1. Have you ever been pulled over? How many times? I’ve been pulled over a couple of time for speeding, and driving with an expired registration.

2. What are you most likely to be pulled over for? (Speeding? Reckless driving? Expired tags/inspection? Bad signal/headlight?) In the future? Probably something stupid like a bad signal.

3. You're driving along on your merry way when you see a police car. What is your first thought? I check the speed I’m going.

4. When you see a cop car, do you hit your brakes or keep your foot on the gas? I keep my foot on the gas. Maybe let up on it a bit, depending on how fast I’m going.

5. What's your personal speed limit? How do you determine what it is for any given road? Usually around 5mph over the listed speed limit. This of course depends on how much over the limit everyone else is going.

6. What’s something you suspect you regularly overpay for? Car insurance.

7. What’s something you suspect you regularly underpay for?

8. What’s taking up more of your time than it should? The leasing office

9. What’s causing you stress only because you let it? Life.

10. If all your karma were based on your positive and negative attitudes, would it be in good shape, in bad shape, or perfectly in balance? It would be in good shape, but it would need a little work.

11. If you were a full course meal what would you be?
soup: French Onion
salad: Caesar
meat: Roast Pork
dessert: Pumpkin Pie with Vanilla Ica Cream!
beverage: Spiced Apple Cider

---

Over the weekend tigergladys and I spend a couple of hours each day painting agility equipment at the club. Each day we went early and met up with the owners of another puppy named Tonks, and we gave the puppies the chance to play with each other. It went really well, they really liked each other, and they tired themselves out with greater ease and pleasure then we could do. The best part was that they offered to take Lucy during the day over the next couple of weeks, rather then us putting her into doggie daycare at Petco or the vets office.

Tuesday was Lucy’s first time spending the day not at home and not with us since we got her. She loved it, and now seems to love us less. She also came home completely exhausted. We needed to make a quick trip to Trader Joe's, and because she didn’t even get off the couch as we were leaving we decided to not lock her in the kitchen. When we got home, she had moved to the floor, but that was it. She was so exhausted I had to carry her upstairs at bedtime. She was ready to sleep on the couch rather then move!

As most of you know Friday we got a letter from the leasing office letting us know that they would be doing inspections of the property between the 4th and the 14th. With the arrival of the letter I contacted the bank where we got our car loan about getting pre-approved for a mortgage, and Tuesday we heard back. We’re pre-approved for $190,000, which depending on where we look can get us a fair house. That is of course, more then we can currently afford, though by the time Spring rolls around I should be making significantly more. So now it’s time to contact a realtor, and get ourselves into our own house!

In addition to painting, finding some place for Lucy to go for the next 2 weeks, and calling the bank, we spent a whole lot of time cleaning. It’s probably one of the top 3 cleanest the house has been since we moved in. It’s kind of nice having it all clean, but having to keep it clean for the inspections is a pain.

I finished the game of Galactic Civilizations that I was playing before. I won through cultural domination of the galaxy. It happened rather quickly too. I think I’m going to go for a variety of game styles as I go along, including an alliance/diplomatic victory, a military victory, and a technological victory, just to see how the game plays differently while attempting those styles. I have however discovered that trying to ally with some of the minor civilizations isn’t all that great an idea. It doesn’t work all that well.

I don’t know if it’s because of playing Galactic Civ that I’m also in the mood to work on my Battlefleet Gothic stuff, or I’ve been playing Galactic Civ because I’m in a sci-fi mood. And I don’t just want to paint them, but I want to do some converting and even some scratch building! Of course all this desire will come to very little. There is too much else going on that needs to be taken care of right now, and many other projects that have a significantly higher priority. Besides, I need more storage for my painted minis. I can keep the unpainted ones in ziplock bags, but ones that I’ve actually finished (and want to keep) need someplace safe to go.

Speaking of higher priority, Wednesday night was accounting. 201 seems to be more about theory and a deeper understanding of why we did all of the things we did in 101 and 102. The professor has stated a couple of times now that it’s not a bookkeeping course, it’s about understanding why you do bookkeeping the way you do. This is, as far as I’m concerned, a great thing. I love theory. Everything works and makes sense, in theory. We’ll see if theory matches reality in this case.

Thursday was payday, so we went to the bank, then came home and watched some TV.

Friday I took off to take Lucy to the vet. She was about due for her rabies vaccination. Her appointment was at 8:30, so up early we headed off. Lucy, thinking we were going to see her friend Tonks again was thrilled to get in the car, but when we hadn’t arrived after about 20 minutes she started to get a little upset with me. She eventually settled down, and just watched out the windows as we drove along. Things went fine at the vets, and he complimented Lucy on how beautiful she was. I agreed, saying she was a pretty girl. He then said that, yes, she is pretty, but he was talking about her personality.

Once we finished up at the vets I took Lucy off on a house hunt. I had found an online listing for a house from 1850 with over an acre of land for a mere $119,000. Ok, it is out in the middle of nowhere, but I’m willing to do the long commute thing for a house at that price. Anyway, we eventually found it (I forgot to print directions, and only had the printable flyer from the web) and it was awful. It was built in the 1850s, maybe updated once in the 1950s, and apparently by midgets who hate windows. Standing on the porch I could hit my head on the ceiling by standing on my toes. The sides of the house each had only one window. The front had 5. The sheds and barn on the land were kinda cool, though also needed some structural work. All in all it was a little disappointing, but not really surprising. Also it is right next to a quarry. That’s what that big white thing is on the map. It’s in a great little town though. Shame.

We then rode back to Frederick , swung by Two Paws Up and Brainstorm Comics, and then onto the park to relax, enjoy lunch, and get some homework done. We succeeded in the first two, and then Lucy started to feel the vaccines. On top of that the day was getting rather hot by this point, so we packed up and headed to the dog club building to get out of the sun. In spite of not feeling all that great Lucy really wanted to play, so again, not a lot of homework got done. Around 4 we headed home, and spent the rest of the night vegging out.

That was all last week. Tomorrow (maybe) I'll post about this past week.

I had my first test in 102 tonight. Of course I've already done 5 chapters worth of homework and quizzes, and have another 5 (or 6?) to go before the end of the summer. Not an easy class, and the teacher is radically different then the one I had for 101. I'm learning a lot from both of them, but I really preferred the previous ones style. Anyway, he handed the test out early to those who were "ready" for it. This means I got out early, as it was a 50 question multiple choice test. It was nice to spend the better part of the evening at home, even when that means being with a whiny puppy who has lots of energy when it's too hot to go outside and be active.

I can't wait for fall. Cooler temperatures, and I'll be out of this class. Of course I'll be in 2 other classes, plus Lucy's agility class, but I'd really rather that then this heat and humidity. It's going to be in the upper 90's all week, and breaking to hit the upper 80's for the weekend. It'll feel like a cold snap.

Oh, and congrats to fearofbutterfly on the new unexpected addition to her family! It's a very cute hamster, and I think she's going to be a great hamster-mom.

I got the car back on Saturday, and it only cost me $20 for my free oil change. But now I have a new oil plug. Isn’t that great? In other car news gas has topped $3/gallon. As an environmentalist I would like to see $5/gallon gas. As a consumer it hurts.

I finished painting two more of the Last Chancers this weekend, and am so close to finishing the last one. I also spent a fair amount of time cleaning up minis. Mostly this means getting rid of mold lines. The next group of minis I want to paint are some D&D Elementals. They were part of the mini set that was released just before the short lived Chainmail game that preceded the pre-painted plastic minis. I figure that I’ll be able to test out some different techniques. I have an elemental for each of the 4 basic elements (earth, air, fire, water). I’m not sure what color to paint the air elemental. It’s a whirlwind, so it probably has a lot of dust and dirt in it… so maybe like a tornado? The water elemental is going to need some greenstuff to smooth out a fairly significant miscast. It looks like the mold didn’t line up during casting, so there is a 1mm shift in the middle of the wave. It’ll be easy to fix though.

( Elementals! )

The one that I’m not really sure about is the earth elemental. I mean, how do you paint something to look like rock and dirt and make it look interesting? I was thinking about maybe putting gems or crystals in it, or maybe having grass growing on it. Any ideas? The fire elemental is going to be fun though! Lots of reds oranges and yellows!

Balticon starts in 4 days and still no schedule. No list of guests. Nothing. *Sigh* Can you say frustrating? I wonder if there will be a panel about solar energy from space. You know, like this!

The fish are doing well. We’ve been holding at 6 neon tetras and a small algae eater named Waldo. He’s the only one with a name, and he got it because every time we look at the tank we do a fish count and end up spending a lot of time finding him. The tetras are all doing well, but the algae eater is getting FAT! We’ve been thinking about getting a second one, because it’s fairly obvious that this one has too much to eat!

( Fishes! )

I can’t name it exactly, but I really enjoy having the fish tank in the living room. It’s definitely added something to the room. Rather like in The Sims actually…

Today after work I’m going to the post office. Due to the agility trial we volunteered at on Saturday I didn’t get to mail off our most recent paperbackswap requests or the lamp I sold on e-bay. Actually the guy who won the lamp (even before he bid) has been a bit of an ass hole about the whole transaction. His communications have been very terse and demanding. Spiteful even. He started with:

Quick question what is the basis for charging $30 to ship something that will not even cost $10 with the insurance included. I'm debating not bidding because of your insane price for shipping.

Tigs handled that one by pointing out the fact that the USPS had just increased all their rates, and that it was a large and heavy package. When he won (damn it), and sent payment he included a note that said

I will provide appropriate feedback after receiving [sic] the item to verify condition and shipping cost.

Then on Sunday he e-mailed me again. Now I had said in the listing that I would mail the item on the Saturday following the receipt of the payment. This is what he sent

Since payment was sent 1 minute after the auction ended on FRIDAY can I assume that you mailed this on Saturday as stated in the description? If so were [sic] is the tracking information that was promised also in your description?

I wanted to reply with “Life got in the way, other things are more important to me then you, it’ll be mailed on Monday. PS Bite me.” I actually sent him something far nicer. I have the feeling that at best he is going to give me neutral feedback. We'll see.

Edited to add
Box mailed. I look forward to seeing what feedback he gives.

Men are gross. That’s really all there is to it. What has led me to this most obvious conclusion? Any time I use a public restroom I do my best to avoid looking at the floor. Without fail though, (unless it’s just been cleaned) the floor is gross. Look, just because nature gave men a convenient way to urinate standing up, doesn’t mean they have to mark “their” territory like a dog. I promise, no one will think you less manly if you actually get your pee into the urinal. And it will save the poor guy who comes in after you from stepping in your mess. Ok? Thanks.

---

There has been a lot of discussion between Tigs and myself about the possibility of getting another pet of some sort. There were the usual furry contenders: hamsters, guinea pigs, and rabbits, but due to the time and attention that Lucy still requires I strongly felt that we wouldn’t be able to give a fair amount of attention to any one of those choices. We need something with lower maintenance and attention needs. As it is I feel Priya doesn’t get all the attention she deserves, although she’s been getting more - we discovered that Lucy is kind of afraid of her since Priya bit her on the nose! We would love to get another puppy friend for Lucy to play with, but because we are living in the townhouse, that isn’t really an option. So we are going to try our hands at keeping fish.

Last week we bought a kit that contained a tank, lid, light, heater, filter, etc. and we added gravel, an aerator, and some decorations. We also picked up a relatively inexpensive end table and some baskets to keep on it. We set it all up, and have been running it for a few days now in order to allow the tank a chance to balance before we begin to introduce fish. Our plan is to bring a sample of water in to petsmart to have them test it tomorrow, and if it comes out with good results we’ll pick out some fish and bring them home. We settled on Neon Tetras and some other small tropical community fish for our tank.

3 posts yesterday... Odd for me.

Another scorcher out there today. According to the weather channel it is currently (at 4:10 pm) 97 degrees and feels like 103. I've already 2 liters of water, and I'll be refilling it before I go.

---

For those not in the know, today is Cow Appreciation Day. In honor of this fine (if hot) day I would like to share my most recent up close and personal cow experience. Back on 7/1/06, when tigergladys and I were on our hike we stopped off at the park's farm and checked out the different animals. They had 4 cows out in the field, all pressed up against the west side of their fence, trying to enjoy as much shade as was possible. One of the cows there, a red and white one was just the cutest thing on 4 hooves.



She was young, with big brown eyes, and a little smile, and as was giving her a good rubbing I decided to scratch her neck and chin.



If any of you had ever met Cedric you will recognize this face. She was in heaven!



This kept up for a few minutes, after which she lay down in the grass and stretched, making the same groaning sounds as Cedric used to make.



I gave all the other cows scratches too, but none of them appreciated it like the red one did.

I hope you all have an udderly fantastic Cow Appreciation Day!

---

At 4:23 the weather channel now says it feels like 104!! Fantastic!