Father's Day

 Well, here it is, Sunday, the day before the dome comes down on top of us.  One of the things that's interesting is that last week they were predicting temps as high as 100 (F), and now forecasters are saying they should be in the mid to upper 90s (F).  From the maps I've been seeing, most of the high heat is going to stay to the south and the deep south.  Yepper, Florida and Texas are going to be cooking again.

I did work yesterday.  They're hungry for leads and measures and  as an incentive, they're giving out $5 gift cards to Subway and Dunkin' Donuts for every one you get.  I got a measure, so I'm the proud own of a Dunkin' gift card.  Maybe I'll get another today.  That means I'll be able to get 3 free donuts.

The measure was for carpet.  The customers have dogs and cats, and so our conversation headed in that direction.  I told them that I'd had dogs, but was dogless now, at least until I returned from my trip.  Many people have been suggesting rescue dogs, they didn't.  While there are all sorts of good stories about Rescue dogs, you never know what you're getting and many have had years of possibly bad training, or no training, and it's difficult to fix that.  Puppies are best, so you can start from scratch.  

And they put put out Father's Day gifts for all the men in the building yesterday: a soft drink, a Slim Jim, and a small bag of nuts.  I got cashews.  I'd have rather had walnuts or peanuts.

And it is Sunday.  That means many phony Christians will go to Church and be told that it's okay to pass judgment on others for oh so many varied reasons.  Well, that's not quite right, they're going to be schooled in what is acceptable, the decision to pass judgement encouraged by their church leaders, perhaps because they believe it gets the closer to godliness.  I find it amusing that many of these Cracker Jack Crazies believe they're doing God's will when there's nothing in the Bible that tells them to do this.  It doesn't say much for God's strength if piddly human beings have to force his will upon others, does it.  Perhaps this is one of the reasons for the great De Churching.

  

Puppies, Users, and Losers

 Yesterday we had spotty thunderstorms, if you blinked you missed them.  We topped off around 90 (F)and the same forecast is scheduled for today and tomorrow as well.  We're not quite at summer, but who's going to gripe about a week or so when the temps are so warmly holding steady?  Without the A/C, I'm sure I'd be pissing and moaning, until I adapted.  You wonder how people survived before A/C?  Well, they relied on fans and sweated a lot.  We, here in America, are spoiled.  Window A/C units are flying out of the store.  Some will be returned at the end of the summer.  Some of us here in America are Users, actually, it's only here in America, it's all over the world.  Nothing will ever change them. 

And, what about the billionaires club not paying taxes?  Thank you Republicans for creating so many tax loopholes.  If you're upset that Bezos pays no taxes, or Musk, or any of the 1%, blame the political party that is more interested in their campaign donations.  Blame the senior members of that party for foisting the lie of Trickle Down Economics on America.  It should be no surprise to anyone that the 1% are really nothing more than Users.  Oh, and a lot of them are Conservative, too.

On a lighter note, I checked to see when Windows was first activated in my PD.  The answer surprised me.  2013.  Wow. I had no idea the thing was that old.  That means the laptop I use for cycling is even older.  Ouch.  I figure, as long as they work it's fine.  Both are getting updated constantly.  In fact, I understand there's a new Windows update around the corner.  Yippee. I'm not wild about them.  They want me to sign in with a password and pin... I guess they don't want the dogs looking at porn when I'm at work.  I was going to post a video of doggy porn thinking it might be funny... it wasn't what I was expecting and might actually be considered offensive by some.  So, instead, here's a cute video with puppies playing.

There are 2 Governor's races in November, Virginia and New Jersey.  In New Jersey, the Trump loyalists got their butts whipped.   I'm sure this bites the ass of the Orange Anus.  Maybe, if we're lucky, he and his sexual predator cohort Bill O'Reilly will hold a superspreader event in the state.

 

On the naming of puppies

I've always advocated that when you lose a pet, the best thing to do is find a replacement as soon as possible.  Nothing heals the wound like the rub of a 12 week old puppy nose.  With this in mind, I began sending out emails today.  I'm looking for another Boxer puppy - one that will not take Gertie's place, but which will still help fill the hole in my heart.  I've already started getting replies.
At some point I will need to decide if I want a male or a female, so far I've only owned females.  Then there is the name.  Gertie was named after my paternal grandmother, Gertrude Wiest and Lilly is named after my maternal grandmother Lillian D'aubert (that's right, I'm German / French).  If I were to go with a male I could start hitting my grandfathers.  My maternal grandfather's name is Levi.  That has a bit of ring to it.  My paternal grandfather's name was Roy....  Roy....  Why would anyone want to name a dog Roy?

Lilly and Gertie in happier days

Like everybody, I do have a number of deceased relatives who have simply wonderful names, there's a Minnie, and a Gracie, and a Mae and a Laura, there's even an Abbie, though, according to my brother everybody called her Abigail.  On the male side there have been several Johns, a Robb, a Richard and a Cletus, which is another one which might not make a good dog's name.

Of course, in the end, it doesn't make any difference what you name a dog, what's important is the connection you build.  Five and a half years ago I drove north to a breeder on a cool, autumn morning.  There was still frost on the ground when I got there.  The breeder's kennels were heated on the inside, but each had a door leading out to a running area so the puppies could get out and run around.  As we approached, a single puppy walked out and sat down.  I paused a second or two and then turned to the breeder and said, "I'll take that one."

I had a dental appointment today to have my bi-annual teeth cleaning.  Honestly, I have no problem with going to the dentist mainly because my hygienist prattles away all the while shoving sharp, pointy tools deep into my gum line.   Her name is Theresa, and her subjects are quite diverse.  In fact, I often tend to forget the torture she doing in my mouth because you never know what's going to pop out of hers.  Today she told me she and her husband, Mike, had just gotten a new puppy, a Yellow Lab they named Mookie.  On previous visits she had filled me in on their previous dogs, a Rottweiler and a Black Lab, both of whom came to have sad, sad endings.  She had also filled me in, some time ago I might add, that she could not have children so their dogs became substitute kids.  Mookie, at fifteen weeks is evidently the delight of their lives.  I'm glad.  Dogs are fun.  One of the best things I've ever done in my life was get a dog.

A facsimile of Mookie

This morning, as she began carving the gum away from my upper left molars, she told me how Mookie had an emergency Vet visit last week: a lower tract disturbance as well as a UTI.  At that point I had no idea what a UTI was, little did I know I was shortly going to find out.  As she was detailing Mookie's ordeal, she said that the puppy, "has these long hairs growing out around her vagina and they seem to hold her pee.  I think that's why she had the UTI.  We wipe her with towelettes but I don't know if they work.  Does your dog have hairs growing out around her vagina?"  Her next sentence was "You seem to be bleeding quite a lot around these molars, are you sure I'm not hurting you?"  I didn't answer because my mind was still stumbling around the dog's vagina.  Now I've never been to Dental Hygienists school, but I'd be very surprised if there wasn't some form of course on the propriety of certain subjects.  You know?  Things to stay away from, like politics, and religion, and your puppies' vagina.  This is not to say I was offended, in fact far from it.  This was just one of those things you don't expect to hear in the dentist's chair, and I have to say, I've been laughing about it all day.