New Surroundings

Recently, my family and I have moved. This isn't the first move, nor will it be the last move that we make. However, this move was a little different. We move nearly 120 miles from our last home. This obviously creates many additional hardships.
Unlike in other previous moves, my children now have to attend new schools. My teenage daughter is not quite sure at this point how to handle this. "Should I be sad, cause I'm losing all my friends, or should I be happy cause I'm gonna make new ones?" I guess that is kind of a "half full/half empty scenario. Personally, I am very pessimistic. However, for the sake of my family, I like to present a more optimistic approach to everything. Regardless of how I feel about something, I want them to come to their own conclusions and draw their own opinions, without much more than facts from me.
The move in and of itself was a real pain in the neck. Although we had several weeks to complete the move, and I have really great friends, and a full size pickup of my own, it still came down to the wire. Sometimes I think the gods were laughing at us all the way. With more than one incident of items being thrust off of my truck by the wind, and apparently my inability to correctly secure them. A flood in the old house, that forced haste, and then the waste of losing items, that we still haven't found. Then there is always the inconvenience of moving. I hate living out of boxes, and bad Chinese take-out.
Well, enough negativity. Our new pad is very nice. Two level ranch style home. Three bedroom, three bath, and over sized 2 car attached garage. It's nice getting into a warm car on a cold morning. This is the first time in three years, that my bedroom is warmer than 55 degrees at night. There is some good to come from a forced air furnace. The first gas bill was not very nice, but only needing one blanket at night was.
There is much to get used to here. The weather patterns here are much different. The local coal, oil, and Amtrack trains go through here several times a day, early morning, and late evening. We went from a small city of 30,000 to 50,000 people to a small town of about 10,000 people. 20 roaming police cars, to 2. All in all, I think that I will like it here. There is so much new exploring to be done this coming spring.

My petting zoo!

My whole family is an animal family. All of us enjoy animals around. Some of us more than others. Some folks just don't care for pets. I know people who don't believe that animals have any personality. I know animals with more personality than those people! I have sympathy for those people who are allergic to animal dander/fur. They will never be able to understand the pleasure, of sharing your world with a pet.

I have always been more of a cat person than a dog person. I do enjoy dogs, but I seem to connect better with cats. I guess that is why I have allowed my family to accumulate 6 cats. 6 is the limit, and there will be no more than 2 after a few of these 6 pass on. Although that will be several more years, because the oldest of our cats is only about 7 or 8 years. The youngest are still less than a year.

My house is alot like a petting zoo. A small one at least. We currently have two dogs, lab mixes, 3 parrots, all African Grey's, and 6 cats. The birds will likely outlive me and my wife. The oldest, Oscar, is about 28 years old or so. He should live to be about 80 years old. The other two are siblings, of the same hatching. They are about 17 years old. They too should live to see 80 or better. The cats however, are what I wanted to chat about.

Dogs have masters, cats have staff!

That couldn't be more true. I love my cats. All 6 of them. The statement is true, though. When a cat wants something they make it very clear. They will continue to make it clear, until you do something about it. They also, don't come to you when you want them too, the way a dog will obey a command. The cat gets love, when the cat wants love.

All of our pets are rescues of some type or other. Some were picked up from the Pound. Others, were brought to us by people we know looking for a good home, while their circumstances prevented them from having pets any longer. All of the quadraped variety are just your common cats and dogs, with one calico cat, and one Siamese cat for exceptions.

Personality! That's what a cat has. Of the six, we of course have the ring leader. He is the oldest and the wisest of the bunch. He knows how to get them all fed, he knows how to get treats, he alerts the rest to a flock of birds outside. We call that "Kitty Vision." They all sit for hours just watching birds at the feeders outside. And he is the one you will have to move for the best seat in the house.

The next oldest, is Max. He really is Max - size that is. He is about an 18 pounder! That's cool, cause he has the biggest heart too. He is my cat, and I know it! He will cry until I come home from work, always has to be in my lap. Doesn't really like anyone else. He is also the guard kitty. He will growl at the door, if someone comes to the house. Don't beware of dogs, just beware of Max!

Then there is Morgan. All of our cats have names that start with the letter M. Makes it easy to get them confused. Like when your parents were mad a one kid, they would call out everyone elses name before they finally got to yours! My brother and sister know exactly what I mean there!

Morgan is the Siamese cat. Not your typical though. He is all white, with beautiful blue eyes. He is soooo cross eyed it is amazing he can see anything at all. I imagine that is why he is such a mean cat. Morgan loves the laser pointer, and is a cat nip fiend. Give him both and have hours of fun! His white fur is so soft, it is like an angora sweater. Morgan loves to be where his mommy is! He is her baby.

There is Mowgli. She is a loner kitty. Mommy's little "princess." Princess my ass! She is always getting picked on from two of the other cats. Morgan and Misty, like to be mean to her. She likes to be touched only when she wants it. If you try to pet her, she will slink around and avoid it, then run and hide. She is also the climber! She loves to be in the highest place she can find.

Misty, is the calico. She is still less than a year old. She is probably one of the cutest cats I have ever seen. There is just something about her. She loves to play with the other cats. She is also the cat that doesn't mind being picked up, and petted for extended periods. That of course makes her great for the kids. The neatest thing about Misty is the way she walks. Picture a gorilla walking towards you, on its front knuckles. That's the way she walks.

Last but not least is Minnie! Just like Max was max size, Minnie is a wee lass. This is the water cat. She loves to be in the bathroom. The sound of water draws her attention, like a fire siren draws killer bees, (see the movie "Swarm"). If she gets in the bathroom while you're taking a shower, she will stand on the toilet and stick her head in the tub, and watch you shower. When she isn't at the food dish, you can find her on the toilet, or at the sink. Something fascinating about water!

Once you get to know my cats on a first name basis you will fall in love. They can keep you amused for days. The best part of that is that they rarely ask for your interaction to do so. Just find a comfy spot to sit, (you may have to move a cat) and sit back and watch. They are great companions!

Allergy Season Baby!

Pardon me, while I wipe the sneeze spittle off my keyboard! Allergy Season baby! Gotta love it. Really, I do. I seem to only be allergic to a few strains of pollen. This year is particularly bad however. There are a few groves of Globe Willows nearby, I am allergic to their pollens. Here in western Colorado, the Globe Willows, and the "rabbit brush" are the first things to turn green. We have had a nice string of beautiful weather lately. The day time highs are in the 60's or better. Today, I got a touch of sunburn while repairing my dogs chain link kennel. The first, and only burn of the year! It's good to be native!
Allergies are an interesting ailment. I know, and have known people with them all of my life. I was probably about 15 or 16 before my first case of Poison Ivy. I had been taught what it was, what it does, and to avoid it by my grandfather at his retirement home on the reservation. I was about 8 or so then. I didn't listen! I had to learn for myself. I remember secretly touching the plants, in an attempt to catch the dreaded rash. Don't ask me why, I was only 8 and can only speculate what oddity had invaded my thought process. To my dismay, at the time, I failed to react to the oils in the plant. From then on, I thought I was immune. I later learned that the rash associated with poison ivy, was caused by an allergic reaction to the plants oils. I had not yet developed the allergy.
Throughout the remainder of my pre-teens and into young adulthood, I often made bets with friends, to touch the plants. Knowing that I was immune to their oils, as a kid however, I rarely got to collect when I didn't get the rash. It wasn't until I was about 15 or 16, when it finally caught up with me.
My friends and I were at a local swimming hole, Hulberton Quarry, when everyone stepped around a small batch of the plant. Believing that I would never get the dreaded rash, I waltzed right on through it. After a period of a day or two, my calves began to itch tremendously. Upon inspection, I noticed some small red splotches. It wasn't enough, however, to triage what was coming. I had written it off to some mosquito bites or something, (another poison I am relatively immune to.) After another day had passed and the itching and redness hadn't, I asked mom! I showed her the growing rash on my legs. "You have Poison Ivy, Sonny!" she said.
To date, that was the only case of Poison Ivy I have ever had. I learned my lesson quickly. Living in an arid climate, that is something that I don't have to worry about. Poison Ivy, Oak, and Sumac, can't seem to tolerate the dry conditions, therefore, I am safe! I still watch where I am walking, when in the woods. Instead of those irritating plants, we have rattlesnakes, wild hogs, wolves, bears, coyotes, and mountain lions. Although rarely a problem, be aware of their existence!
When I was about 23, I developed my first case of seasonal allergies. At first I thought I had a spring case of the flu. My eyes burned as though I had been up all night at a gentleman's club. My throat was soar, as if I had smoked a whole pack of cigarettes the night before, and my nose ran like Carl Lewis! This went on for about a week. I lived with my cousin at the time, and he was dating the daughter of a doctor. I asked her about it, and she laughed and then gave me some allergy pills. It seems that she had the same problem.
For the past nine years, I have fought a losing battle with pollen. Some seasons are worse than others. This Spring is the worst yet. I have never really encountered the sneezing that is generally associated with allergies. This year however, it seems that I have been inflicted with those symptoms also. I have been sneezing almost non-stop for a few days. My only relief is at work, in Telluride, where there is still enough snow on the ground to keep the trees from blooming, and the snow bunnies on the slopes! I suppose it would help if I took some medicine for that. I just always forget.
Don't let the beautiful weather, and nature pass you by just because you too suffer from seasonal allergies. Take a moment to stop and sneeze on the roses!

Spring time in the Rockies!

Anyone who lives in the Rocky Mountains, or particularly, the areas referred to as "High Desert" are familiar with the spring time weed burning ritual. Well, as it may be, it is time for the Rockies to burn!
I have an interesting situation where I live. I have a small drainage arroyo on the east side of my driveway, that floods with spring thaw runoff. Therefore, I prefer to either burn my weeds in January, before the thaw, or in the late fall. In either case, I have already done my burning. So that there will be no driveway floods.
On the other hand there are folks who like to wait until it gets a little warmer out. I can understand this too, cause I don't like the cold much myself. Although, spring time in the Rockies, does present it's own problems. Anyone who knows about life in the mountains, any mountains, they seem to create their own wind patterns, generally these patterns are predictable. Locally, we watch a peak known as Horsefly Mesa. You can expect daily afternoon winds, with gusts in the gale range, until all the snow has melted from Horsefly Mesa. This is well known here. You can set your watch by it!
Now lets do some basic math problems. I know, it was my favorite subject in school too! NOT! So here we have farmers and a weed burner setting ditches on fire, and known high afternoon winds. You do the math! And they wonder why the Western US is always burning!
Today at work I got an interesting phone call from my wife, who was heading home after work. She called to tell me that the road I usually drive home on was closed. Closed due to a wildfire. No further than a mile from my own home, one of the farmers I had previously mentioned, let his fire get out of hand. As of 5pm Mountain Time, it had already burned over 40 acres. This fire is within a mile of my home. Now, we are not currently in any eminent danger. We have not gotten the reverse 911 call to evacuate yet.
I'm going to use the term now, because my daughter just told me that the fire is growing, and growing closer. I had to check for myself, and she is correct. I still hold to the fact that we are relatively safe. Like I mentioned beforehand, I have already done my burning. Therefore, there isn't much fuel for a fire to feed on close to my house. There is however, fuel close to my garage. This is because my garage is set very close to the property line, and the neighbor hasn't burned yet. There are huge tracts of dead cat tails really close to my garage. That is also where I do my reloading. There could be a problem. I'll wait till the Sheriff tells us to move!

Cutbacks

It seems that everywhere you look, people are making cutbacks. My family is no exception. The cutbacks that we have had to make are a response to those that the companies that my wife and I work for have made.
The company that we work for has posted more than half a million in losses in just the first two months of this year. In response to that, they have to cut costs to prevent further devastation. This is not the only business to report huge first quarter losses already. It seems as though the cutbacks always seem to follow the same general sequence. Most businesses and even families seem to follow the same guidelines. Here, is my vision, of how the sequence goes.

1st - Cut spending. Most people see this as a no brainer. When you don't have coming in, what you have going out, you need to fix the balance. You begin by buying smarter, and stretching your dollar. My family has begun to clip coupons again, finding ways to reuse things one more time, and selling things on ebay, that have been in the closet, attic, or garage for years.

2nd - Cut more spending. This one can also be referred to as reduction. In a business, it generally means "lay-offs" in a home, it is the real cutbacks. Let's look at what we can live without. Reduce the satellite package, reduce cell phone minutes, car pool more often. In some businesses and homes, managers or members look for what they need to spend now, in order to save money later. I have an expensive hobby. Guns! I love going out and shooting anything I can, anytime I can. I have increased the time I need to spend in my hobby, by casting my own bullets. Spend a little money, save a lot, without leaving my hobby behind. We all need those hobbies or this time of cutbacks will leave you living on the funny farm. Find ways to make it cheaper, or take more time. Cause with your hours getting cut, you'll have more time to work in your hobby.

3rd - Cut even more spending. For a business this usually means another wave of lay-offs. Generally followed by a combination of others measures. Some of these being, reduction of or loss of benefits. If you weren't effected by layoffs, then your hours will get cut, or your pay may get cut. Companies will place a "freeze" on payrolls. No new spending! That raise will have to wait. At home, since you can't really reduce your payroll there, you look for other ways to cut spending. Credit cards will now get removed from the wallet or purse, and they get minimum payments, so you have the most cash to use, and don't need to use credit. That retirement plans contribution, gonna happen, but just the bare minimum to keep the account open. This is where grocery shopping gets fun. My wife likes us to eat healthy. We have always bought whole wheat bread. You know $3 a loaf. Last week, we bought 6 loaves of whole wheat bread dough, for the cost of 2 loaves of bread. Time to bake our own. in the past few months, spending on the goodies has been reduced alot. My wife spends more time at the oven though. We gotta have the little extras for lunches, that we pack for work. Can't afford to eat out. Leftovers rule!

4th - Liquidation of anything! Sell everything you can, and get out from under any credit debt that you have. Live on cash! Mostly a household thing there, but businesses will do that just before declaring bankruptcy. Which, I'm not going to list as the last step, but it is. Not much else to explain about it. When you have nothing left to cut, and nothing left to sell. That is what the people do. Some people will do this before anything else, some people will hold out as long as they can.

I see this happening all over. My wife and I have been trying to be proactive about this economy. We started making our cut backs several months ago, before things at our home started getting tight. It does help that I'm "Jewish" anyway.

The thing to remember, the economy is not really effected by any one of us individually. Unless you are Warren Buffet or Bill Gates. There isn't much you can do to help, or hurt the economy. Go on living your life. Enjoy every minute you're alive.

The best advice I can give now, is to take advantage of that lake down the road, or the mountain you wanted to climb since you were 12. They are still there. And being outdoors enjoying what the mother nature has to offer, is generally some of the cheapest entertainment you can get. Not only is it inexpensive, but you can make it romantic, and a fun way to spend time with your kids, without letting them know that your broke! Not to mention. Healthy! Who can afford a doctor now?

Elected Idiots

It really butters my biscuits to see GM & Chrysler asking the US taxpayer for "another" $25 Billion, that's right, BILLION, with a B B B B B B B. I hear ads on the radio lately, encouraging small business. "Small business is the backbone of our economy, you're not the problem, you're the solution." So, why do the big businesses get bailouts? Not only does my father own, and operate a small business, but so do I. I can't speak for him, but I know that my business could sure use some bail out money.
When I was in high school, ( not gettin any younger either,) economics was a required course. I'm not talking about using a measuring cup. Economics - how the economy works, ok! What we have is called the "trickle down effect." Let me explain, cause apparently, our elected officials don't get it.
I'm an electrical contractor. I'm an electrician, you call me when a light won't turn on, or you want to put in that hot tub. So, you call me, I look at the work involved, give you a proposal. You accept my proposal, then WE, sign a contract. That contract basically says, I do the work, you pay me.
In order for me to do the work, I have to hire other men, cause I have more hot tubs and lights to fix. I also have to buy materials to do the job. Copper wire, and light bulbs don't grow on trees either.
Generally, in a service based industry, I do the work to your satisfaction, then you pay me. Then I in turn pay my help, put more gas in my truck, pay my contractors general liability insurance, worker's compensation insurance, state withholding tax, federal withholding tax, state unemployment insurance tax, federal unemployment insurance tax, are you getting tired yet? Pay for the phone that you called me on, the paper I printed the proposal and invoice on, the bookkeeper who keeps uncle sam off my ass, the electricity that runs the computers, the phonebook ads, the radio ads, the speeding ticket I got, cause you had to have your hot tub working for tomorrow nights 3 some in the spa. You get my picture?
Ok, I do have a point in all of this. So, most service based companies work on credit. Mostly, because those wholesale supply distributors know, that we don't get paid till the work is done. Still follow me here? Good. So, the work is done, I have bills to pay. You whine about the price you previously agreed to. I don't get paid without a big legal pain in my ass. In that big legal pain in the ass, I lose out on 35% - 45% of what the original bill was. Now, how the fuck am I supposed to pay my bills? Oh, I forgot, I like to work for free, cause I need the practice right? In the words of Jay Z - "Fuck you, Pay me!"
Now that you understand that scenario, back to "trickle down economics." So here, I did work, put out money, to do you a service, then you don't pay me. I then, can't get the few nickels that I would have gotten from your work. Then I can't pay my bills. Then the people I owe money too, say the same thing. "Fuck you, Pay me!" The cycle continues. The people I owe money to, owe money to someone else, they in turn owe money to someone else, each of those people have to pay their employees. They can't, cause you didn't pay me. So, some poor secretary gets the ax, managers have to answer their own phones. So, now someone else can't pay their bills either.
It's called the "trickle down effect," cause that's what it does. The same way heads roll down hill at work. Your boss gets mad, who's gonna catch the shit? You! Wanna hear it again? "Fuck you, Pay me"
Now, this will also work the other way. No one ever really hears the phrase "Trickle up." Cause the idiots that we have elected, choose to be just that, idiots. So, lets work on this "Trickle up" theory, shall we. Yeah, we will. Cause this is my blog. You can change the channel if you like, this is America!
The government has pumped way too much money in after bad. Lets start with the first 'bail out.' This was supposed to be $750 Billion, turns out more to the tune of $800 Billion, ( that's 9 more zeros). Then, the auto makers want some. So we add $50 Billion ( again, another 9 zeros) for the big auto makers. Now, Obama wants to bail out 9 million (only 6 zero's on that one) homeowners. Again, another $700 Billion or so. In total, nearly $2 Trillion, (way bigger now, 12 zeros!!!) Holy shit! What the hell are they thinking!
So lets go back to 3rd grade. When you first learned that Billion and Trillion really are numbers, not just thoughts in your head for astronomical numbers that didn't really exist. They do. Lets assume there are some 220 Million, tax paying, American citizens. Key words here are, taxpaying, and citizens.
Let's give each taxpaying family $1 million dollars, you pay taxes, cause it ain't free! So my house would get, about $500,000. Not bad. I think we can get our asses out of debt with that. Shit, I don't know anyone who couldn't. Not only could we get out of debt, but we could probably buy a starter home with cash. See, cause we don't really live beyond our means. Not terribly anyway. Total household debt is estimated at about $35,000. Now, subtract our assets, and hell we come out on top of that one. So that leaves us with about $465,000. Hey, fuck the starter home. I'll just build my dream home. With cash.
Now, if everyone did just that. Got a million bucks, paid their bills and squandered the rest, then where would our economy be. Not in a whole lot better shape. What? Let's face it, if we all had a million dollars, a loaf of bread would cost $12. Inflation baby! Gotta love it.
Then again, maybe it wouldn't be that bad. If we all paid our debt. The credit cards, the auto loans, the mortgages, and what have you. Then who would be in trouble still? Well, half of the people. Cause half would use it wisely, the other half would squander it thoughtlessly.
What a great idea. A great way to solve this problem, cause everyone could pay their bills, get caught up, and start spending again. That's what it's all about right? Consumer confidence. Make us believe that everything is gonna be ok, and we spend money instead of saving it. With that whole plan in mind, how about just a small piece of that pie. Let's say $25,000. Tax free! That really should stimulate the economy. People with debt pay it, people without, spend it! Stimulates me just thinking about it!

Home of the free, land of the poor!

Sports fans

I'm sure you have noticed that you are surrounded by sports fans. They are all around us. Some are closet sports fans, and some are the fanatical sports fans. The closet types, in my opinion, (which by the way, on this blog is the only one that counts), are the ones who will watch one or two sports, have a favorite team. However, they don't sport any of their teams gear, auto decals, license plate frames, etc etc. Most of these folks don't watch the games unless they just so happen to notice it's on. They don't read newspaper articles about their teams, or the games, or really even follow the rules of the sport much. Most of these folks really couldn't even name a player on their favorite team. Unless it was Dan Marino or John Elway or someone like that.

Then you have the fanatical types. You know the ones I'm talking about. The guys who paint their chests, and go shirtless in 10 degree weather at the Green Bay Packers game. Won't miss a game. Ever. The guys who have bumper stickers and tee shirts with the phrase "We interupt this marriage to bring you the football season!" These guys spend way too much money on their teams gear. They have everything in team colors, and logos. The diner table is set with plates that alternate Yellow and Green! (Packers colors), During Easter diner! They won't leave the house without wearing something team related.

Somewhere in the middle though, are the sport nerds. I have known a few of them over the years. These guys know every player on every team, of every sport. They know who won on July 7th, 1973, where the game was played, how many fans can the venue hold, how much a cup of beer costs, what brand of beer, and how big the cup was. You know someone like that too. These guys crack me up. Mostly because they seem unlikely candidates for the type. I work with a guy like that. He's is kinda weird if you ask me. He has the coke bottle glasses, cause he is legally blind without them. Wears black socks with long shorts, and has the whitest legs I have ever seen. The poster child for pasty nerd! However, this guy fits the bill. He can tell you any stat you every wanted to know, and 100 of the ones that you didn't even care about. But you would never know by lookin at him.

Now, that's not all. There is one more catagory. This is one of my favorites, and sometimes the most surprising of all. Women. I'm not saying that women shouldn't be sports fans. I'm not saying that women don't know anything about sports either. I just find woman sports fans amusing. They have their own "fan" style. My wife for instance, only likes to watch NFL football. She only likes to watch the Chicago Bears, and the Denver Broncos. She was born in Chicago, and we live in Colorado. Makes perfect sense to me. She couldn't name a single player on the Bears, except for "refrigerator" Perry, and Walter Payton. Both, long time retired. Sweetness of course, has since passed away. As for the Denver Broncos, she can name a few, both past and present. She has a great eye for the yellow flag, and can often call the penalty right. However, she doesn't understand the rules of the game very well. Her mother is the same way. My mother is pretty much the same way, only with the Buffalo Bills. My sister is a little more like me. I know alot about the sport or sports that I watch. I only watch football. She watches football and Hockey, with her husband.

The point that I was making about women sports fans is that they really can be the crazed lunatic of sports fans. My wife will knock the crap out of you, if you say that Denver Sucks! She can be down right violent about her sports team. She have some gear, that she wears proudly. Winning season or losing season. She, like many women, have very strong opinions about their sports teams, and will defend them to the death, and by god, don't disagree with them, or you're gonna be scrappin with 'em. And you know what I mean!!!

Then, you have me. There are alot of sports fans like myself. I'm too small to play, too old to try now, and wouldn't survive the first pile-up if I did play. However, I have a favorite team, have some gear that I only wear on game day, and if I leave the house. I am a football fan. Only the NFL though. Don't follow college, mostly because I don't have time, and I feel that the BCS is unfair, and a very poor setup. I have been to the Gator Bowl, and I will watch a bit of college ball if it is on, and I'm in the mood. College ball is much better than Professional ball. The players still have 20 million dollar salaries at stake, so they play like there is no tomorrow. Makes for a good game if you ask me.

I don't know every player on every team. I'm lucky if I can name every team. I can, but not quickly, and likely will miss one or two. I can't name every player on my team either. In fact, Because I live in Colorado, and I'm a Jacksonville Jaguars fan, I don't even get to see my team play except when they play Denver, Monday nights, Thursday nights, and Play-offs. Therefore, it would be proposterous for me to even attempt to closely follow my team. The best I can do, is look at the sports page, and watch the AFC standings.

I am the type of football fan who will go to a game occasionally, if I can afford it. I'm going to dress comfortably, and will not be the guy on tv. I'm not gonna carry a "D" or the "fence" in either. I do however, know all the rules well, I can generally tell you who will win a game, and be relatively close with a score estimate. I do follow the NFL. I love football. I don't watch the draft. I really don't care. I love the game, not the players. I am a good mix of the sports nerd and the closet sports fan, and the lunatic. Friends often ask me for rule clarification, who they should bet on, if they should bet the spread, etc. etc. I do not look the part though. I'm kind of a "sleeper." If I ever get the time, and energy, I would like to be an NFL referee. Although, I would have to start with my local High School leagues probably, and as of yet, haven't even begun to look into the "how to."

This concludes my rant on sports and sports fans. I hope you have enjoyed it. Whether or not you agree with me. I do enjoy your comments. I enjoy them even more if you don't agree, cause I like to argue anyway! Thanks and have a great day!

I can talk, Can you fly?

I can talk, can you fly? This is the phrase that we are trying to teach my birds to say. My family is large if you count all of our pets. We have 2 dogs, 3 parrots, and 6 cats. It's a good thing that I have a fairly big house.
It's difficult most of the time to give the kids the attention that they need. Add on top of that 3 African Grey Parrots, supposed to be the smartest birds in existence, and the other 4 legged variety of pets. The six cats of course are not much of a problem. Everyone has seen the bumper sticker that reads " Dogs have Masters, Cats have Staff." This phrase is very true. When the cats want attention, they come and demand it. The two dogs, both black lab mixes, are very attention oriented, and jealous. You can't pet one without the other sticking his nose in. Although, some of the cats are like that sometimes too. Today, however, I want to talk about my birds.
African Grey Parrots, are supposed to be the smartest birds in existence today. They can accumulate a vocabulary of around 2,000 words. The average adult human, has a vocab of about 5,000 words. For those readers who don't know much about birds, these birds have the equivalent intelligence, and neediness of a two year old human. Yes, they will have "terrible two's" until they die at a ripe old age of about 80 years or so. Luckily for me, one of the birds, Oscar, (aptly named from Oscar the Grouch) is about 25, and the other two, Samantha & Dorian, egg-mates, are about 15.
Oscar can say many things, and make many sounds, and whistles many recognizable tunes. Sam and Dorian, on the other hand are different. Dorian only seems to make sounds, soft cooing, and some occasional whistling. Sam on the other hand is very outgoing. He will talk all day long, in many different voices. We are Sam and Dorians third owners. Most of what Sam says sounds much like what he has picked up from an answering machine. Otherwise, he just mimicks phrases that have been spoken to him over the years. "What are you doin?" "No Bite" "Quit That" etc.. etc.. etc.. You get the picture.
As a general rule of thumb, you must repeat the word or phrase to be learned several times. Slowly and clearly spoken so that when the bird repeats it, it will come out clearly. My wife and I have been trying to get all three to say "I can talk, can you fly?" since we brought them home this past spring.
These birds are very smart, and I enjoy spending time with them and teaching them tricks. They learn tricks and commands very quickly and easily. They seem to learn much faster even than dogs do. It does help that I have read books, and joined online forums in relation to my birds. I have videos and training manuals, even owners manuals if you will. I am happy that because of their longevity in captivity, that they will be my friends probably until I die. It is likely that they will outlive me and my wife, and my children will inherit them. Oh well. At least my kids like them too!

Interesting Inheritance

It is interesting to see people as they grow from children into adults. My kids have been a blast to raise. I must admit that there have been times that I would've loved to choke the shit out of both of them. They do challenge me often, not in the authoritative sense, but in the thought process. If you don't have children of your own, or spend alot of time with or near others children, then you probably will not understand. This however, isn't what I would like to talk about today. I have some other observations that I would like to share, and discuss.
It is well known with my family and my friends that I do not like cheese, except for mozarella. That's also why I can't spell it! As far as I can remember, my distaste for cheese began at about 9 or 10 years old. It was an inherited distaste, as my father also does not like cheese. This inherited dislike is very understandable. It makes perfect sense. What doesn't make sense, is what is to follow.
I have 2 daughters, 1 biological, and one step daughter. My biological daughter is nearing 15, she has spent 14 years living with her mother, and has had very sporadic contact with me, not of any fault of my own. So, she did not know of my dislike of cheese as a child. What is strange, is that she has inherited my dislike for cheese. Exactly the same. There are other traits that she exhibits that are also inherited behaviors that she got from me. It was interesting to me that even though she had never known that I didn't like cheese, and she was exposed to it all of her childhood, that she picked it up.
My step-daughter on the other hand, should not have picked up these traits. She has however, picked up some of those, and a few strange ones, that I don't understand. My wife likes cheese, and therefore, there is cheese in the house, and occasionally she will make things with cheese in them, and make the rest of us something else. I say the rest of us because, my step daughter who is 9, also does not like cheese. I am half native american, which allows me to tan very well, and not burn often. My step daughter, having no indian heritage whatsoever, has the same uncanny tanning traits as I do. She shares my sense of humor, and my intelligence, as well as my temper. Some of the learned behaviors are understandable, knowing that she has been in my home and my heart since she was only 18 months old. However, her preferences with cheese, and her ability to tan as though she was my flesh and blood are a bit odd. Especially considering that I try very hard not to push my likes and dislikes of food, music, art, movies, and other stuff. I like to let them, and encourage them to try new things and to keep an open mind.
I just thought that this would be an interesting subject to discuss. The uncanny way in which my personal likes and dislikes, as well as abilities and disabilities have trancended to my kids, both with and without contact. This may have something to do with how twins have a strange sense of what is happining with the other, even when there is no indication that something is going on.
Huh... could be a scientific experiment here! Don't tell Dr. Mengala!

I wonder sometimes about people. I guess really 'sometimes' isn't the right word. I always wonder about people. Sometimes, I wonder about myself. I have recently had a chance to reconnect with my brothers blog. I have been away from the internet for some time. Mostly just lack of time. I, like my big brother, am the last of the gen 'x'ers. I have recently closed my business, due to the poor economic season. I started a new job, and was laid off a month later. I then started another new job. That one is going well, although I really don't like it much, or the pay. However, I do what is needed to keep food on the table. In this case, it is more than keeping food on the table, but more so, about keeping the table itself.
There are about 10 years or so between myself and my brother. There are also about 2000 miles. I am the black sheep of my family. While both my siblings have chosen to stay very near and dear to our hometown, I have ventured off into the wild blue yonder. Generally, in more ways than one. Although, we walk on different streets, the walk of life is really pretty much the same. Myself and my siblings, have great foundations in life. The folks taught us well that life sucks. All three of us make the most of what we have. In fact, it is my experience with them, that unlike most Americans, we don't bitch about what we don't have, but relish in what we do have.
My brother and I have different political views most of the time. You see, he is a New York Democrate, and I am a Colorado Republican. The strange part is, we both believe that society seems to be missing the same building blocks. The cornerstones, and keystones that have built American society since the founding fathers, seem to have crumbled in the last 75 years or so. I so rarely see in other people, the basic principles that our parents instilled in us. Manners, respect, responsibility, and above all else, accountability. I remember as a kid, (I'm gettin' old), that my dad would have kicked my ass, if I didn't use proper manners, especially with strangers.
It is my opinion, and I have a lot of those, that the vast majority of the worlds problems are due in whole or in part to the erosion of those four basic principles. The economy has crumbled because so many have failed to be accountable for their actions. Everyone is afraid to accept the blame for their own mistakes. Government is pointing fingers, Wall Street is pointing fingers. No one is solving the problem. I know that I am a part of the problem, but I'm also trying to be a part of the solution. I'm not thrilled to be working where I am, and I certainly don't like the pay scale. A detail, the landscape is food, and a roof over my families head.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a long day of work tomorrow, and need to get some rest you slacker.