The Washington Post had an “online extra” today about the dos and do nots of keeping pets warm in the winter months. One of the warnings was about the dangers of giving your pets a heating pad – they might not notice that they’re getting burned.
The article also mentions the fad of putting sweaters on pets. Apparently there actually is a benefit to it for some pets, but it’s best to avoid synthetics as they might cause static electric shocks.
Also, if you make your dog or cat wear sweaters, all the other pets will laugh at him.
Category Archives: Assorted Ramblings
It's a dog's life
I heard a story a while back about a guy who evidently cared for his dog quite a bit. When he passed away, in his will he left his ex-wife an income of $10,000 per year, but only as long as his dog survived. After that, the money would stop.
I’m not sure how apocryphal that story is, though it certainly sounds unlikely. On the other hand, there really is a fellow up in Hagerstown who passed away recently and left his entire $800,000 estate to his dogs.
Sled Physics
The following public service message is directed to nine-year olds in any area where snow, sleds and hills can be found in close proximity to one another.
Sled-riding is a popular winter-time activity, it’s therefore important to understand a few basic rules:
- If there is a patch of bare grass on the slope, you should launch your sled from a location where you won’t travel across the grass.
- If you do aim your sled so it crosses the grass, the odds are quite good that the sled will suddenly stop moving.
- Even though your sled may suddenly stop moving, it’s quite likely that you will continue moving. If you’re wearing a vinyl snow suit, you probably won’t stop moving until you reach the bottom of the slope.
They don’t generally demonstrate it quite that way in school, but this “momentum” stuff will eventually be discussed in science class.
Getting the cards out a little late
As I’ve said, in certain circles, I’ve become well-known for sending my Christmas cards out a little late. But my cards have always arrived before the next Christmas. There was a report out of Kansas last week however about a Christmas card that took 93 years to arrive!
This makes me feel a lot better about my cards.
Where's Abe?
A couple days ago I noticed that I had a $5 bill with www.wheresgeorge.com stamped around the Federal reserve seal. If you’ve never seen the site before, the general ideais that you can participate in tracking the migratory habits of money. I’ve run across similarly marked currency a time or two and was honestly a little surprised to learn the site was still around.
I went ahead and entered my bill’s information and learned that so far I’m only the second person to log its travels. So far, it’s still in my possession, it could be mildly amusing to see where Abe winds up next.
More bills to watch:
Squirrels
Looking out the window this morning, I saw a squirrel running through the tree and across the yard. It may have found the seed that spilled when I was getting the feeder set up, but so far the actual feeder doesn’t seem to have been discovered yet.
So far, the birds haven’t found the feeder either.
Sometimes a Sculpture is just a Sculpture
If the purpose of art is to make you take a look at life from an unusual perspective, then the folks at the Open Concept Gallery in Grand Rapids have succeeded beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. Apparently a number of people called 911 about a sculpture of Sigmund Freud because they’d mistaken it for a man dangling from the side of a building!
Dancing Fool
The main reason for this entry is so I don’t lose the link for the Washington Swing Dance Committee.
So far, it’s been a pleasant experience: Everyone I’ve met has been polite, everyone’s there to dance, and even when they decline, they’re nice about it. (e.g. “I’m sorry, I’m need to catch my breath. Maybe a little later?”)
So right off the bat, it’s better than any of the dances I went to in High School.
There’s even a few people gifted with the ability to put a novice at ease and teach him a new move or two.
I’ve been having fun so far!
An Odd Product
Walking through the local Targêt last night, I came across this rather odd item in the Pet Care section.
Gates like that are a great way to keep a pet (well, a dog anyhow) from leaving or entering the room. Nothing too exciting there.
But what’s with the pet door in the pet gate? Doesn’t that kind of defeat the purpose?
Persistence
We’ve had some cold weather lately. Just a week ago, night time temperatures dropped below and a good number of less-hardy plants died off. And despite all that, when I came back from walking the dog, I found a rose blooming.
It’s an odd time of year for a rose to bloom, but it’s beautiful.
