Aug 31.  Two important people in my life appeared in the paper recently.

Rosemary was interviewed by The Signpost (our student newspaper on campus) for a Katrina one-year followup article.  She seems to enjoy living in Utah.

Chris Millard, who I know is reading this, wrote a really cool Op-Ed piece for the Standard-Examiner. 

Aug 25. Today is Dylan's 9th Birthday!   After some extra snuggling and face-licking in bed his day began with congratulatory emails from several friends in the US (see below for examples) and Canada (thank you Monique). 

Jim gave a talk today at an orientation session.  The theme was "The A-Team" and so they had army helmets, camo balloons and American flags festooning the room.  We all got to watch the intro to "The A-Team" as we ate lunch and the audience sat in breathless anticipation of my presentation.

Afterwards, we asked to swipe one of the Army helmets they were using, and were allowed to take one.  We figured Dylan would like dressing up as a soldier for his birthday.  The results are shown at right.

Our friends at MyHeritage.com, who brought you a previous version of Not Very Good Facial Recognition Software, now have Not Very Good Facial Recognition Software Beta.

Last time I tried it, back in February, I pulled up Jacques Rogge a few times.  This time, I got Raoul Bova twice.  I'm pretty sure he has more hair than I do.  Jacques is in there again, and just for fun I apparently resemble Clive Owen and k.d. lang.  Alexis Denisof appears twice, but I look about as much like him as I do George W. Bush.

Aug 23. (Rosemary) 

Dylan had his last physical therapy appointment today.  He enjoys these trips so much that we'll be driving him to Bountiful about once a month just so he can stop in to visit his women.  

Today's session included 30 minutes at 0.7mph on the underwater treadmill followed by a soak in the electrostimulation hydrotherapy tub to relax his muscles. 

Since Dylan's normally paces (both legs on one side of the body move in the same direction) the water in the tank starts sloshing from side to side. 

 

 

Left: While waiting to check out, Dylan expresses interest in another patient's plight.

 

Right:  No trip would be complete without conning his front desk fans out of at least one cookie.  (They're on the counter in the jar with the blue lid.  Dylan just wanted you to know.)

Thanks to Dr. Pam, Dr. Kate and Marianne at the K9 Rehab Center, Dr. Paul Morgan (Dylan's surgeon) and Dr. Stephen Lane in Denver who read Dylan's MRIs, Dylan is back to about 95% of what he was previously.  He's not allowed to play tug any longer and Excellent-level agility's rapid jumps and turns should be avoided, but other than that he can live a normal life. Thanks to you all!   Friday will be his 9th birthday and we will definitely celebrate.

Aug 19.  One of my jobs is to take care of assessment for the institution.  No one likes to do assessment.  It's regarded just below cleaning the chamber pot in most people's list of "Things to Do".  But it's important to me, and I don't mind (too much) nagging people about it.

So, while I was browsing for new books in the field, I came across the above oddity on the Amazon.com web page.  What is this saying about the assessment process?

And while the future's there for anyone to change

Still you know it seems

It would be easier sometimes to change the past

— Jackson Browne

Aug 17 (Jim).  Big day for me, too.  I didn't win any $10,000 scholarships, but I made it through my observed meeting and so now I'm a Weight Watchers leader.

I suppose it's all teaching, and I've certainly been doing that for long enough, but it was nerve-wracking just the same.  I'm glad I made it through, and I hope I got a start on making a difference for people.

This week's meeting is about change.  So, I used the Jackson Browne quote at left, which has always been one of my favorites.  It's from "Fountain of Sorrow", which always makes me think of a certain picture of my friend Amanda.

Aug 17 (Rosemary).  This is a big day for Dylan on two fronts.

1.  He got the word from Dr. Pam that he is a healthy dog who, while needing to avoid tugging games and sharp turns after agility jumps and similar activity, can lead a relatively normal (for a cattledog) life.  He'll stay in AKC Novice Preferred but can run in an occasional USDAA trial.  This is fantastic news.

2.  Then to top it off, Dylan (we all know he's smart!) received the following email:

From: Scholarship Award Council <software_innovations@lists.greatexclusive.com >
Subject: You may have been awarded a $10,000 scholarship

Dylan - You have been selected to participate in our Nationwide Survey! Just for helping us out you will receive* a $100 Gas Gift Card. This will help you save money at the pump especially while the price per gallon is so high.

Press Here To Begin:
http://seriespeople.com/tr.php?27274+rth.sec@gmail.com

Who makes a better truck....Ford(R) or Chevy(R)? Select your favorite to receive a $100 Gas Gift Card for no cost*.

Press Here To Begin:
http://seriespeople.com/tr.php?27274+rth.sec@gmail.com

This is a limited time promotion, please take our survey to -claim*- your $100 Gas Gift Card before it's too late!

Best regards,

Jeff L.
Rewards Representative
America's Top Brands

Just how lucky can one little red dog be?  

Aug 13.  Thanks to our friends at Wonkette, we have this glorious photo from the 2006 off-year election campaign.

Let's do a "You Caption the Photo" contest.  Here's my entry:

"In a new series of tests, Katherine Harris (R-Florida) demonstrates conclusively that possums are enraged by silicone implants and overuse of Mary Kay products."

The RoxyLog.  Bringing you the best of the web since 2003.

My co-worker who helped me pace myself for the 5K run has asked not to be named, so I won't.  I didn't agree, however, to refrain from complimenting her.  So here goes.  She's sharp as a whip, efficient, and beautiful, and she missed her 5K goal of 25:30 while helping me make mine. 

The surface was really rough — it was about half gravel road with mudholes and huge rocks — but in spite of that we persevered.  Neither of us turned an ankle, which was a plus.  It wasn't a huge entry; I was second (of three) in my gender/age group and my un-named co-worker and I were 25th and 26th overall.

I finished with a PR of 26:15, while the Goddess of 5K finished in 26:13.  That cuts about two minutes off my previous PR of 28:17.

Right after, Rosemary and I drove down to Draper to practice at Colleen Hawker's house.  All three of the dogs got to run.  Roxy looked great!  She seems to have overcome her nerves, at least for now. 

Annie got to run about 2/3 of the course, and had a blast.  She tires more easily than she used to, but at 13, she's entitled.  I haven't had her out a whole lot so she's not in her peak physical shape, either.  I was really proud of her.

For a guy who had spinal surgery two months ago, Dylan looked tremendous.  Rosemary is getting ready to run him in a Labor Day weekend trial in AKC Novice Preferred, which will allow him to run an easy course at a 12" jump height.  He seems to just enjoy getting out and running, which makes us happy.

Looking forward to the week ahead, Monday and Tuesday I will be at the New Faculty Orientation, and Thursday and Friday I will be consulting with two different doctors about re-doing my LASIK surgery.  Thursday I will be leading my first Weight Watchers meeting.

 

 

Aug 9.  Dylan continues to recover from his disk surgery.  He's gradually returning to normal activity and interaction with Roxy, who has been trying desperately for months to get him to play with her.  Having failed at play-bowing, twisting herself into a pretzel while in mid-air, and running around him  asfastasshecanrun, she tries the old tongue in the ear approach.

Remember how Dylan used to sleep in strange poses?  This morning I came up the stairs to find him asleep like this:

Yes, his eyes are open.  That doesn't mean he's awake or dead.  It's a cattledog thing designed to scare the living bejeeses out of you the first time you find them like this.  They all do it.

Aug 5.  I just want to tell y'all how cool it is to have wireless Internet access in airports and hotels all across this great nation of ours.

Right now, I am in the Salt Lake City airport, waiting on a plane that I'm incredibly (4 hours) early for.  I have time to kill, and I can stay in touch through the wireless access here.  I can even post to the RoxyLog!

Today's big milestone is that I completed the bulk of my training to be a Weight Watchers meeting leader.  I'm really looking forward to the chance to make an impact on people's lives.  I get a little evangelical about the program, even though it's a business, because for the second time in my life I can sell a "product" I really believe in.  The first, of course, is a University education.  The second is Weight Watchers.

A funny thing about the training.  As is my habit, I always park in the farthest spot from the door to get a little walking exercise in.  There is a small vacant lot area in the back of the parking lot at the Salt Lake WW Center.  Normally, in a place like that, you find McDonald's bags, used diapers, and the like.

The "litter" at the WW center is comprised of:

• a whole slew of empty water bottles (over a dozen);
• an empty box of Crystal Light-to-go packets;
• a fat-free, no sugar added yogurt carton;
• an empty box of WW "Two-Point" bars, a sort of WW branded snack.

It was the healthiest litter I've ever seen in my life.

Aug 2.  Okay, so I really must update the RoxyLog regularly, because now it has become an issue with at least three people.

The good news is, I know I have at least three regular readers.

Saturday, July 29, I was to judge an agility match at the Teton County Fair in Jackson, Wyoming.   We took Friday to make a more leisurely drive up there, and so followed the same route that Dad and I took on our trip to Yellowstone last October.

We made our way up US Highway 89, through Logan, down past Bear Lake, then through Montpelier, Idaho, finally crossing the Wyoming border to drive up the beautiful Star Valley of Wyoming.

Rosemary had not experienced the World's Largest Antler Arch in Afton, Wyoming, so she was thrilled to see that.

Roxy, who was scared by the silly plaster wolf at the Wolf Den Restaurant in Thayne, Wyoming last year, hardly paid it any attention at all this year.  Dylan couldn't care less, either.

The county fair folk were nice enough to put us up at the Painted Buffalo Inn in Jackson.  It was a nice place, and I had a great time judging the agility match, but Jackson was not to our taste as a vacation destination.

So, as soon as I was done on Saturday, we used the available daylight to head up through Grand Teton National Park and into Yellowstone.

We had a dog-friendly hotel in Ashton, Idaho, about an hour south of the West Yellowstone entrance, and we stayed there for the night. 

Starting out the next morning, we drove the Grand Loop in a figure 8.  We started off with the Artists' Paintpots, one of my favorite places in the park, where Roxy met a 7 month old black Lab puppy that she made instant friends with.  They set about to play a game of Doggie Macramé. 

At the Biscuit Geyser Basin, near Old Faithful, there is a gorgeous hot spring that dumps boiling water into the Firehole River.  In this picture, you can see the dead trees still standing from the 1988 wildfires that almost destroyed Yellowstone. 

We drove back Monday, and it was back to work Tuesday.

Tuesday night, we started a new class with Roxy to get her ready for her first obedience trial, scheduled for September 10.  She's pretty good except for the stand, so we'll work on that a good bit.

This is a heavy travel season for me.  I'll be at retreats the end of this week; twice next week; and again the 14th and 15th.  That's four retreats in about 10 days!