is answered. He also offered a few upgrades, but when I asked if they were necessary he was 100% honest and said, "Well, I wouldn't buy X and Y if I were in your shoes".

The guy also taught me my common sense of heating and cooling was stupid (in a polite way). I would always close every vent, and door, on the second floor as I didn't want a false read on my thermostat. "You're basically asking three vents to provide the flow of a dozen, which drives up your electricity cost and puts to much pressure on your AC unit". Made sense as soon as he said it.