This is fact not fiction -

Hello, Gorgeous!

2009-08-16T20:40:45Z

His name is Hobbes. (:

Real BBC headline:

2009-06-26T03:35:41Z

'Stoned wallabies make crop circles'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8118257.stm

Book Review: Wonderland

2009-05-07T05:21:27Z

I finished reading Wonderland by Joyce Carol Oates a few weeks ago and tried to sit on an appropriate description of this book; I'm still a little baffled. It's a typical Oates novel in the sense that the characters follow face immense amounts of tragedy (some created, some owned, some cast on them) in a very short span; it also has a taste of depth to it. I was overall a bit disappointed, mostly because I see consistent throwbacks to The Tattooed Girl and Black Girl, White Girl, but I'll give the rest of the Wonderland Quartet a go before I judge the entire set.

This novel is more broad than most Oates creations, covering the lifespan of the protagonist (Jessie Vogel) from his early teens all the way through his adulthood. As such, it looses some joy and realism at times, because it is so focused on showing the agony of living. I would appreciate this book more if I were in a particular mental state, I think.

Overall: **1/2 (out of 5)

My life is beautiful.

2009-04-28T04:20:03Z

Book Review: World War Z

2009-03-25T18:51:32Z

I just finished World War Z in about 2017* hours; the book was deliciously addictive and not as brutal as I was expecting. I only had to put it down once, during a scene where I man listens to dozens of puppies dying of dehydration behind a barred window. It is otherwise scientific enough to not be gruesome and neutral enough to keep you emotionally detached.

All in all, it reads like a non-fiction piece and is absolutely engrossing, though it's definitely not appropriate for children and I probably wouldn't pick it up for a second read.

Overall (out of 5): ****

_{*-Thanks for the correction, Rafe!}

Microsoft OneNote

2009-03-02T02:15:50Z

Microsoft OneNote and I are going to run away together, to a place where people understand our love of clean notebooks and easily changed formatting, while still retaining new sections for each individual topic.

It will be glorious.

(That is all.)

What. The. Fuck.

2009-02-12T22:04:50Z

http://www.tmz.com/2009/02/12/animal-sex-for-valentines-day/

Really? REALLY?

Biden's kissing babies.

2009-01-20T17:07:56Z

The 44th President of the United States: Barack Hussein Obama

WE DID IT!

On Petland.

2009-01-06T17:30:05Z

I don't usually agree with the HSUS - in fact, it's pretty rare, since they spend so much of their time "muckraking" and so little actually doing anything with the dirt they uncover. I'll give them some credit, though: Petland sucks. It probably should be shut down - store by store - by local governments. Why?

1. Their puppies come from puppy mills.
I don't care how much bullshit that company's PR slings, the puppies are from puppy mills. They come in drastically undersized on a refrigerated truck from Missouri, many of them sickly. It's disgusting to me that franchisees are just now coming out about this fact when they can profit from it. I think it's ridiculous to think you're going to walk into a store that gets its puppies off a truck from a puppy broker and not be supporting a puppy mill.

2. High staff turnover rate means animals don't get the care they deserve.
In order to keep costs low, I was no longer allowed to open - why? Because I replaced shavings in all cages at least twice a week; turns out, Petland only wants each cage cleaned once a week and never changes the bedding for their birds. If a staff member attempts to give an animal proper care, the store simply stops scheduling them during times when they would be giving animal care. This includes a ferret they were going to let die even after I told them repeatedly the animal needed immediate veterinary care - what saved the ferret? A customer complained because they thought the animal was already dead.

The store is also very trusting with their hired "experts;" for example, a "reptile expert" told the owner that a Mali Uromastyx I was trying to nurse back to health was simply changing color and not eating "because it's a girl." Really, now? Apparently he's been hanging out with too many anorexics, because a lizard not eating and losing 40% body mass is obviously ill. I don't care how little you know. When I asked if I could finish setting up the new habitats planned to help keep conditions more constant, I was told, "Oh, no, that's the other owner's project - look at how far he's gotten!" and she laughed.

She refused me an hour to set up the section (cost: $7.00) and is probably about to lose another Mali Uromastyx (cost: $68.99) because she wants to show him how long it takes him to get things done. Way to prove a point at the expense of an animal's life.

3. You're always buying a sick animal.
90% of the animals leaving Petland call back for veterinary reimbursement - within a week. This isn't limited to puppies. I've seen calls back about birds, ferrets, hamsters who die within hours of being taken home or having babies within days of going home. I wouldn't even try buying a reptile here - they're so improperly cared for (Uro's CAN NOT EAT BROCCOLI, ugh) they're not going to make it past the initial moving period.

*

All of this being said, please don't support Petland, and encourage your friends to do the same. I'm saying all of this out of experience with the company, and I have to be honest, I've never been so disgusted with my job before in my life. Even at the worst of it with Petco, it was the bureaucracy I didn't like (or the price gouging), I never felt any of the animals were being treated unethically or misrepresented.

I also hated that Petland actively encourages its associates to lie about the pet contracts and misrepresent animals that are sickly. If you don't lie, you're not going to sell dogs, and well, then you'd get fired.

Seriously, though, stay away from this store; even if you're not planning on working there, you're just looking at the animals and buying supplies there, you're supporting their buying more animals and mistreating them. There's no reason for any of it.

AKC stuff.

2008-12-22T01:20:51Z

Murphy's finally eligible for AKC limited-registration (now known as PAL - Purebred Alternative Listing). This is good because I can finally start pursuing his CGC and some obedience classes. Exciting.

It means I'm actually going to have to get him fit/tidied up for his submission pictures and then I'll get in contact with Larry for the official obedience training. I'm pretty jazzed.

Now: bath/grooming time!

Pop the corks and cook the steer!

2008-11-15T01:19:27Z

I got the job - I start Sunday. (:

WHOOOOO! WHOHOO!!!

2008-10-19T06:41:22Z

Meggan and I are going to see Hillary Clinton on Monday! :D

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

2008-10-18T18:15:10Z

Happy First Birthday, Poughkeepsie J. Famularo!

<3

BBC said it best:

2008-09-14T19:49:22Z

"Barack Obama says the most important quality is vision for the future. No, says John McCain, the key requirement is experience - or at least that's what he said until he picked Sarah Palin as his running mate."

The actually interesting article can be found here.