sheepdog

Well congradulations on your reasearch project approval. Just what are you going to be reasearching, or can you tell us? Funny, I was just in a sand storm myself last week, as we were going back and forth from California to Mexico. We have to drive threw the Dunes to get to Algadones, Mexico. Boy I can tell you, a fancy paint job on a car would not last long if you had to drive threw that area very often! It would get sand blasted right off!

I still use a very much outdated program from Microsoft, Photodraw. It does pretty much everything I need to do, and though it is a fairly simple program, I had a terrible time figuring out how to use it, so I have no great urges to jump into any programs that would be more complicated to figure out than it is. I actually bought a copy of Photoshop but got it at a swap meet and never could get it to install without some code or something so I gave up on that one. I am not comfortable with online storage at all. I have all my pictures and stuff burned onto cd's. I make several copies and keep them in different places, in the event of fire or whatever. We also live in tornado alley, so there's that to consider. It is a nusance to find the pictures when I need them, since I never did figure out good ways to organize my files, but I find them sooner or later. I just don't trust clouds and that sort of stuff. You know the wind easily blows clouds away right? :-) And I've been hearing that some of these storage places then think they have the right to use your pictures with no compensation to you just because they have them stored. They can even sell them and make a profit off of your work. That sucks.

Listened to an interesting story on the news last night about our current food stamp program. Our government claims there is only about a 1% amount of fraud in this program. The United States Department of Agriculture is tasked with keeping tabs on the amount of fraud in this program. The reporters investigating this story went threw about 20 or 30 stores during the investigation and found that 2 out of 3 stores would cheat on the ebt cards. Either selling the food stamp customers booze, ciggerettes, and even condoms, or giving them cash. They found numerous ebt cards for sale for cash on the internet. So I'm not sure what kind of fuzzy math they used to come up with their claim that there is only 1% of fraud in the program. These cards are being used in strip clubs and liquer stores, even a massage parlor or 2! Now here's the part that really pisses me off. The USDA has 100 employees that are to watch over 200,000 business that are licenced to accept food stamps and ebt cards. So no wonder they don't catch any fradulant sales. Now, here's the thing. The USDA has 120 employees that regulate 8500 licenced kennels/animal facilities. Do the math. Our government cares way more about how many dog turds are in a pen than they do about the governement being ripped off. This is a sad state of affairs when you look at our national debt that our grandchildren will still be paying off when we are all dead and gone. Talk about some seriously screwed up pryorities!!!

Once upon a time I had a lady come to visit the kennel. She wanted some kind of small dog, but wasn't exactly sure what breed she wanted. I named off several different breeds that I had available at the time, but when I mentioned Poodle, she was very adament that she did not like Poodles at all and would not have one under any circumstances. Ok, no problem I said, I have plenty of others to choose from. So we walked around awhile looking at all the dogs and I was explaining the good and bad points of each of the other breeds when we came to this one particular pen. Those are really cute dogs says the lady, what are those? To which I replyed, Ahhhhh, those are Poodles. In complete shock she says, Why those are really cute, I thought they had to have those sissy hair cuts! Lady left with a Poodle, after I explained to her she could have the hair cut any way she liked it, she would just have to tell her groomer that she didn't want the typical Poodle cut. She kept in contact for quite a few years, and became a real Poodle lover. If this story has a moral, which it really doesn't I just think it's kinda funny, it would be that you really need to know and reasearch a breed of dog before you get one. Since I've had dogs my entire life, I tend to forget that regular people really don't know that much about dogs.

You folks in New York need to do something about that nut job you have for a mayor up there. I'm not sure even voting him out of office is good enough, perhaps a round of tar and feathering might be a better idea. Are all New Yorkers spinless sissys that will let the government tell them how big of a soda they can drink? How on earth can you let such government overreach go unchecked? Talk about a Nanny state! While crime runs rampant in the streets, your mayor is spending time and recourses telling you it's illegal to have a Big Gulp! That is just insanity. And as long as you do nothing about it it will continue to get more and more restrictive. Would you all please get that stupid moron out of office before he polutes the rest of the country? Yes, the soda ban was struck down by the supreme court. However, look at the cost to the tax payers, not only for the court case but the promotion and passage of this idiotic law to start with. And you wonder why the city is in financial trouble? And many small businesses were hurt by this action, due to the costs of dinners out going up to the consumers since they had to start serving soda's in small bottles and couldn't sever the less expensive pitchers of soda. If it costs more, people will eat out less. Plain and simple. So PLEASE New Yorkers, remember next time at the ballot box what a dumb *bottom* you have for a mayor. Remember how he intrudes into the very basic simple things in your lifestyle, and how he wastes your tax dollars on stupid regulations instead of trying to fix your cities real problems, like crime and a failing educational system and all the other disasters your city is facing. VOTE HIM OUT!!!

I'm having the same problem, but I've been making posts for 4 or 5 days now. Still no increase in mycents. Since I don't have enough in my account right now to pay this months web hosting fee, it has me considerably worried. I can't even tell if I am getting close enough to having enough to pay it.

Well, glad you stopped by to visit. You should do that more often!My hosting credits still haven't updated, I don't have a clue as to where I stand. Any ideas on why my cents aren't updating and when will it be fixed? It's only a few more days till the charges for my web hosting comes due, and I have no clue as to if I have caught up enough yet with my posts of the last 4 or 5 days.

Hey, your english reads pretty good to me! Doesn't look like your going to have much trouble communication with us in English. A lot better than I would do trying to write Russian! Welcome to Xisto. All you have to do is make posts, weather you start new topics or respond to topics previously started by other members. We have a lot of Russian imports in my area. Of course, they are all Kerry Blue Terriers! :)That seems to be a very popular breed in Russia. They are pretty rare here in the USA. That pretty much sums up my knowledge of Russia. They have good dogs. But really, what else matters? Maybe you can help fill me in on some of the other highlights of your country.

Actually, diet and one's physical health can play a definate role in one's mental stability. Many illness can manifest themselves with emotional problems. I'm sure you've seen that commercial, Here, eat this Snickers Bar, your not yourself when you are hungry. Blood sugar levels, and level of so many of our hormones, and other body chemicals can effect our emotional well being.

It might help if you choose a different time to study. Sometimes, no matter how well we sleep at night, we have a sleepy period during the day. Every one is different so you may have to experiment a little to figure out what works for you. For example, every time I eat during the middle part of the day, it doesn't matter what time in the afternoon I eat, I get sleepy afterwords. Doesn't matter if i eat lunch at noon or 3 pm, after I eat I get sleepy. So, before you start to study, don't have a snack. Try that. Also, getting outside in the fresh air can bring you around. If you can, take a short walk around outside before you start your studies. It also helps if you can keep on a regular schedule, get up and go to bed at close to the same time every day. Do make sure you get plenty of rest. Stressing out over it is only going to make it worse, so try to relax.

I sure hope you are right and things pick up soon. It's so hard to keep up hosting credits when it's like this.

Humm, I actually find this very interesting. I didn't think you could do much of anything with Paint program. I used to play around with it a lot when I first started messing with computers, but I could never do anything much that didn't look like something any 6 year old would of drawn. I would like to see some examples of good drawings done in paint. I can draw a little bit, but never could get the computer part of it handled.

Where the heck is everybody? I've been in here every day for the last 4 or 5 days and absolutely nothing is going on. No new posts, no new people signing up, no good arguments going, nothing, just nothing at all. I am rapidly running out of ideas for new subjects, and can't get anybody to even start a discusions with any of the one's I've tried to start. Man, I have never seen it this dead here. Come on people, limber up those typing fingers and start a conversation.

I just thought of a good way we can save some money and get this huge deficite reduced that our government has run up. Lets get rid of congress. President too. What good are they? They haven't made a budget in several years, even if they are required by law to do so every year. We already have more laws on the books than any one human could read in half a life time. So we sure don't need them makeing more laws now do we? Seems like all they do is quarrel back and forth with each other and waste our money. They can't agree on anything, no matter how simple. They aren't doing a bloody thing for us, not making our lives any better, safer or easier. Let's dump the whole stinking lot of them. We could keep the judicial branch, and our court system. Let them inforce the laws that are already on the books. There are already thousands of those. Who needs any more? So, what do you think? Sure would save lots of money with all their saleries, office staff, aids, buildings, secret service protection, cars, living expences, and all the millions they rack up on our dime.

Sadly, it' a lot easier to say those words, but it's pretty damn hard to stand by them. Will power is like smoke, it billows out in mass and clouds out everything around you, blocks whatever urges you have, and the next thing you know it's gone with the wind!

Mrdee, you are probably right. I think I have a few more days yet, so I will give it a bit more time and hope for the best. But the help staff has always been really good, I'm sure something will give, it usually does. It's just that the world has to make me fret and worry awhile before it straightens itself out.

I would really love some input to help me design the ultimate puppy playpen. My goals include not only socialization for the pups, but also physical and mental stimulation. I want to build a play or exercise area that will help develop young pups into becoming the very best companions they can be. When my pups go to their new homes I want them to be friendly, confident and less stressed by new situations.Who has gotten a new puppy at some time and has any ideas on what the puppy could be exposed to before it goes to it's new home that would help make the transition easier? What kind of things bothered or frightened your new puppy when you first got it?I have some general ideas on what I want to accomplish. For starters, I want the pups to experience a variety of flooring surfaces. Separate areas for gravel, grass, sand, concrete, basically any outdoor surface they might in the future come in contact with. Since it will be an outdoor area, I’m not sure how I could include indoor type surfaces like carpeting or linoleum that would hold up, perhaps indoor/outdoor carpeting might work, but soggy shag carpet would never do. I plan to build a small, puppy size deck, with stairs to walk up to it, maybe a child’s slide to come down. Some small tunnels to crawl threw. Also want to include a water fountain for the running water sounds. Perhaps a bell with a rope chew toy attached that would ring when they played with it. What other ways could I make strange sounds part of the experience? Seems like I’ve seen some motion detector type ornaments that might be cool, like a frog that croaked when a pup went by it?I have even had a few wild notions about using a section of Plexiglas as part of the exterior fence, and getting a decorative small chicken house with a pair of Banty chickens in it so they can become accustom to birds. Direct contact would be a no no of course, but at least they could see and smell them. I probably have a squirrel or 2 around here I could coax to come to a feeder. I feel a bird feeder would bring contaminants into the area, so that probably isn’t a great idea. Any ideas or input would be appreciated. Any suggestions, for types of toys, or anything else will be appreciated.

Now I'm really starting to get paranoid. I've been making posts for 3 days now and mycents has not updated in all that time. Feel like I'm really flying in the dark here. I only show 98 cents in my account, same as it was 3 days ago, but I have made several posts.

The problem lies in part with the difficulties and the expenses of "organic" farming, and convincing the consumer that it is worth the added expense. It is all so very true, if products are labeled organic, they tend to fetch a higher price. And not everyone is willing to pay the extra expense. In some cases, they are correct in that it is a waste of money. Being raised organicly does not nessesarily improve the nutrional quality of the food. There are numerous studies where lab testing has proven there is no difference. But lets look at this from a different angle. Why is organic more expensive? After all, you are saving money by not applying chemical pesticides and fertilizers right? Fact is, organic pest control practices are not as effective as chemical ones. You are going to loose a higher percentage of your crops to insects, blight, fungus, etc. And just because an insecticide is labeled safe for organic use, that doesn't mean it is actually any safer than a chemical product. Poison is poison, wether it comes from a poisonous plant or a test tube. Crop yields too are traditionally lower in organic agriculture. And when you are paying a high cost for property taxes on your land, it needs to be able to produce to the fullest extent it can. Not only taxes, if you are paying interest on your farm loan, or the equipment needed to farm, you need all you can get. Anyone priced a new tractor or combine lately? It will scare you! I am amazed every time we drive through the farm lands of California. Those farm yards look more like farm equipment sales yards here. They literally have millions of dollars worth of specialty equipment setting all over the place. However, crop loss aside, organic farming and organicly produced vegtables are not really that much more costly to produce. A lot of the problem is media hype, telling us we should pay more for "better" food. Many small scale farmers jump on the band wagon selling at co-ops and farmers markets. Not only are they cutting out the middle man, they are getting by far a higher price per pound than their large scale farmer conterparts. People who grow the produce andsell directly should be able to sell for a better price, but they don't.

Seriously. Take care of them while you still can.I have just had a couple of really bad weeks, and it still isn't over yet. I guess it won't be for a long time yet. Couple weeks ago I got a really bad toothache. It was in my last top tooth on the left side, top of my mouth. It was the only tooth I had left on top to chew with, all the others besides my front teeth had already bit the dust. I tried all the usual home remedies, chewing tobacco, (draws out the infection) wiskey, (kills the pain) nothing seemed to help much at all. I even resorted to orajel type products, they wouldn't even touch it. After about 3 days of fooling around with it I decided I better start some antibiotics. I hate to take them if I don't have to but this was beginning to get on my nerves. Now normally after just 24 hours or so after starting antibiotics I get some relief, but not this time, not even a little bit. I gave it 3 days and still my tooth was hurting like hell, and a couple of my bottom teeth started hurting too, though it was hard to tell for sure, when one tooth hurts it seems like it just radiates threw your entire mouth and after awhile it's hard to tell for sure just where the pain is coming from. Sunday night I packed a bag and informed my better half that we were heading for Mexico. We got out of here tuesday morning, amazingly enough, I think that was the fastest we ever decided to leave on a planned trip. We drove straight threw to my Sister in laws place in southern California. She only lives about 1 1/2 hours from Algadones Mexico. Took us just over 27 hours. I had actually emailed and recieved a message back from my dentist down there and had an apointment for Thursday morning. So at least we had a little time to rest before heading south of the border. First day wasn't so bad, he just made impressions, but friday was awful. All my top teeth had to go, even the front ones, which were not bad or anything, just needed them out of the way. Despite the novicane, it still hurt like hell. (when you have abcesses, novicane doens't work very well.) He had my new teeth ready from the impression the day before and popped them in before the bleeding ever stopped. Told me not to take them out for 24 hours. I have to say that was about the most miserable 24 hours I've ever had. It just hurt like hell, I couldn't get my mouth rinced out very good had that nasty bloody taste in it, my lips and face was numb for hours, couldn't close my mouth enough to even smoke a ciggerette, which was really frustrating, couldn't eat anything that needed any chewing whatsoever, but at least the removal of the teeth ended the cold sensitivity I'd had, so all I had to eat was a pint of ice cream. That was about all I could get down. I had to make one more trip back on saterday, when I had some feeling back so he could adjust the dentures. It helped a little but not much. Oh dear, I hate these things! I look like Bucky Beaver! I now have a terrible overbite. He said he couldn't do much of anything with it without going in and cutting down my bones. But they would line up ok when I get the bottom teeth pulled and get the bottom dentures. I'm not convinced of that. He did tell me that these are temporary, that I can get a new set made in a few months when all the swelling is gone and things have settled down. I'm not sure that is even going to help. This has been a real mess. I can't bite anything off, and chewing is difficult to say the least. I keep biting the insides of my lips, so my mouth is still hurting all the time and the dentures were hitting on or causing some sores at the very top of the gum line. I managed to cut them down a little and got one spot fixed. But I still can't chew all that well, nor close my mouth when I have them on. I swore I was going to wear them and not end up looking like a toothless old hag, but they just hurt too damn bad. I am hoping when my gums finally heal up I can get some denture adhesive to keep them in place so I will be at least able to eat properly, right now I'm limited to vienna sausages, scrambled eggs, and canned peaches. So, as I said in the beging of this rambling, go brush your teeth!

Wow, people sure get some crazy notions in their heads! Getting cancer from a dog? That's just nuts. I'm really shocked that a doctor would go along with such a hair brain notion. Now in many cases, a doctor will claim allergies are caused by the family pet, and in some cases this could be true, but since the studies have been out for several years now that having a dog in the family when children are newborns actually is proven to prevent allergies, I would think most medical profesionals would of caught on to that by now. Even many years ago when I was a child and diagnosed with asmatha, my doctor told my mother that the only dog we could have in the house was a poodle or a schnauzer, but at least he did acknowledge I could have a dog way back then. Your certainly right about training too. A well behaved pet is not all that time consuming. Training on the other hand, and puppy hood can be demanding, but even that goes back to the original theme of this thread, to picking the right breed to start with. Not all dogs are created equally when it comes to training. And some are just downright high maintence. If I lived in town and didn't have the room to let T'Pel my new Standard Schnauzer puppy outside a lot to blow off some of her incredible high energy, I don't think I would of picked a Standard Schnauzer for a pet. An old fat lady like me could never walk enough to keep her toned down.

T'Pel completed her first away from home trip last week. She actually did a lot better than I expected her to. We stayed with my sister in law in California for a week. She has 2 dogs of her own, a beagle and a large Chihuahua, both older and obese. Not the kind of playmates T'Pel likes. She tried her best to play with them, and the Beagle wasn't totally against a little playing but he's just way to fat and lazy to keep up with my devil dog. The Chihuahua however, was not at all thrilled with the new kid in the house. T'Pel was just too overwhelming for her. I think she wanted to play but couldn't deal with T'Pels pushy, rambunctious in your face activity level. At one point the Chihuahua actually snapped at her and got a couple of wiskers in her mouth. Sure wish I would of had a video camera at that moment. Poor Chihuahua decided right quick that Schnauzer hair didn't taste very good. She spent several minutes making some of the awfulest dog faces and spitting and carrying on you ever saw. We got quite the laugh out of it. We of course, had our other dog Sissy, a mini Schnauzer with us, so at least they could buddy up together and play. It was really funny when Sissy thought T'Pel needed to learn how to play fetch. They had found a tennis ball somewhere, and Sissy got it and would stand up on the porch by the front door and then drop the ball down the long wheelchair ramp, and T'Pel would run down the ramp and fetch it. First time I ever saw one dog teach another to fetch. One thing that I noticed on the trip is that T'Pel was completely unwilling to go into her crate at night. Here at home I can say one word to her and she dives right in but every night while we were out there I had to push her in it, although by the last night before we were to leave she finally went in on her own. I thought it was pretty odd. Even in the motel room she would go in when I told her too. Can't figure out why she wouldn't at my Sister in laws place. We did have her crate in the bedroom with us, right next to the bed. She just didn't want any part of it. She also did real well when we would stop on the road for potty breaks. She has spent very little time on a leash, but that didn't seem to bother her at all. She had a lot more confidence when she was out in strange places than I thought she would have. So all in all, at least that part of our trip went well.

Humm, interesting, I think I know what you are talking about, I see my desktop do that all the time, but the icons pop right back in a just a couple seconds when the computer finishes loading the desktop. Never seen it stay that way. Sorry I have no clue for an answer for you.

It isn't that people treat people with disibilities different, it's that they treat people with dogs differently. People like dogs. Another person has no particular reason to speak to you if you are just walking by with a cane, but if you have a dog they for some reason just can't help speaking, or being friendly. My, what a pretty dog, or that is certainly a well trained dog I'm sure are comments you have heard. Just simple conversation starters, but friendly comments none the less. I think most "dog" people realize that for the most part, just good people have dogs. If you have a dog that means to most of us that you too are a nice, friendly dog type person, not some serial killer wandering the streets. Having a dog with you instills the idea in people that you are a kind and good hearted person. Someone safe, or trustworthy.

Good advice, but not just for sports bikes. You should never over rev any engine, especially when the engine is cold when you first start it. When an engine is cold and been shut down the oil drains down to the bottom, and over reving it before the oild gets pumped back up and coats the engine good can cause some serious damage.