adventures of beck

Friday, October 30, 2009

Click Me

http://bitsofwisdom.org/2009/10/21/interesting/perception/

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Momma Albatross(es) Feed Baby Chicks Plastic


Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Wonderdog,

Your frito-smelling feet, soft-floppy ears, nudging-persistant nose, goldeny-yellowy fur, bread-begging ways, sharp-startling bark, sniffing-wandering gait, big-fence jumping, many-bone hiding, rain-outside disdaining, brown-rabbit hunting, and all-heart stealing self will be sorely missed on this earth.
Here's to heaven filled with rabbits, sun-drenched fields, bread, people to brush you, puddles to drink out of, sausage pizzas, and a heart and lungs that won't let you down.
Save me a spot in the sun, and we won't need a leash.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Update on Snack Bags

I took my first sandwich in the Snack Bags. I'm feeling a little befuddled. My bread dried out. Apparently the wonderful breathability of Nylon is allowing my bread to breathe. I was carrying the Snack Bag inside a cotton cloth lunch bag. I wonder: if I carried the little Snack Bags in an overall less breathable outside bag- like, for instance, one of the ACME workhorse shopping bags that has silicone in it (is that less breathable? I think so...) Or perhaps if my sandwich was more "snuggled" into the cloth lunch bag, like wrapped a little more instead of free floating- since you could fit about 3-4 pb & j's into one Snack Bag. Experiment time!

Also: so the picture of the bag holding water previous: the bag can only do that when the outside of the bag is dry. I believe this phenomenon has something to do with water tension. If the outside is dry, the bag holds water as though it were plastic. If the outside is rubbed with water, then water goes right through. I'll post pictures. It's fascinating.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Displeased.

Off to the Vet.
The scoop: Tibbs has a heart murmur. Of course.

Rare.


Sunday, October 11, 2009

The Filling Begins






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Pie, You Are My Density!

Just fulfilling a little string of my genetic code called: I BAKE PIES FROM SCRATCH.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Summer Downpour


Sleeping and Eating like a Rockstar

Here's the way his paw SHOULD look (and does now.) (Above)

Here's how Kayak's paw looked when swollen. (Above)


Sleeping like a rock now, his breathing is like a regular dog's.

He loves this couch. He jumps on it more now, hardly ever coughs, and almost NEVER wakes up right away when we get home.


The change came about 2 weeks ago. He started a new drug, called hydrochlorothiazide. He also went off his food for about 48 hours, wouldn't eat anything, so I gave him chicken and rice. He gobbled that up, and about 3 days after his vet visit, the swelling dropped, nearly overnight. He has been eating chicken, rice, yogurt, olive oil, and frozen mixed veggies and chopped apples ever since. I tried mixing kibble back in but it gave him diarrhea. So I'm cooking for him and he looks and seems to feel better than he has in the last year. I think the new drug combo is really great and the higher quality protein is really helping. I'm still concerned about the long term balance of nutrients though. He has a checkup in about a week, so I'm going to ask about the nutrition.





New Bathroom Floor

Stick on tiles by Armstrong.
Detail near toilet mount.

Future paint colors for walls. We're thinking a "Chair Rail" effect, brown on bottom, blue on top.



Detail shot of tile.


My one screw up. Near heat vent there's a cowlick. My coworker thinks I can solve it with some better glue to fill in the floor issue. Cutting the tile at this juncture was not easy. There's another less noticeable spot behind the toilet. I think the baseboards will take care of it, that and it's behind a toilet. I may end up re-gluing it as well though.

PB & J Witness The End of Era





Mrs. Raspberry Jam and Mr. Peanut Butter looked on today in a state of shock as Ziploc Bags were replaced. That's right, replaced. The new bags are made of water proof (Edit: water resistant-Nylon is strange) material (seams come not sealed yet, see water-holding picture above) and are closed with a draw string. Certainly secure enough to hold any snack previously trusted to Ziploc Bags. The new bags are reusable, preventing a staggering number of "disposable" bags from being used, thrown away, bought, and eaten by unsuspecting Sea Turtles every day, year, and lifetime. The new bags, courtesy of http://www.reusit.com/ (previously http://www.reusablebags.com/) can be washed in a washing machine. They are radical. I love them.

Thursday, October 01, 2009

Demolition by a Novice (bottom to top)

Those hard scrapes were useless compared to water technique, which caused it to peel up like a sunburn. Mom would have loved it. Very satisfying.
Ahh, cement. Lino glue comes up awesome when soaked with boiling water and left for 15 min.


Started pulling floorboards up, water did not reach walls.

Pulled toilet off, found this wax ring. Ewwwwww!



Laser Set to "Maim"


Holding Steady







Everyone's doing better. Kayak has normal paws, he's stealing Sonar's bone, rolling around, being goofy. Sonar has learned some new tricks, beginning to understand 'heel' and generally learning that dogs barking is not a death knell. Last night I left the window open and the temp outside dropped below 40 degrees. Inside, at 6am, it was 65. Sonar was freezing. Kayak was loving it. He was sleeping so soundly, with such gentle breathing, that for a moment I feared the worst.
Along with starting on a new diuretic, I've started another adventure with the dogs: feeding them home-cooked food. Ian- I'm a hippie, I know.