Bogieblog

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I just got done

I just got done steam cleaning the carpets, figured I had a break coming, so decided to jump on the computer. For anyone that has pets, a great product for cleaning up accidents (and most other common stains; beer, soda etc.) is Simple Solution made by Bramton. I use the Stain and Odor Removal solution for small jobs and the Carpet Shampoo for large jobs (any time I do the whole carpet). This stuff does a wonderful job - even on old stains that other cleaners didn't completely remove. It is also safe for pets and humans to walk on so you don't have to worry about Fido ar Tiger licking off of their paws. I go ahead and block off the areas that I have cleaned so the dogs don't track onto the carper, but I can't do that with the cats.

We had a good (aka lazy) Thanksgiving. Pretty much we watched football and NYPD Blue because Court TV was having a NYPD Blue marathon (no we didn't watch every episode). We got to record the 2 hour season finale from last spring. When it was originally on, somehow I messed up the VCR setting so we didn't get to see it, so now we get a second chance.

My mom emailed me a link on how to set the sideview and rearview mirrors on a vehicle so that there are no blind spots. She said it works really well, although it is hard to get used to. Maybe I'll try it sometime.

Jim has his new

Jim has his new page up and running, so I have added his link on the right.

Just wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving . If you are going somewhere, be careful (especially if you are in the Northeast - the roads are nasty out there). I probably won't be writing on the blog for the next couple of days; have lots to do (steam clean the carpets, get to the computer I got from Harry etc). However, if I get bored (or have some free time), I'll touch base.

Looks like we'll have

Looks like we'll have a fresh blanket of snow for Thanksgiving. Started snowing early this morning and supposed to get 2-4" of the white stuff. While I was coming into work (at 4:30 AM), there was already a car off the road. Usually I leave early enough that I miss all the accidents caused by bad weather (or bad driving in bad weather, take your pick).

I'll have a short day here at work today (shocked that I am writing this at work? Hey, it's break time - that's my story and I'm sticking to it). Should only need to put in 4-5 hours to grow a die empty. Then I get to head to the store and fight the mobs to get groceries. Wow, I won't know what to do with myself during the 4 day weekend.

I am trying an experiment with my 13 1/2 year old dog. He has been on Rimadyl (sp) for the last year for arthritis in one front leg and his back. Although it has helped him out, this drug has the nasty tendency to mess with the workings of the dog's liver and kidneys. After doing some research through homeopathy resources, I found that Yucca root is excellent for controlling inflamation due to arthritis. I finally found a source for Yucca extract that is in liquid form. Leerburg Kennel and Video sells Yucca Intensive made by Azmira Holistic Animal Care. A 2 oz. bottle goes for $15.00 (at Leerburg), which is not expensive since you just feed one drop for every 10 lbs of body weight (8 drops in Sampson's case). The bottle has lasted over a month (a month's supply of Rimadyl is $49.00), and Sampson's energy and comfort levels went up within a couple of days after starting on the Yucca. Anyway, Sampson has been taking both the Rimadyl and the Yucca extract for about 1 1/2 months. This week I have cut Sampson's dose of Rimadyl down by 1/2. If I don't see any changes in his behavior and movement, then I will cut it down to 1/4 of the original dosage. I am hoping to get him off of the drug totally - however, I don't want him to suffer, so will give him the lowest dose that I can while maintaining his comfort level. So far this week, Sampson has been fine at the 1/2 dose. I will keep everyone updated on how this works out.

Well, I'm full-up for

Well, I'm full-up for pet-sitting this Holiday weekend. It's amazing how many people wait until a day or two before they leave to call and check if I can take care of their pets (I didn't have anybody scheduled for pet-sitting as of last Saturday). What would they do if I said no? Some of them act like I should have nothing else planned - that I am subject to their whims. Now don't get me wrong, there are legitimate times for people to call me at the last minute. For any type of emergency, I will try my darndest to accommodate the customer's needs. I have cancelled planned day trips to help someone out, and that is fine. However, when people routinely call me just a day or two before they leave (and I know darn well that they have been planning this for a while), that is when I have a problem. I have had customers get huffy because I was going to a wedding and wouldn't be back until about 6 PM - so no, I can't let their dogs out at 4 PM (and by the way this was less than 18 hours before they were leaving that they thought to call).

If there are days that I can't watch animals, I let my customers know plenty of time in advance (we are talking months here). If there are evenings or mornings I will not be available, I do the same thing (OK - this may just be a couple of weeks notice). I figure the middle of the day is hit-or-miss for the client because:

• They know I have a regular daytime job
• Most customers don't need my services at that time of day (only in the morning and at night)
• I, just as they, have other things to do besides work (stacking wood comes to mind)
• Maybe I'm just a jerk

Fortunately, I love taking care of the pets, so am never permenantly disgruntled by their owner's antics. How much do I love it you ask - I love it so much that I haven't raised my prices since I started the business in 1995 (and then I was cheap compared to kennels). And, The Loving Spouse is thankfull for my performing pet-sitting because that means I don't bring home as many animals to live at my house!

Ah, another invigorating weekend.

Ah, another invigorating weekend. OK, not really, just more of the same; beat all the ice off the deck - 45 minutes of stress relief, fill the wood rack on the deck, work around the house, meet a pet-sitting customer to get the keys, perform computer maintenance (virus definition and Windows updates etc.), do the Sunday crossword puzzle, send some emails and watch football.

I took reciept of an old decrepit computer from a friend of mine. I haven't had a chance to look at it (too busy with the stuff mentioned above), but I think it is a 486 and probably has Win95 (or possibly 3.1) on it. I'll see what I can destroy on it, and if I don't manage to destroy it, I'll try to upgrade it a bit and maybe get my other half to use it. My wonderful spouse is very computerphobic . He doesn't even know how to turn on a computer and doesn't want to know. Sometimes the love of my life will want to play Mah Jong, so I have to turn on the computer and bring up the game. How someone can be so paranoid that they will totally ruin a computer is beyond me, but that is his excuse for not learning. However, he is more than happy that I can get plane tickets, make hotel reservations and reserve a rental car on-line (not to mention that special calculator that he needed for work, but couldn't find anywhere). Anyway, if I have a computer that I don't keep work and school stuff on, then my loving spouse won't have as good an excuse for not learning to use one. Don't get me wrong, I don't expect him to become an expert - however, it would be nice if he were at least computer literate.

I got my new

I got my new eyeballs (contacts) yesterday. Wow, I can see at 20/35 (combined) now - which means I can drive for another 3 years (you should be scared - very scared). What is really bad is that I have to wear glasses with my contacts! I am extremely near sighted (which means I can only see things that are near - like about 2" away. My uncorrected vision is called "counting fingers" (worse than 20/800). Now I need glasses to see the near part too. So I wear reading glasses at times. My eyes are in really poor shape, I not only can't see but I have astigmatism and Keratoconus . I found out about this condition almost 2 years ago when I was being tested for eligibility for Lasik surgery. Unfortunatelly the keratoconus makes it impossible to have the vision correction surgery. However, My doctor has told me that it is extremely likely that within the next 10-15 years I will need a corneal transplant in at least one eye - so I will get some surgery anyway (I'll more than likely still have to wear glasses/contacts). Even if corneal replacement is never needed, the doc said that it is very likely I will experience detachment of the retina because of the severity of my near sightedness (elongnation of the eyeball). Nothing like all good news to make one's day!

What is it with people that try to out-do you on everything. When vision comes up in conversation, I describe what my eyes are like and (if they were glasses or contacts) all say the same thing, "well, I'm blind as a bat so I know what you mean." When I ask what their visual accuity is they usually respond with 20/80 or 20/100. People, I don't remember ever seeing that good. I was in glasses when I was 5 or 6 years old. I had 20/450 vision at 12 - and you are going to tell me how horrible your eyes are?

When I got contacts several years ago, I started out with semi-hard lenses. One of my friends told me her contacts were so thick that they might as well be hard. Well, that is plain stupid. Contacts are not like glasses, thickness has nothing (or very little) to do with correction of vision when contacts are involved. Then she said her vision was 20/80 and I just had to smile and nod. I let her believe that she had won the "contest" because she obviously couldn't fathom what my eyes are like (yes she knew that my vision at the time was about 20/650). Now I wear soft contacts because for some reason my eyes have rejected the use of rigid contacts. Soft contacts are more comfortable, but hard contacts are easier to take care of (and may help keep the cornea from changing shape). Additionally, soft contacts do not offer the visual accuity that rigid contacts do.

City Quiz

Well, I was just over at Jimspot's blog and noticed that he had a link to a quiz, so I had to take it.

Congratulations, you're Washington, DC., the capitol of the United States.
What US city are you? Take the quiz by Girlwithagun.

I think I have just been insulted - Washington, DC indeed!

I'm getting really frustrated

I'm getting really frustrated with this webpage host. First there is the fact that my links seem to randomely change colors; they are a different color almost every time I look at my sight, and I am not changing the template. Second, My post from yesterday got posted twice (I've since deleted one). I know this wasn't my fault since the first time it was posted was yesterday morning (true), then it got posted again at 5:05 PM (impossible, I left work at 4:25 PM and was on my way to take care of horses and I didn't get home until almost 2 hours later - see next paragraph). Thirdly, now publishing of posts is unavailable temporarily (how long is temporarily?)

What was it with other drivers yesterday? It normally takes me about 45 minutes to get home (or in this case the house where I am taking care of horses). Yesterday afternoon it took me 1 Hour and 10 Minutes! No, it wasn't snowing, sleeting, raining or anything - But people had to drive 10 or 15 mph under the speed limit for some reason. Oh and they made sure to hit the brakes for that curve coming up. I can't even blame this on out-of-staters; everyone had NH liscense plates. Since the roads I travel on are one lane (each way), and there aren't many passing zones (the ones that do exist are pretty short too), I couldn't even pass the jerks (OK, I got past one, but then shortly came upon another one). While I'm bitching, why do I seem to be the only person that will pass these turkeys when the chance does arise? One guy was riding his brakes while following a slow-mover - but when a passing zone came up would he pass - noooooo ! So of course the person behind him didn't pass either, which meant that I couldn't pass because my poor little 4-cylinder engine just won't produce the get-up-and-go needed to pass 3 cars in a short passing zone.

On a lighter note, it is supposed to get to about 50 degrees today. That means at least some of the snow/sleet/ice will melt. Oh, and at work the database is on hold while I try to find some old drawings and revise them so that we can get parts made and in by next week. Yeah, right, that's going to happen (the part about getting the parts next week). I don't think anyone realizes that other companies aren't just waiting breathlessly for us to order something from them and all their machines aren't sitting idle until we decide we need something. I have to stop reading Maddox's webpage before I write in my blog - I tend to be more sarcastic after I read his stuff.

For those who asked,

For those who asked, my taking care of the horses is going well. They are used to being out to pasture, but due to the nasty weather this weekend (snow, freezing rain and sleet), John put them in their stalls before he left. The two younger ones (4-5 years old) were a little restless since they aren't used to being cooped up. They still did well; no problems with feeding, watering or cleaning out the stalls. Jesse, the oldest and lead mare, is as solid as a rock and nothing upsets her. I finally let them out into the paddock (no pasture for them since it is hunting season) Monday evening - and boy were they happy to kick up their heels! When I left John a message about the critters on Saturday night (I have to leave a message every night on his answering machine), I told him how the two younger ones were restless, but that they were OK and not a problem. He called me at home to ask about my welfare and see if they were giving me any trouble (I told you he is a neat customer to have). I had to reassure him that they were being good for me and didn't mean to worry him that they might be acting up.

At work I am re-starting work on an inventory database. I had started making this database a couple of months ago, but other more pressing issues kept me from continuing to work on it. I did have an Access class a couple of years ago, but never really worked with Access after that. So when I started on the database, I had to dig out my old books (sounds like me and HTML too) to familiarize myself with concepts, designs and practicalities. Well of course, I only got to work on it (on and off) for about a week, so now I will be basically have to re-learn what I have already done. I guess I'm just slow that way - some people you only have to show once and they have it for life - not me, I have to practice it over and over before I can say I really have it.