Friday, October 13, 2006
Monday, October 09, 2006
Newton
We've finally settled on a name for our little critter: Newton. He's officially named for the famous scientist and mathematician, but if you'd like to think of him as being named for the fig-filled cookie, I guess that's OK, too. Of course, just because we've decided on the little guy's name, that doesn't mean he knows what it is. We'll be working on that in the near future.
Anyway, here are some more photos of the pup. Alison's still in her pajamas in these pics, so don't think less of her fashion sense. But do be sure to notice her stumpy little toes.
Anyway, here are some more photos of the pup. Alison's still in her pajamas in these pics, so don't think less of her fashion sense. But do be sure to notice her stumpy little toes.
Sunday, October 08, 2006
No-Name the Puppy!
Hello everyone! Well, we finally did it. We got ourselves a puppy! He is a little 12-week old Bichon Frise. We are very excited...and very tired. We still have not decided on a name for the little guy, but we are committed to figuring that out by tonight. Anyway, here is a first look at the little cutie. Sadly this first pic was taken on the way home when we stopped to let him get some air after he got carsick. :( As you can see, though, he did get better soon after we got home. Enjoy!
Saturday, October 07, 2006
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Muffy Story #3: Opposable Thumbs?
Muffy is, as I have said before, a very smart dog. Here is one example of her uncanny canine intellect.
When Muffy was a puppy she was very, very tiny. This made us very, very lax about keeping things out of her reach. However, one day we came home to find that she had learned to jump up onto the coffee table where my mom kept a little dish of Hershey's Kisses. Of course, we were horrified since chocolate is poisonous to dogs. Once we got over being horrified, though, we were frankly amazed. I imagine that when most dogs get into individually-wrapped chocolates they eat as much foil as they do chocolate. Not Muffy. She had perfectly unwrapped her prizes, as if she had opposable thumbs! There were perfect squares of foil all over the floor. They were barely even torn! She even managed to leave the little Hershey's Kiss flags behind.
Well, no more of that! We put the chocolates on the sofa table which was much taller...way too tall for Muffy to jump up on. Except Muffy learned that if she jumped up on the sofa and then climbed up the arm and across the back of the sofa, she could easily hop onto the sofa table and knock the chocolate onto the floor and have a feast. At least, that's what we assume she did since we came home to, you guessed it, perfectly unwrapped and totally eaten Hershey's Kisses.
Now my mom keeps the candy dish on top of the antique icebox which is about four feet high and sits by itself in the corner. Muffy has not figured that one out yet, thank goodness, and it has been eleven years now, so we feel pretty comfortable keeping the candy dish up there. I'm not convinced, however, that Muffy has not been plotting this whole time. I half expect that we will come home one day to a rope ladder made out of her dog bed lining, an empty candy dish, and very neatly unwrapped candy wrappers all over the floor.
When Muffy was a puppy she was very, very tiny. This made us very, very lax about keeping things out of her reach. However, one day we came home to find that she had learned to jump up onto the coffee table where my mom kept a little dish of Hershey's Kisses. Of course, we were horrified since chocolate is poisonous to dogs. Once we got over being horrified, though, we were frankly amazed. I imagine that when most dogs get into individually-wrapped chocolates they eat as much foil as they do chocolate. Not Muffy. She had perfectly unwrapped her prizes, as if she had opposable thumbs! There were perfect squares of foil all over the floor. They were barely even torn! She even managed to leave the little Hershey's Kiss flags behind.
Well, no more of that! We put the chocolates on the sofa table which was much taller...way too tall for Muffy to jump up on. Except Muffy learned that if she jumped up on the sofa and then climbed up the arm and across the back of the sofa, she could easily hop onto the sofa table and knock the chocolate onto the floor and have a feast. At least, that's what we assume she did since we came home to, you guessed it, perfectly unwrapped and totally eaten Hershey's Kisses.
Now my mom keeps the candy dish on top of the antique icebox which is about four feet high and sits by itself in the corner. Muffy has not figured that one out yet, thank goodness, and it has been eleven years now, so we feel pretty comfortable keeping the candy dish up there. I'm not convinced, however, that Muffy has not been plotting this whole time. I half expect that we will come home one day to a rope ladder made out of her dog bed lining, an empty candy dish, and very neatly unwrapped candy wrappers all over the floor.
Websites I Enjoy
I just thought I would put these few websites out there that I have been enjoying lately.
- If you secretly enjoy the celebrity rags at the checkout stand, but feel bad spending money on them, then check out The Superficial. This site serves up lots of good old fashioned turn-your-brain-to-mush celebrity gossip/pictures with plenty of snarky captions. Keep in mind that said captions sometimes contain content not appropriate for work. I especially don't recommend reading the comments left by the people who frequent the site. They are stupid, boring, and often profane.
- This site is for those of us who particularly enjoy those shows or magazines where they do the best and worst dressed lists, but who really can't stand the insipid commentators or, again, don't want to spend money on the magazines. Plenty of pics of absurdly dressed celebrities with very funny, well-written comments. I also enjoy that they don't just bash people who are dressed poorly, but they also recognize people who look really good.
- This site is for people who enjoy cute pictures. Yep, that seems to be its sole purpose. Enjoy!
Rice University to Add 2 New Colleges
Somehow I missed it, but my undergraduate alma mater, Rice University, has announced some major expansion plans. The school intends to increase the size of the undergraduate student body by 30 %. I'm not sure I agree with that move; I think perhaps Rice should stay the small---some would say "elite"---university it's been for so long. Anyway, to accommodate all these new students, the school will be adding two new residential colleges. That's right: a tenth and an eleventh. What's more, these two colleges are slated to be occupied by Autumn of 2009. It appears that the new colleges, along with their joint kitchen/servery, will be squeezed into the north side of campus, next to Jones. The tenth college will be named McMurtry, after a couple who began dating as Rice undergrads and who have recently donated 32 M$ to the University. That's 32,000,000 dollars. (I think it's safe to assume the McMurtrys are doing pretty well for themselves.)
A bit of Rice history: In the late 1990s, the University planned to add two new residential colleges to its set of eight. After the most recent recession began, the money dried up, so the plans were scaled back; only the ninth college was built. I guess the cash must be flowing more freely now, but I wonder how long it will last, or if the eleventh college will be constructed anytime soon.
I know two occasional readers of this blog are Rice alumni. I'd like to hear their opinions on this news.
A bit of Rice history: In the late 1990s, the University planned to add two new residential colleges to its set of eight. After the most recent recession began, the money dried up, so the plans were scaled back; only the ninth college was built. I guess the cash must be flowing more freely now, but I wonder how long it will last, or if the eleventh college will be constructed anytime soon.
I know two occasional readers of this blog are Rice alumni. I'd like to hear their opinions on this news.
Extreme Pumpkins
Those of you who will be honored with an invitation to our annual pumpkin-carving party---pretty much all the Marylanders reading this---should peruse this site. Alison and I will be expecting greater-than-average creativity this year.
Monday, October 02, 2006
Software Review: Google SketchUp
OK, this post isn't a full-blown review; I've only used Google's SketchUp 3-D drawing program for an hour or so, working my way through the tutorials and generally playing around. Still, I found it to be very powerful and easy to use. Also, Google hosts a "warehouse" where users can exchange their drawings. I encourage you to check it out.
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