Naming Scheme

Great names for fish: Greg Louganis, Mark Spitz, Janet Evans. Think Olympic water sports.

 

Chai Latte, Anyone?

Absolutely sick of the 25 cent “coffee” in the vending machines here at work on the 3^rd floor, I decided to go down to “Eat, Drink & Make Deadline” (yes, that’s the name of our café) and get some real coffee. Well, okay, so I ended up with a Chai Latte, not coffee, but that’s the best $1.75 I’ve spent at least since yesterday.

 

Last night, Christy and I bought two new gold fish to keep Greg Louganis (our large gold fish, residing in the pond on our patio) company. Mark Spitz is bright orange, and Janet Evans is mostly white with some orange along her back. Greg Louganis has (hopefully) taken a fancy to Janet Evans and is constantly following her. Either that, or (gasp!) he’s trying to eat her.

 

By the way, we really don’t know the sex of any of the fish. We just like to think that one of them is female.

Killing the Beautiful Big Things, Part 2

I just sent the following email to Jamison, the boy who killed what could have been the world's largest pig:

Jamison,

I know you don't know better--you're still young. But hunting the size of pig you did with a pistol is just plain cruel. According to the stories I read, it took nine shots and three hours for the pig to die. Now that the adrenaline rush of your great adventure is over, think about the three hours of pain and fear that pig was in. Please, use this as a learning experience. Hunting doesn't have to be cruel.

Sincerely,

Greg Short

Remembering Ibby

Ibelide "Ibby" Navy: June 1, 2002 - May 26, 2007

At approximately 10AM, I buried my beautiful Starling, Ibelide "Ibby" Navy. I never thought it was possible to love a bird so much, but having raised him from a naked little baby, the bond was incredibly deep.

You'll be missed, Ibby!

"You're a good bird. Such a good bird. Yes you are. Yes. Yes." --Ibby

Killing the Beautiful Big Things

Don't mind the fact that it took three hours for it to die. Also, please ignore these items of interest: 1) the boy who shot it was 11 years old, and 2) he used a pistol to do it. The pig was big. Like it's-so-big-I-have-to-kill-it-and-put-its-head-on-my-wall big. It had to die.

When one of my coworkers showed me the story online, my first thought was: Something that big is worth more alive than dead. If it's dead, where's the beauty, the wonder, the amazement? Gone. A memory. A photograph.

Sure, it's a pig we're talking about here. But now, thanks to a boy named Jamison Stone--not to mention his father--what could have been the world's largest wild pig is no more.

The problems I have with this story run much deeper, however. What kind of father lets his 11-year-old hunt that size of animal? An 11-year-old should be hunting rabbits and quail... if at all. And the fact that he used a pistol to hunt an animal that big--an animal that clearly should have been killed more humanely with a high-powered rifle, which his father happened to be carrying "just in case"--should be a crime. It took a total of nine shots with a pistol and over three hours for it to die. That's just cruel. Where's the Department of Fish & Game? Where's PETA?

Fortunately, the web site this father put up to honor his son's accomplishment has been down since at least yesterday, probably and unfortunately due to too much traffic to the page. Let's hope it stays down.

Stream of Consciousness

Two posts in a row is just crazy. And this one being at a decent hour of the day is even crazier. I sit in the air conditioned living room, listening to Sirius Radio Channel 22--First Wave. Bertram is sitting on the back of the recliner, staring out the window. Today I pruned the roses and there are barely any left (heat wave has killed most of them). Gregory got home early today!!! I love that. Now he is going to eat some Jell-o. It is peach flavored. I'm not sure how I feel about that. Actually, I must not like it too much, because I've hardly eaten any. I like to make Jell-o for my husband. It makes me feel like a good wife. I didn't sleep much last night, and of course this would be the day when I was doing some hard core teaching. Those little darlings had to take so many notes! I usually vary our activities more, but we need to get in argument and persuasion before the semester ends. In three weeks! (fragment) My head is currently not hurting. I've been having bad sinus issues lately. I know everyone cares about this.

Mushy, But Not Peas

I have just visited a wonderful website which Gregory must soon list under my links: www.stuffonmycat.com. I can't wait to put some stuff on Bertram and submit his picture. If we can lull him into a sleepy state, he'll stand for quite a bit.

But anyway...I have to say that today was just lovely. At Sunday Night Dinner, my mother asked Greg and me what we did today, and I very nearly answered, "We just sat around and talked about how much we love each other." But it's true! One of the wonderful things about our marriage is that we decided long ago, even before we were married, that we would never ever take each other or our relationship for granted. Thus, we are constantly amazed that we have this beautiful life together. We actually discuss this quite often.

If I haven't said it before, I officially say now that I love marriage. We have found so much happiness that it makes me even sadder that many people are so close-mindedly against gay marriage. They talk about how sacred it is (although half of them are probably divorced), and they are right. It is an completely beautiful, sacred, holy state. Which is exactly why all adults should have the opportunity to enter into it if they choose.

But back to the mushiness. I am in awe of my husband. He is, as the poet Wallace Stevens said about ice cream, an absolute good. He is, in the absence of my father, the best man I know. He is every joy to me. He puts gas in my car and washes it when I'm sick. He wakes up in the middle of the night to protect me from spiders. And he will do anything just to make me laugh. You should see him do the Sav-on walk--that is true love.

[Jott from Greg Short] Instant Jott

Jott From Greg Short

Instant Jott

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If They Can Be Friends, Why Can't We?

There's something very heartwarming about this site. Kind of makes you stop and wonder why us humans can't even get along with each other.

I Am What I Am

INTJ - "Mastermind". Introverted intellectual with a preference for finding certainty. A builder of systems and the applier of theoretical models. 2.1% of total population.

Free Jung Personality Test (similar to Myers-Briggs/MBTI)

The accuracy of this test was almost spooky! Oh, and where did I find it? At my new favorite social networking site, of course.

StumbleUpon is actually right out of my head. I have been tossing around a very similar idea for quite some time. But they beat me to it. Alas, they've done a better job of it than I could ever have.

[Jott from Greg Short] It's beautiful day in Bogland(?), it's a little windy out right now, but the tem...

Jott From Greg Short

It's beautiful day in Bogland(?), it's a little windy out right now, but the temperature is just fine and it's a good day.

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[Jott from Greg Short] this is my first blog entry using j o t t dot com

Jott From Greg Short

this is my first blog entry using j o t t dot com

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