Marrow Bones

I got a frozen cow bone for Buddha yesterday. The kind with a little bit of meat on it, but the good part is that it is filled with marrow, which dogs love.

Three comments:

1) These bones are magical for Buddha. He went to work on this thing and was chewing and gnawing at it all evening. Then, I awoke in the middle of the night to realize he was back at it.

2) With regular treats, his daily food, etc., I could take it out of his mouth and he wouldn't mind. But with these bones, he gets possessive. If I even get near it, he will let out a low grumbling growl.

3) Even though Buddha has *very* strong jaws, these bones are tough. There was a part in the middle that he couldn't get to and it still had some marrow left. This morning, he stuck is nose in it and tried to inhale the marrow by sniffing hard. It sounded funny and I laughed out loud. Silly dog. I finally took a knife and picked out the rest of the marrow so he wasn't tortured (also, I didn't want it to go bad).

Coffee Almost Ruined My Day

I love coffee. A lot. It is difficult as I travel because in some of the more remote areas it is hard to find decent coffee. So I end up getting a lot when I can, but that isn't good because it isn't as fresh.

Today I almost experienced a total disaster. Buddha was curled up next to me when he heard a sound outside and bolted to see what was going on. I had just placed a full cup of hot coffee on my desk and he managed to bump the desk HARD. Sent some coffee flying (fortunately it didn't tip the mug over, which would have been way worse). It got on my MacBook Pro, my iPad, as well as a few other electronic gizmos. I instantly grabbed some paper towels and dried everything as best I could. Nothing is fried. I am LUCKY!

I've tried to come up with a better solution than having coffee right next to my electronics, but it just isn't practical. A compromise of living in a space about the size of a small walk-in closet. Nowhere else to place the mug. And I like having my doggie next to me. So I just try to be careful. But today was a bit of a wake-up call. Living on the edge...

Guilty!

I went shopping today and left a bunch of groceries on the floor while I went into another store. When I came back to my van, Buddha was looking out the window, waiting for me, as usual. But when I opened the door, he literally dove into the driver side well (the area under the steering wheel). He was guilty as can be and he KNEW it. For a minute, I couldn't figure out what he had done. Then, I realized that the donut I had bought myself as a treat had vanished. Bad dog!

The most amusing thing was that he knew he was guilty and had been a bad dog without my saying a word. He punished himself, so I wasn't quite sure how to react. I just stared at him for a minute with a frown. It is fascinating how desire works. Even if you know it is bad, the desire is stronger than the guilt. So you do it anyway. Then you feel guilty. True for people. True for dogs.

Achievement Unlocked: Donated to Wikipedia

Like just about everyone, I am a frequent user of Wikipedia and can't really imagine (modern) life without it.

After being shown Jimmy Wales face (yech!) a kazillion times, I finally decided to donate something tonight.

It felt good.

Long live Wikipedia!

AT&T Made Me Laugh

This morning I got an email from AT&T:

Because you enjoy text messaging, we'd like to help you save on your monthly bill.

Consider upgrading to Messaging Unlimited with Mobile to Any Mobile Calling. For just $20 a month, you can text as much as you want and talk for free to any U.S. mobile number, no matter what network it's on.

Ha! I am grandfathered in on the now-discontinued $5 for 200 text messages. I try to use iMessage whenever possible and never go over 200 regular SMS messages per month. How will paying an extra $15 to AT&T save me money?

WWF Makes Me Mad!

When Newtoy, founded by two brothers in Texas, created Words with Friends (WWF), I thought it was awesome and better in many ways than the official Scrabble game by EA. With easy online matching and un-timed turns, it was a perfect game for the iPhone.

When Zynga bought Newtoy, I was very disappointed. I won't get into all the ways I dislike Zynga, but they quickly started taking WWF in the wrong direction. Ads for their other games in the supposedly premium ad-free version of WWF. Frequent reminders to use Facebook even if I don't want to. And, in general, they made the app look uglier.

The latest update has gone even farther in the wrong direction. They added a "pay for cheats" feature. By paying extra, you can see the remaining letter distribution as well as the "word strength" of various words. This just seems WRONG. And kind of silly, as careful observation would reveal the same info. Regardless, the mere thought that some of my opponents might be paying money to get an upper hand is sad. And the whole thing (store, more button) is "in your face" and can't be hidden.

I will continue to play WWF (my username is VorteX), at least for now. I still like the actual gameplay, but it makes me cringe a little every time I open it.

Turkey & Sweet Potato

I got these for Buddha so he wouldn't feel left out on thanksgiving.

Almost Lost My iPhone

I left my iPhone atop a washing machine at a laundromat. When I realized it, I activated the manual "Find my iPhone" mode -- I ran like hell and hoped to experience the good side of humanity. To my delight, my phone was where I had left it. I am still in minor shock. A close call. Whew.......

iOS 5 in the iCloud

Yesterday was the WWDC keynote where Apple unveiled iOS 5 and iCloud, among other things. This is all very exciting! Lots of new features for developers to take advantage of. Apple is continuing to push the envelope and carefully evolve iOS without sacrificing what makes it great. And iCloud is (hopefully) going to be awesome. What MobileMe should have been but never was...

Thirty Five Emails A Day!

I just noticed that my "sent" folder has 4415 messages since January 1, 2011. That works out to 35 emails every single day.

Truth or Consequences

I went into TorC today and did a bunch of errands. I took Buddha for his yearly checkup and shots. I was both pleased and shocked that the vet talked me out of unnecessary shots and tests and they don't charge an "office visit" fee so my only charge was for the 3-year rabies vaccination. Cool! Then I did my laundry -- $3 took care of more than a months worth of dirty clothes. And I loaded up on groceries. On the way home, I decided I wanted a latte. It has been quite a while since I've had one and would have been a perfect way to relax outside in late afternoon. But, I couldn't find one. A couple of coffee shops had coffee, but no espresso machines. I stopped at a fancy hotel in Elephant Butte and asked and the best they could come up with was the McDonalds in TorC. I'm sure that some establishment makes lattes in TorC, right? A town just isn't a town if they can't serve up a good latte. Maybe this is an aspect of rural southwest New Mexico. In any case, no latte for me :-(

The Earth Moves

I just got back from a shower and feel refreshed (yay!). I settled in for some work-time when I realized that my world was shaking, a rocking and a rolling. The winds have died down (for a bit, at least) so it wasn't that. I looked up and realized that Buddha was sitting in the driver's seat, panting and had set the whole spaceship into motion. Between this and the winds of recent days, I am always in motion even when sitting still. Makes me think about living on a sailboat, something that I do in an alternate universe :-)

Closing the Lid

My dog is awesomely well-behaved when it comes to living in a confined space where I spend much of my time staring at a computer screen. He rests, looks out the window, snuggles next to me, etc. For the most part, random sounds don't phase him. But there is one that always gets his attention -- that certain sound that a MacBook Pro makes when you close the lid and the magnets grab hold. A sort of muted thud. He instantly jumps to attention, even if he was in a deep slumber at the time. He knows that I only close my computer when I am about to get up and do something different for a change. It means there is a good chance he'll get some attention -- a treat, a trip outside, etc.

So -- I'm going to post this entry and close the lid of my computer and give Buddha a hug :-)

Yay for Inbox Zero

Over the past few days I've finally returned to the deeply satisfying feeling brought by achieving Inbox Zero. When I get new emails, I deal with them quickly and then smile at my empty inbox :-)

solid water

What is with the weather this year? Probably a combination of global warming along with an end to a long run of unnaturally stable weather on earth. In short, I think this is more the norm than the exception from a long-term geological perspective.

Tonight will dip into the low 20's. Again! I just went outside to get some water and all the faucets I tried are frozen (well, the faucets turn, but no water comes out). I have enough water for coffee in the morning and hopefully it will thaw out after that.

Fortunately, it is all cycles. Cold tonight, warmer in the days ahead. Looks like a week or so with temps hovering around 70. But I ain't putting away my warm winter clothes just yet...

Field Validation of Flashlight Code

I added a flashlight to Alarmed 2.0 as part of the Extras Package. Sort of a handy feature to go with the Wake-Up Alarms. There are two modes, a screen mode for most devices and a special mode for the iPhone 4 that uses the LED flash to make it a real (and bright) flashlight. The only problem is that I don't have an iPhone 4 (I'm using a 3GS and holding out for the iPhone 5). So, I had to write the code, but wasn't able to test it (I don't currently use beta testers for a bunch of reasons). This was a bit scary. The code for activating the LED flash is not complex, but nonetheless I had to be very careful to "test it in my mind" to be sure it would work.

I just got official validation from a user with an iPhone 4 that the flashlight works and is a very useful addition.

A small thing, yes, but good to know :-)

A Mathlete I am NOT

Math and I don't get along. Even seemingly simple math can leave my brain in knots. I just spent about two hours playing with an algorithm for reordering tableView cells in a somewhat complex pattern of simultaneous insertions and deletions. Rather than sitting down with pen and paper and methodically figuring the algorithm out the first time, I just played around, changing this and then that. And trying to keep it all in my head, which is why my head is spinning. After many trials and errors, it WORKS! Now, I've got to go back and figure out WHY it works to be sure that it will truly work in all cases. I amuse myself sometimes :-)

Bombs Away

The last two state parks I've stayed at have been close to bombing ranges (at least that is what I am assuming they are). Usually early night or early morning, I hear what sounds like fireworks. Right now they are the big boomy kind. A bit creepy, makes me feel like I am in a war zone. Perhaps a taste of what it is like to live in parts of the middle east...

Yapper Dogs

There are some people camped next to me. They have a little hyperactive dog and it is often outside and has a nerve rattling high-caliber yap. How annoying! Small dogs can be fun and cute, but they tend to be more vocal than their larger brethren.

Buddha only makes noise when he has something to say. The other morning, a guy came by to empty the garbage and when he got to my site, Buddha growled at him through the window and scared him away. I guess my trash won't get emptied until after I leave! He makes what I think of as endearing little whimpers when he sees a person or other animal he is interested in. But he rarely barks. When he does it is loud and decisive and makes tough men stop in their tracks :-)

I shouldn't rag on the little dogs. They can be wonderful companions. But, Buddha is so calm and quiet while I work (right now he is nestled next to me). When I hear that little dog go "yap-yap-yap-yap" at about 15 yaps a second I find myself cringing and I lose focus. So I turned on some music to drown out the dog.

The dog has quieted down now, but I'm glad it encouraged me to put on some good music.

Armadillo!

While walking Buddha late in the afternoon we chanced upon an armadillo. The first one I recall seeing in the wild. It was very curious and not all that scared of us. It did hide under some leaves, but kept poking its head up. Buddha wanted to chase it and I had to keep trying to calm him down. Interesting critters. I didn't get a photo because my camera wasn't with me and my cellphone camera was too wide angle. Here's a generic photo, but this is exactly what it looked like.