Vulture Dog!

Remember Snoopy, hanging out in a tree being a vulture?

Apparently Gus goes, too...

Christmas Memories

Christmas came to Avery again, and it's always a wonderful day. This year, it included the traditional tree, with decorations...

Cookies made and inspected...

Idgie getting even with racoons...

Opening presents...

A nap!

Lots of great food...

Odd kids in Russian hats...






Getting sleepy...

And a good night's rest! Merry Christmas to all.

A Spirited Driving Experience

A Mini Cooper update, for those following the action from home:

We drove a Cooper S this morning on the way to bring Frankie home from Berkeley. The one we drove in Sacramento a while ago was a regular Cooper, and we were in Friday-evening city traffic when we drove it (and with the sales lady in the back seat.)

Today was different. East Bay Mini didn't feel the need to tag along, just gave us the keys and sent us off on our way. (I guess Minis truly do sell themselves...) We had a 6-speed Cooper S, and our quest for better mileage might be detoured by the sound of the engine about 4,000 RPM... Well, a little at least.

The car is an absolute blast to drive. Quick, nimble, easy to see around you (which is major problem in most sports and sporty cars.) Gotta sell me some books and buy one!

Stockton

Very sad and disturbing news in Stockton, today. The man I work for at Lao Family was murdered last night outside the non-profit's office on Hammer Lane.

His name was Pheng Lo. He learned English as a janitor in Florida after fleeing Laos in the 1970s, got into social service work in Denver, and has been at Lao Family, mostly as Executive Director, since the mid-1980s. From what another employee told me, he wasn't robbed, just shot as he closed up the office for the evening and locked the door.

That's really all I know. I have no idea who or why anyone would do this, and don't know what it will mean for the agency. A period of struggle, to be sure, but I hope after that the agency will continue.

Random Updates and Room to Breathe

It's a rainy Tuesday monring and for the first time in three weeks or so, I don't have a thing listed in my appointment calendar or on my to-do list.

So today I get to take a deep breath.

Mostly I've been busy with grants. Three major applications, due on three successive Mondays. Got the last one wrapped up Sunday night (I was up and working on it at 5:30 a.m.) and now have to just wait and see if I hit on any of them.

Had a meeting in Davis yesterday with a public/private institute on the Davis campus. They need good out reach and writing, and it could be a nice ongoing partnership.

Have two other projects past the first-draft phase, awaiting client feedback, and a couple of others in the conceptual or out-to-bid phase. Had a nice conversation with my book editor on Friday, and it was all of the things I've heard from other publishers, minus all the "buts." They like it, they get it and they think they can sell it. ("It'll be an easy sell," my editor said.) The contract department is slow and already on holiday time, so it'll be early January before I sign the contract and get the first half of the advance.

I do have chapters on my white board now, including one I'm supposed to finsih by Friday. (My deadline, not the publishers.) So I guess I could consider that an item on my to-do list today.

Nah. Today is a mental health day. I've been repairing/restoring a speedometer I got on the eBay for my BMW, and today may be the day I get to spend a little time on it. Unless, of course, the phone rings.

Oh yeah - the storms hanging out today and tommorow might just make this a white Christmas in This Land. Haven't had snowfall here yet, but it's falling not too far up the hill. I'll post photos if it happens.

31.6 Pounds of Gusness

Gus got another shot today and he's 31.6 pounds, about 14 weeks or so. New collar. Same goofus!

Baggy Pants and a Big-Ass Hat

Here's a picture of the Cal Band marching out on the field, led by the guy dressed funny in the baggy pants and big hat.

It's interesting, today, in that next year, it'll be Frankie wearing those pants and that hat. Tonight he was elected Drum Major of the University of California Marching Band!!

Puppy and Puck

Need we say more?

A Constantly Evolving Plan...

Yes, we're still focused on cars here in This Land, and this is the latest.
This is the new Mini Cooper, redesigned for 2007 and beyond, although it's hard to see the changes. Why are we looking at such a car? There are at least 35 reasons - each one of them a mile-per-gallon the Mini gets.

We like both of our current vehicles, but bought both when we had a bicycle touring company and to use with the bicycle touring company. I love having a truck, but use it as a truck less then 5% of the time. The rest of the time, I'm highway driving in a 20-mpg vehicle. Diane's SUV gets 22, and although we will always want to have one 4-wheel-drive vehicle for the snow up here, it also doesn't need to be an all-the-time daily driver.

In San Francisco this weekend we checked out the Minis at the auto show, and compared them to the Altima Coupe I liked and a few others, and both quite liked it. I'd never sat in one before and wasn't sure how well I'd fit, but there's tons of room.

Been doing the research, and the redesigned model gets high marks. They used to get dinged hard on reliability, but now rank "above average" by consumer reports. The car reviews like them, and if you keep the options in check they're not expensive (especially compared to everything else I've been looking at.)

Did a spreadsheet today to see what one Cooper S could save us, based on it replacing 60 percent of our current miles. Even with it using premium gas, we'd save $1500 to $1800 a year in gas (depending on where prices go), more if it replaces more of our current miles.

So who knows. Plans form. And as careful readers might have noticed, change...

Well That Kinda Sucked...

The best thing I can say about Cal's season-ending loss to Stanford in the big game Saturday is 1) Stanford's new stadium really is rather nice, and 2) We got free tickets.

Wasn't much else positive to say. The Bears will play in the Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth (we are not going), which is nice for them (maybe) and nice for Frankie and the band. So, go band!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! Here's a puppy picture or two, in case anybody was in withdrawls...

OK Already

As ordered, here are new puppy pictures...

Got second puppy shots the other day and Gus is up to 20.3 pounds.

Yes, that's a funnel he's carrying...

That New Car Smell

No, no new car. All we have is the new puppy smell (still good) and the new puppy was here smell (not as good.)

I did go to the Sacramento Auto Show on Monday afternoon, just to kick some tires and try out some driver's seats. As you might remember, I've been interested in getting a sporty coupe for a while now, so I thought I'd take a look at some new options.

And I learned some stuff. First, the Infiniti G37 is no better than the G35 from a driver's seat perspective. So Infiniti is still on the out list. Second, Pontiac continues to earn domestic cars' crappy reputation. The seat-adjustment lever just about broke off in my hand. I'd looked a a Scion tc once before and was reasonably impressed, but looking at the one at the show left me less so. The interior is really parts-bin stuff.

The BMW 335i remains a very nice competitor, but there was also an Audi S5 there that topped it. Not a fair comparison - the A5 would be apples to apples (the S5 vs. the M3 would be fair), but I don't know I've ever sat in a nicer interior than the Audi. Purpose-built for driving at an invigorating rate of speed. There was no A5 there to compare, and the BMW that was there was all plushed out for luxery.

One car I went to see was the Honda Civic Si coupe, which isn't bad on the inside but does look funky on the outside. The Honda Accord coupe was just the reverse - looks OK from the outside, but the seats just felt odd and out of place somehow.

Two cars surprised me. One was the Subaru Legacy sedan, Spec B edition. Sporty and pretty classy looking all at the same time. The real surprise of the show for me, though, was this car, the Nissan Altima coupe. Nice looking outside, nice looking anf feeling inside, reasonably priced and reasonably fuel efficient (23/31 with the 4-cylinder, 19/27 with the 6).

What I really was able to do was eliminate and include cars at different price points. (All of which are beyond mine for the next number of years.) At $20,000, it's the Civic. At $25-$30,000, it's the Altima, hands down. At $40,000, it's the BMW (at least until I see an A5), and at $50,000, it's the S5.

At $80,000, it's the Audi R8, but that's a whole 'nother story...

Sometimes it's Calm...

That squirrel was even too weird for me, so we'll get back to some pretty dog pictures. Here's a calm moment.

Here's a more typical moment...

Embrace the Weirdness!

Oh, that's right - I can't!

Grrrragh, Grrrrrragh, Grrrrragh

Here's a cool thing about having a cute dog: I don't have to write nothing and my blog is still fun to visit.

Enjoy the cuteness!

Original Doug

It occurs to me that I've never posted the first picture of Gus, taken at the Tuolumne County Animal Shelter when he was still Doug.

This is the picture I saw on my computer that Sunday night last week.

What a face!

You Gotta Keep 'em Carburated

The puppy's not cute anymore, so I guess we'll go back to motorcycle parts.... (Not true, of course, but everyone deserves a break now and again.)

The motorcycle has been good lately. First, I finally found the left-side carburetor I needed on the eBay a few weeks ago. When I bought the bike it had mis-matched carbs and there was no way to balance them (except by ear) and as a newbie my ear had no training to do it. (When you have multiple carbs feeding air and fuel into different cylinders, you want them to be working the same so half your engine isn't working harder than the other half.) I also got it for about $50, and I'd seen the same carbs go as high as $150.

Then I sold some stuff. The factory seat. The original grab bar attached to the factory seat. The squarish-looking valve covers. All stuff I either got originally with the bike or things I had made redundant with upgrades. Let the auctions roll for a week, and made over $400 for all the stuff.

Rode the bike to Modesto last Saturday and spent a good chunk of my winnings at the BMW shop there. Got a device to balance my now-matched carbs. Get a rebuild kit to install all new gaskets and O-rings in my carbs. Found these boots on clearance for half-off because they only had oddly huge sizes left, but as I happen to take an oddly huge size, it was a good thing.

But here was the problem: Inside a carburetor are little parts called jets that let a certain amount of fuel through at different times. They're like little hose nozzles, and they come in different sizes. And to match and balance carbs, they have to have the same size jets.

Which means to make my new carb work, I had to take the jets out of the old one. Which means if anything goes wrong, neither carb will be available and my pretty motorcycle will be garage art until I get it sorted. Last night I started the process and got the jets out of the old carb and into the new and got the new installed on the bike. And it started! There's still lots of adjusting and balancing to do, which I didn't tackle last night, but the fact that it started (and ran on both cylinders) is an encouraging sign. Hopefully today I'll get time to dial it all in.

And the old carb is listed on the eBay, if you know anyone who is looking for a 32mm Bing 64/32/4 carb!

Fuzzy Bunny and the Cookie Man

Until somebody forces us to stop (or, as Koji's Kitchen suggests, Gus get uncute...) I think we'll keep posting pictures.

Unless he eats the camera or both computers, I suppose.

Actually, we haven't lost anything valuable to incessant puppy chewing yet, although anything within one foot of the ground is in Gus's opinion fair game. We'd bought a half-dozen toys before we brought him home, all different textures and types, and that's helped, then yesterday I rode my motorcycle to Modesto and stopped on the way home and bought 11 new toys at the Dollar Store. (INcluding Fuzzy Bunny and Cookie Man...)

Housebreaking is going pretty well. We take him out every time he wakes up, and he's only had a few accidents in the house. I don't think he's learned NOT to go in the house, he just really doesn't have the opportunity. Which works too.

He did have some excitement in the culvert that runs under our driveway yesterday - plunging himself headlong into the 12" pipe and going in far enough we couldn't see him any longer. Heard some growling, too, so I don't know if he ran into things living in said culvert. Fortunately, he still small enough to turn around and with a flashlight we were able to coax him out. (He was a scared puppy!) I put wire fencing in front of both ends of the thing, so he won't get back in. He still goes down and investigates it though, so he's either a) Not a wimpy puppy, b) Is a slow-learning puppy, or c) All the above.

At least he's quiet when he sleeps!

World, Meet Gus. Gus, Go Gnaw the World!

I have been told that not posting new, cute puppy pictures is a bad thing.

I hadn't been putting up new pictures because I don't want to be a bore, but Retired Mama informed me that if I wanted to stay in her good graces, there'd better be new puppy pictures soon.

The dutiful son, I comply.

Plan your attack...

CHOMP!

The Name Game, part 4...

I guess Gus is emerging as a darkhorse candidate...

"Damn Little Interloper" is Idgie's pick.

More Important than Iowa Polls: Rufus or Harper?

OK friends and neighbors, it's narrowing down to two favorites: Rufus or Harper.

Your votes and reasoning will be taken under advisement and fodder for the discussion.

I suppose that in the interest of full disclosure that one of Frankie's friends suggested Gooper, but I'm not sure it's a finalist.

The Puppy Formerly Known as Doug

This is the Puppy Formerly Known as Doug.

He came home to This Land today. Didn't expect it. In fact, on our recent trip to visit Koji's Kitchen in Long Beach we stopped and looked at some lab puppies at a breeder in Merced. Decided we didn't want those puppies, and driving back had a long discussion about if I was ready or not.

I didn't want to rush. I didn't want to bring in a new guy before I was done mourning Spanky. And I know puppies are a handful. I even brought it up, warning Diane I wasn't sure I was ready, just to make sure the gathering steam didn't roll me along.

Then last night I got onto Petfinder and found puppies just available for adoption at the Tuolumne County shelter. Including this guy, whom they had named Doug.

When I saw my motorcycle on Craigslist I knew it was going to be my motorcycle. When I saw this guy, I knew he was going to be my dog. We bought toys and puppy food while they checked our vet history at the shelter, and he came home with us about noon.

Diane thinks his name might be Marvin. Darby and Bixby have also been considered. What's he look like to you? He's a mighty mix (Muttus americanis...) and looks like he'll be a big boy. Eight weeks now.

Instant Karma

I stopped at Sears today on my lunch break in Stockton to buy a wrench. (Adjusting the valves on my motorcycle requires the use of two 12mm wrenches, and I have one.) So I rectified the situation.

I used to hate Sears, mostly because the service was horrible. I don't hate it so much anymore and do like their tools, so I shop there fairly frequently. (A tool chest like the one shown here is on my wish list for the medium-distance future...)

But today I had the same lousy service that used to drive me away from Sears. The cashier had no time for me - the conversation with her co-worker was clearly more interesting - and just dumped my receipt and change into my hand. She didn't explain the coupon that also printed out and was just generally rude.

So naturally I looked for a "tell us how we're doing" message on the receipt and found one. Took the on-line survey, told Sears exactly how I was treated and felt much better.

So today's business lesson: If you're gonna treat customers badly, give them the opportunity to complain!

Tagged

Koji's Kitchen tagged me to come up with five things that make me eccentric. I'll do my best.

1) I'd rather fix things than buy them new. Not everything, of course (medical devices come to mind...) but often. I enjoy working on my 1974 BMW motorcycle as much as I enjoy riding it. There was an article in a BMW MOA magazine recently about a guy who had his dad's late-70s R100 restored. Shipped it to some guy and wrote big checks and 18 months later got the bike back. It's beautiful, sure, but he did nothing and learned nothing. There's nothing in that bike that's his.

2) I need a project. Something that needs doing or fixing, and preferably something that requires a chase. A chase for parts, for knowledge, doesn't really matter. Years ago I built a very nice Morris chair. Hand-crafted out of oak. Someone suggested I build more and sell them. Couldn't imagine anything less fun. Building one of something is creation. Two and more is production.

3) I don't read much. Which I guess is a problem, since I've been earning a living as a writer for more than 20 years. I read non-fiction mostly, how-to stuff often. I read magazines. The novels I pick up and stay with I usually in one or two sittings.

Guests have arrived, so three will have to do.

Magic Eye Motorcycle

This is one of those Highlights magic eye games.

Can you find six differences? Five? Three are pretty obvious; the rest don't show as clearly in the photos as they might.

(Hint: The photos being taken at different times of the day does not count...)