Very Sick Dog

While on a trip last week I boarded the dog, and picked her up Sunday night upon my return.  She was moving slow, but given the level of play where we board her, that was no surprise. 

The next morning I fed her and everything was just fine.  However when I got home last night the dog was extremely lethargic got sick multiple times.  Hoping it was just something she ate while being boarded I tucked her into her crate and hoped a good night sleep would fix her up. 

This morning came and I actually had to wake her up - something I've never done before in her life.  She stood uneasily, then collapsed coming out of her crate.  She got a little better, got sick again, but was having trouble moving.  I immediately woke my wife, and dashed to the PC to find the local animal hospital (good old Google). 

I found one open 24/7 and rushed her there as quickly as I could drive, where she improved slightly but was still lethargic.  We ran blood work and did x-rays, and everything was inconclusive.  We took her home to watch her and note if her condition improved or got worse. 

I headed back to work, and was there just a couple of hours when my wife called and noted that the dog was not getting any better.  We immediately booked time to get her into her home vet, and immediately upon looking at her they knew she was a very sick dog.  More blood work, more x-rays, and an ultrasound revealed nothing.  However, given their familiarity with her they knew something was very wrong.  Hence, we've booked her for exploratory surgery tomorrow morning and hope we can find something at that time.

I'll know more tomorrow.  We're plowing through money like we're on vacation at a 5 star resort, but that's what we need to do.  I just want my buddy back.

William Fitzsimmons

I've been downloading a lot of this guy's stuff the past couple of weeks.  He's a great songwriter and artist, with a melancholy, quiet sound, and is really enjoyable.  Great artist.

And now the good folks at NoiseTrade are offering a free sampler of some of his selections.  Definitely worth the download.

Enjoy...




Also, as a reader of this space, you know I'm a big fan of the Rosebuds.  Here's a great remix they're offering that is worthy of your download as well:

Ann Coulter Exposes Newt Gingrich (and It's Not Pretty...)

I know some people have a tough time with Ann and see her as a bombastic, caustic voice in the political arena.  Personally, while I can do without some of the vitriol, I think she's intelligent, steadfast, and principled. 

In her blog today she peels away the emotional onion that is Newt Gingrich and gets down to the core facts.  What's left is, frankly, quite ugly. 

I encourage you to read the whole thing.

State of the Union Recap

Miss the speech last night?  Don't worry, we at Yellow Dog Patrol have you covered!  Just click the link below.

Is it Groundhog Day today?

1,000 Days

This morning marks the thousandth day since the US Senate passed a budget.

The Democratic Senate (53 to 47) has sat on their collective rear ends for nearly three years and has done nothing. 

It would seem to me that their sole responsiblity would be to set the fiscal agenda for the country.  Instead, these cowards would rather protect themselves and the President rather than conduct the most basic of their duties.  They cannot put down, on paper, what they intend for their country.

Think about that for a second, and ask yourself, "Why?"

Then steel yourself to vote out every stinking one of these bums that are up for election this fall.

KC Recap

A long weekend was spent with the Gang of Four, and we had a fabulous time.  While the weather could have been a lot better (it was a hell of a long way to go for 25 degree temps), the company could not have been.

Every time we get together, so kind of story comes of it and that was clearly the case this time as we nearly froze poor Pauly to death.  Thank God for Starbucks. 

I'll have photos up shortly.  In the mean time, it is back to work - tired, but grinning from ear to ear.

Ode to a Buddy on the Occasion of His 60th Birthday

Twas a cold winter's day on the date of your birth

and for sixty long years you've trod on this earth

Career, marriage, kids, accomplishments many

But reviewing all that, well there won't be any

Instead, dear Mr. X I would  like to implore you

to drink up as we're discussing how the Gang of Four know you

I guess it all starts with softball where you weren't a feared batter

But feared in warming up, now that's a whole different matter

You'd saved your best performance after the game at the bar

Where you abused Pauly's AmEx and made me drive your car

With pheasants you'd always have trouble staying in line

And would be off following Sam at some point in time

You'd just disappear, and we'd say "what the f--k?"

But knew that eventually we'd meet at the truck

As for darts you're performance was always the same

Be it a 301 contest or that other limey game

Harder and faster, throwing darts like you're mad

Only getting worse with the more drinks that you had

And at golf we could say "brutal" is the appropriate word

Given the amount you're OB and profanity heard

But as a golf betting negotiator your skills are spectacular

Securing us strokes at best-ball (by your vernacular)

In Vegas your antics make the dealers all frown

And caused a nice Asian woman to say "Gee, guys settle down"

But you were quite harmless and only raised one stink:

"Sir, he's not gambling." "I don't care, get him a drink"

As a fishing guide, there's less fishing and more drivin'

And get the hell out the way if you call "Crazy Ivan"

You're choices on when we move, well they're not very fair

As when a guy has to poop, we'll we're staying right there

You're musical tastes, they just make me just furious

As "Shitty Song of the 70's" is your favorite on Sirius

And your baseball allegiances should be considered a sin

as I loathe my voicemail messages of "The Yankees Win"

Your hard drinking days gone, you're now kind of boring

By the time Mongo rides to town you're usually snoring

But it is all understandable - you're getting up there in age

And as you move to your 60's it's the turn to a new page

So here's to you Mr. X.  A birthday toast if I might:

May your blessing be many and your burdens be light

As you sail the uncharted waters of your 60's, go forth and have fun

or as Commander Krill might say, "Welcome to the revolution!"

Trigeminal Neuralgia Update

The past 6-8 months have been fabulous.  I never went off the meds, so I don't know if it was a full remission period or not, but it didn't matter as life was pretty damn good.

That all changed two days ago.  Things really got bad after lunch that day, and hit a peak at a 4:00 meeting I was having with some on my team.  I was barely functional because I was in so much pain.  

I left the office at 5:00 that day, came home, and went right to bed.  I was able to fall asleep for an hour for some much needed relief, but when I work things quickly went back to a dull ache.

This morning, after turning off the alarm, things started right up again.  I fed the dog and let her out, and the cold morning air (wind chill this morning is -15) immediately hit me hard.  The cold has been a trigger for me in the past, and that was clearly the case right now.  So instead of driving to the club and working out this morning, I'm sitting here typing this.  I just couldn't bring myself to go outside.

I have two weekends coming up in warmer climates, and I'm hoping that will help.  I'll also likely be upping my meds as I'm currently taking a dose that is lower than what is prescribed for me.  Hopefully all of that works.

Packers Loss Drunk Chick's Fault

It wasn't that Rodgers was horrible.  Or that Finley couldn't catch a cold.  Or that Nelson disappeared.  Or that they turned the ball over three times.  Or that the defense allowed Eli Manning to take the hike from center, make a sandwich, take a couple of bites, call his mom, scratch himself, and check his email before getting any pressure on him.  

Nah.  It was the sparkles in the nail polish!  Of course!

Either that or the Clay Matthews jersey.

Either way, it's nice to have that settled.

The Food Stamp President

Newt Gingrich is taking a lot of heat for his calling Obama "The Food Stamp President."  The criticism, some veiled and some overt, is that Newt's claim is somehow racist. 

Unfortunately for those so eager to play the tried-and-true race card, the facts are on the Speaker's side:

This graph can be viewed in two ways; each of them as starkly different from the other as they can be.  The first is that it shows compassion - just look at how many folks we're helping!  The other with disgust - look at how many of our neighbors can't even feed their families. 

One is something of which to be proud, the other, something of which to be embarrassed.  One shows the system works, the other shows it's flawed.  One reflects success, the other failure.   

Regardless of your interpretation, this is the record upon which the President must run.  We know what he thinks of this graph.  What voters think will ultimately decide the election.

Newsweek Hits Journalistic Bottom, and Digs

With their latest cover, Newsweek has shed any vestiges of journalistic integrity and has come out as nothing but a partisan shill rag.  While other media outlets at least pretend to be fair in their coverage, they likely silently envy Newsweek having the balls to say what everyone is really thinking anyway, right?

With Newsweek's circulation down 63% in less than 10 years at a paltry 1.5MM, perhaps they feel they're only reaching the most partisan, anyway.  Regardless, their integrity is officially gone, and their soul sold.

Circulation in total free fall.  Complete lack of journalistic trust.  And yet we're the dumb ones.

Good luck with all that, Newsweek

Lambeau Playoff Debacle

I attended my first ever NFL playoff game yesterday, and watched the Packers self-destruct on their home field.  Over a half dozen dropped passes, three lost fumbles, poor tackling, and giving up a Hail Mary for Pete's sake cost this team their chances to repeat.  It also cost my company millions of dollars in sales.  Literally. 

Poof.  Gone.

The only good parts were the Hail Marys (not Manning's, but the one my wife is holding above) and an incredible fly-over by a B-1 bomber to start the game.  It was awesome to see one in the air, buzzing the stadium. 

As for the rest of the NFL, Tom Brady has to be the happiest guy on the planet right now, as his road to a 4th Super Bowl win just got a lot easier.  He looked like a man possessed this past weekend, and I don't think there's a team that can take him.  Personally, I'd like to see a NY / NE Superbowl and allow Brady to avenge his 2007 loss.

For the Pack, there's lots to fix, and a long off season to try and digest this mess.  As for work, I'm not sure how we comp last year's sales.  Maybe we need to open some stores in New England.  Quickly.

Waiting for Superman - How Public Education Fails Our Kids

I spent yesterday afternoon with this documentary, and while it touched on themes I felt to be true, the quantification of the failure of our public schools was shocking to me.  The bottom line is that the system is designed to protect teachers - not children - even if the teachers are ineffectual or incompetent.

It was a huge eye opener to me, and literally broke my heart.  As a nation we are falling further and further behind, and are dooming hundreds of thousands of kids to a life of no hope all because the system set up to edcuate them is failing.

I implore you to watch this film.

Doritos Super Bowl Video

Doritos is doing their Super Bowl commercial contest again.  In years past, they've tended to be either creepy or just plain bad.

Here's an entry for this year that is pretty darn good:

Alpha Nail - Nail Polish for Men

You'd think this was a Saturday Night Live fake commercial.  You'd be thinking wrong.

I'm not sure where exactly to begin with any of this...

New Van Halen Single is Crap

A nice guitar solo can't save a lousy song, and David Lee Roth's mugging for the camera is just so....1984.

Seriously

These guys are going on tour?  It won't last a month...

A Dog Named Blitz - Chapter Six, "Two Years Old: Part 5"

For background on this serial, please click here. You can also start at the previous section

Don took a couple of his clients around one section of his property, and Blitz and I took two others.  The cover was incredible, and it held literally flocks of pheasants.  Unfortunately, since it was now the end of the season and these birds had been hunted many times, the birds were quite skittish, and were quick to flush, usually en masse, well beyond gun range.  However, there were always one or two birds that sat tight rather than flush, in the hopes that we merely saunter by them.  For those birds, Blitz's nose was just too much, and she generated a number of great points for the clients, always to exclamations of how unique and nice it was to hunt behind a lab that pointed. 

Our hunt progressed, and we were coming to an area where we'd reconvene with Don and his group, and right on queue, after a push through thick cover, we saw their little band a couple of hundred yards to our left.  We pivoted slightly to meet them, but still hunting hard.  As we were pushing forward, a nervous rooster flushed at the edge of range to our right, and the guest at that end of the line took a marginal shot.  A pellet or two broke the right wing of the bird, and he came back to earth with two very healthy legs and a strong determination to stay away from us.  It was clear he would be hitting the ground running, and it was now going to be up to Blitz to secure him for us. 

Blitz has been working in front of us but had seen the shot, as well as the fall of the bird, and was making an all-out sprint to the last location of the rooster.  She arrived within seconds of the bird falling, and immediately began using her nose to try and find our downed quarry.  A lightly injured pheasant is a running fool, but Blitz appeared hot on the trail, judging by her waving tail and snorting.   However, this was a smart rooster, and he literally ran in circles, thus making his most recent trail difficult to discern.  The dog, however, appeared to be game for this tactic, and was doing her best to close the ground. 

Our group moved up to her to lend support and to see if we could notice any moving weeds which would give away the bird's location.  However, we didn't provide much help, and Blitz continued to circle the location in a mad frenzy to find the wounded rooster.  About that time, we heard a huge "WHOA!" from the other group two hundred yards ahead of us.  "Hey you guys!" they yelled, "Are you looking for that rooster?"  "Yeah," I answered, "Blitz looks like she's on him!"  "Well, you better bring her over here, because he just ran right past us!"  Somehow the bird slipped out and covered those 200 yards like he was a whipped thoroughbred, and was last seen heading out of the county. 

In all of the pheasant hunting I have done, the biggest disappointment is dropping a bird and being unable to find it.  As hunters, we have the ethical responsibility to harvest our game quickly and humanely, and dropping a rooster and being unable to retrieve it just breaks my heart.  I know that eventually it will fall prey to a fox, eagle, or some other predator, and that nature has a way of taking care of things, however it is the suffering I can't stand.  That's why I always search and search and search until any hope of recovery is exhausted.  But as this example showed, if the bird is in good condition, one can search the downed location all one wants - the rooster will actually be in the next section, and making trails for the one beyond that.  Regardless of this lesson, we still search hard, as it is the only thing we can control. 

By the end of our hunt, our group had harvested a full limit of two roosters each, mostly thanks to Blitz and her fabulous hunting.  We divided our birds at the vehicle tailgates, shook hands and headed to our respective homes. 

Blitz and I had a two hour ride ahead of us, and we were both tired.  However, I was armed with some fresh birds, and called ahead to my wife to let her know that it would be grilled pheasant for dinner tonight.  We arrived at home, and I pulled the truck into the garage and unloaded Blitz, her dog crate, our gear, and the birds.  I put the birds on the work bench and got some newspapers, a knife, and a pot of water ready for cleaning.  Blitz was indeed tired, and while she'd normally be running around all over the garage, she was now just content to slowly follow me around. 

I got to cleaning the pheasants, and used a sharp knife to fillet the breasts off of the birds.  With pheasants, the breast is a massive amount of meat, whereas the thighs and legs of limited value, and the wings completely worthless.  Hence, a careful extraction of the breast yields nearly all of the usable meat of the bird, and that's exactly what I did.  As I zipped off a skinless breast, I dropped it into the pot of water and cleaned off the blood and any extraneous feathers. 

I was making quick work of the birds, but was also working up a powerful thirst.  I felt like a cold beer would be in order, and the day's success seemed like the perfect excuse to grab a cold one.  I headed for the door with Blitz on my heel, but stopped her at the door.  I just needed to pop in and grab a beer and baggie for the breasts that wouldn't be cooked that night, and having her come in with me did not warrant the potential cat chase that may ensue.  So I gave Blitz the command to "sit," waited for her to plop her butt down, and headed in for a Coors Light and a baggie. 

I returned to the garage in approximately thirty seconds to see Blitz sitting in the middle of the garage.  "Good girl," I thought, and was wondering if maybe she might be mellowing out just a little bit.  That's when I looked beyond her and spied the pot containing the pheasant breasts and water sitting on the floor of the garage.  I quickly walked over and found that the pot was completely empty.  No breasts.  No water. Nothing.  Except maybe a hint of dog spit. 

I turned to look at Blitz, who met my gaze with her own "What?" look.  All those hours of hunting.  All the road time we logged.  All my work on cleaning the birds.  Right down the hatch in mere seconds.  That was a big price to pay when a bowl of Eukanuba would have done just fine.  The other mystery was how she got the pot off of the work bench without spilling as much as a drop of water.

Mystified, I chalked it up me being too trusting and her being too hungry, and collared her up to lead her downstairs to her crate.  As we headed for the stairs, my wife called out, "Honey, is there anything I can do to help with dinner?" 

"Yeah," I replied, "Call Divinci's and order us a pizza."  

Another Reason to Love Dogs...

Because they appreciate good music...

Incredible Weather

I'm not sure if the warming is necessarily "global" or not, but this has been an absolutely beautiful winter here in Green Bay.  Temperatures got into the low 40's today, and folks are actually golfing just to the south of us.  Our course is closed, but as you can see from the picture from the back yard, #6 looks more than playable.

8 more weeks of potentially brutal weather to go, and the 10 day forecast has more days in the 40s than it does in the teens.

Incredible.  As in incredibly nice.

Obamacare. Just Not for Unions

Documents released yesterday show that labor unions representing over a half million Obama voters citizens were granted waivers for the onerous conditions of Obamacare. 

And private employers?  69,000.

Read the full recap here

This whole waiver process has been a complete sham, with many of them going to political allies and financial supporters.  Everybody else gets screwed. 

When laws apply only to some, based on political whim, the syetem is no longer legitimate.  Without appeal, Obamacare will break this country apart.

It's already started...

Lambeau Field Flag Duty, Part Two

Ran across a video of the game that gives a good look at what it was like.  At about the :40 mark, you get a good look at us on the far flag.

Bose Quiet Comfort 15 Headphone Review

After having these on my gift list for a few years, my lovely wife came through and scored me a pair this year for Christmas.  And to cut to the chase on the review, they're damned fabulous.  

In full disclosure, I am a true Bose fan.  There are some people in the world that love and hate that company, and I'm definitely in the love camp.  My computer speakers are Bose, as is my SoundDock.  The next piece of audio I'll be purchasing will be Bose speakers for the TV.  I think their stuff just sounds incredible.

And that opinion does not differ on the headphones.

The noise reduction capabilities are pretty strong.  The cups of the headphones alone are designed in such a way as to knock down environmental noise, and once the noise reduction technology is engaged, things are very quiet.  Silent?  No.  But very quiet.

However, the big thing that surprised me was the sound quality and fidelity of the recording.  I know I've become used to the limited sounds generated by ear buds, and I chalked much of the performance up to loss of fidelity due to the digital format.  I'm glad to report that clearly is not the case.  These headphones deliver sound that is just not heard with anything that I've used before.  It is incredible.

So good, that I ran it through the sound test that I use to evaluate any piece of audio equipment that I'm considering buying.  And that is Donald Fagen's I.G.Y. from his Nightfly album.  And it sounds as good as I've heard that song in any other configuration.

The only downside (beyond the cost - ouch), is that they are warm.  Again, this goes back to the design of the cups.  If sound's not entering, neither can air.  While not uncomfortable, they definitely get my ears warm.

The bottom line for me is that they sound incredible, and have truly been worth the wait.  I'll be putting them through the trial of a flight at the end of the month, and will have more to share at that point.  But as of now, these come with my highest recommendation.  They are simply outstanding headphones.  

Walker Recall a Microcosm for the Union

The effort here in Wisconsin to recall Governor Scott Walker will be extremely telling for the broader future here in the US. 

There are two mighty factions at work here, and the one that wins will ultimately determine our path forward.  On one side is Walker, who campaigned on fiscal restraint and the need for reform.  The state was on a spending path that was no longer financially viable, and cuts needed to be made in order to get Wisconsin’s house in order.  The Governor implemented what he promised.  On the other side are those on the payroll of the government.  Armed with sweetheart compensation packages offered up in years past to secure votes for previous administrations, these groups see no need to give up what was “rightfully” negotiated.   However, as Greece, Italy, California, and just about everywhere else has shown, the money is long gone.  Status quo can’t work.  Hence, the choice is now to continue to grow those on the government payroll and suffer the impending financial meltdown that will eventually arrive, or restructure things so that we have a chance of pulling out of the nose dive before hitting the ground. 

And so the sides square off – those that take from the system, and those that pay into the system, and slowly but surely, those that take from the system are growing in ranks.  They now have the ability to force recalls, and send a very clear and pointed message to all elected leaders that follow: Don’t jack with our gravy train.  If you do, we’ll have your job.  Since most politicians now only care about being reelected ahead of everything else, this is an incredibly powerful threat. 

Thus we wait and see which way Wisconsin will fall. For as Wisconsin goes, so too, in all likelihood, will go the rest of the union.   

Carrying the Flag at Lambeau Field

Friends Anthony and Jen joined us for the New Year's game at Lambeau, and we had a ball.  This was going to be a really unique weekend in that, not only were we going to be in a suite for the game, but we were actually selected to carry the flag onto the field for the Star Spangled Banner ahead of the game. Not exactly your typical NFL experience.

I acquired a parking pass for the Oneida lot at Lambeau itself, so our location was going to be really good for tailgating.  I called for wheels up from the house by 8:00, and while we got a bit of a late start, we still got an outstanding parking spot to start.  We were basically right outside the indoor tailgate area, so we got live music plus a lot of foot traffic.  Add in a little wind and snow, and it was the prototypical Lambeau tailgate experience.

First thing was first, and that had to be the Bloody Mary bar:

With that set up, we enjoyed some fine egg bake that Vera had concocted, along with some sausage links that I cooked up on the charcoal grill.  After a nice breakfast, we hustled over to the Packers' practice facility - the Don Hudson Center - for our 10:00 practice session with the flag.  This was a pretty unique experience in and of itself, as the Packers are really protective of their practice facility during the season, and getting access is difficult.  

Here we are, working on our flag drill:

After about an hour's worth of practice, we needed to move the flag from the practice facility over to Lambeau.  The walk over, in and of itself, was a remarkable experience:



After a thorough security screen, we entered into the stadium proper.  There was a bit of hurry up and wait, as the start of an NFL game is a highly orchestrated event, and I'm sure they were wanting to build in extra time in the event something went sideways and they needed the extra minutes.  We hung out there, and were warned that cameras were forbidden.  I kind of figured they would be, but also figured I'd try to sneak a shot or two where I could.

About 11:45 we were finally moved toward the field.  It was an incredible experience to exit that tunnel, the same one where so many Hall of Fame players have trod, and to enter into that screaming crowd.  As we walked the visitor's sideline all I could do was look around and try and take it all in.  I think every kid that ever played football wondered what it would be like to walk out onto an NFL field some day, and while there was never any threat of me playing, it clearly was as close to that feeling as I could get.  It was chilling.

We moved to the end zone to await the players coming onto the field, and as we were standing there, I snapped this quick video:



The wind, snow, crowd, players, the Frozen Tundra.  Incredible.

With the Lions and Packers on the field and at their respective sidelines, it was now our time to carry the flag on the field.  Again, this is really rare as the Packers are very exclusive about who gets to go on the field, and that list is comprised of basically nobody.  I'll never forget the scene as we marched out with the crowd cheering and PA guy announcing.  I looked over to the Lions' bench fifteen yards away and just marveled at how huge those guys were.  On my other side to my right less than ten yards away Lions' kicker Jason Hanson had just finished his warm ups and was moving out.  The same guy that won me a couple of fantasy games a few years back was just right there - incredible.

We got our place, the song started, and we executed our choreographing flawlessly, despite the wind blowing so hard that it nearly blew away the flag when we first unfurled it.  Seemingly before it started the song was ending, and that's when the F-18s shot over our heads for the pregame fly-over. The crowd went crazy, and I was right there with them, screaming like a little girl.

Could it get any better?  I don't think so.

We were soon hustled off the field where we stored the flag and headed off to the suite.  While the suite was great, as was the game, pretty much everything after the time being on the field was just kind of ho-hum.  Being on the field was literally was all we could talk about.

I know what you're thinking - some Vikings fan I am, huh?  Listen up, chump: as a fan of the NFL, you would have had to have been an idiot to not want to have that experience.  Would you turn down the chance to throw out the first pitch at Yankee stadium just because you're a Twins fan, or pass up the opportunity to drop the puck at Joe Lewis Arena out of deference to the Wild?  I think not. This was a once in a lifetime deal, and it was literally awesome.

Likewise, it was nice to be at least one guy that loved the Vikings that stepped onto that field this year and actually did his job correctly (except Jared Allen, who had a hell of a game this year).

Happy New Year - 2012

We had a great start to 2012.  Friends Anthony and Jen joined us for the weekend, which started with drinks and dinner on New Year's Eve, and finished at the suite at Lambeau Field on New Year's Day.  More on that in a later post.

There is something cathartic about the passing into a new year.  The page gets turned and the sheet is fairly blank, so the time will really be what we make of it.  We ascribe goals and aspirations to the time ahead, hoping we'll be able to do all we set upon to do, all in the optimism that is resigned to this time of year.

For me - I'm looking for a healthier year.  These last ten years or so my health and wellness has taken a back seat to work.  In 2012, I really want to turn that around a be a much different person.  Wish me luck.

All the best to you and yours this New Year!

Where Did the Obama Bumper Stickers Go?

I think we have the answer