The Doggy Diaries... gone to the dogs!

Thursday's Thirteen No. 2

Thirteen Things You Probaby Didn't Know About Me ...

1. I am ambidextrous.
2. My left foot is a teensy bit longer than my right foot, and ...
3. ... my feet stopped growing when I was 14.
4. I played the clarinet for five years, the bass clarinet for one year, and the contra-bass clarinet for four years.
5. I was valedictorian of my high school class.
6. I changed my college major four times ...
7. ... before finally earning my first bachelor's degree in chemistry.
8. Then I earned a second bachelor's degree in computer engineering, so ...
9. ... it's fairly obvious I have a difficult time making up my mind.
10. I have a horrible singing voice.
11. Change scares me. (No, not pocket change, although that can scare me, too, if I've got four pounds of it in my bag.)
12. My first car was a 1973 VW Superbeetle that my friends nicknamed "The Hell Bug."
13. My biggest fear in the world is winding up a destitute, lonely, bag-lady widow with no friends or family who care about me.

Happy Anniversary to my Husband!

Although this won't reach him because he doesn't read my blog, I still want to devote this small space to my husband in celebration of our wedding anniversary today. HAPPY ANNIVERSARY HONEY BUN!

What can I say about my darlin' hubby that most other twitterpated wives wouldn't say about theirs? All I know is that I can't imagine my life without him. He is my rock and my foundation. Without his strong and positive influence, I can only imagine how I'd be floating through life dealing with one personal crisis after another, sometimes sinking and sometimes just barely keeping my head above water. Even worse, I'd be going through this experience we call life with no concept of what it means to be truly and unconditionally loved. That alone is the biggest gift my DH has given me, and for that, I am forever thankful.

So to my devoted, amorous, give-you-the-shirt-off-his-back, incredibly intelligent and damn sexy husband I wish to say "I'm more in love with you now than ever before. Although we're still in the early stages of marriage, I am so delighted to spend the rest of my life with you, holding hands and holding each other as we walk through life together."

Thursday's Thirteen

I found this idea on Courtney's blog. Basically, you write a short list of 13 things about yourself and post them on your blog on Thursdays for other people to get to know you better. I'm sure I won't be able to keep this up every Thursday, but I'll at least give it a try today.

Thirteen Things I Love About Great Danes ...

1. You won't hurt your lower back bending over to pet a Great Dane.
2. Great Danes really do act like Scooby Doo and Marmaduke.
3. There's no need to spend a lot of money on toys for a Great Dane. Just give him an old tire from your car, and he'll be happy!
4. Have you ever been working on a scrapbooking project only to find that you've run out of both glue and tape? No worries, you don't need to rush off to the store just yet. Simply call your Great Dane over and use some of the slobber he stores in his lips for just such emergencies. Dane slobber is a great universal adhesive ... even better than duct tape!
5. Great Danes make wonderful dance partners.
6. Great Danes are truly all-purpose family dogs; they have something for everyone -- a wife's constant companion and sounding board, a husband's rollerblading/jogging/bicycling buddy, and a child's pony all wrapped in one!
7. Bathing your Great Dane is as easy as sending him through the local car wash. :)
8. There'll be no shortage of new people to meet when you walk your Great Dane.
9. The neighborhood children will be standing in line to do manual labor for you if offered the opportunity to play with, walk or feed treats to your Great Dane. (I've gotten free car washes out of this one!)
10. Rollerblading with a Great Dane is an exhilarating experience as he runs at top speed pulling you in a crouched, aerodynamically efficient position. It's like waterskiing on concrete!
11. Great Danes are generous dogs. They will happily share their lunch with the local birds by standing back and waiting to eat until the birds have had their fill of kibble crumbs.
12. Great Danes are natural babysitters with immense patience. Little children can crawl all over a Great Dane, even getting in the dog's face, pulling it's lips or pinching it and the Dane will respond by laying patiently on the floor until the child leaves or you pull it off.
13. ... but best of all, Great Danes are the most gentle love-bugs you'll ever run into in the dog world. Their biggest aspiration in life is to spend as much time as possible with you. My Danes would have taken bullets for me, and all they asked in return was to be near me.

Scuba Diving

After about two months of working towards it, I can now say that I am a certified open water diver. (Can you say "It's about time!")

Actually, I finished more than just my open water certification (the equivalent of Diving 101). I also completed dry suit certification and enriched air/nitrox certification.

It should have taken two and a half weeks of confined water/swimming pool sessions followed by two weekends of diving. Due to a series of complications, it took me exactly two months. During the first weekend of certification dives, I learned that even a wet suit doesn't keep me warm enough to dive in the chilly waters of Monterey Bay. That meant that I could only finish my certification if I learned to dive in a dry suit. So, I had to learn to dive in a dry suit which meant I had to take another course. After completing the confined water/swimming pool class sessions for the dry suit class, I was able to hit the water once again to complete the last two dives for my basic open water certification. Then, in order to be able to rent a dry suit (obviously, in this part of California, a dry suit is the only option for me), I had to do another weekend of dives specifically for dry suit certification. Class availability and our personal schedules dictated that these three weekends of diving were spread out over two months.

Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos of DH and me in the water because we don't have a waterproof camera or a watertight camera case. One of the dive masters who was working with the class did have a camera, however, and she got some photos of Sunday's dives. Travis and I weren't diving with the class that day because we were free to do our own thing, so we're not in the pictures. Nevertheless, you can see what a wonderful weekend we had weather-wise. A sunny, blue sky with nary a cloud in sight blessed us with it's presence this weekend making for the prettiest days in Monterey that I've ever seen!

Clicking on the photos will bring up larger version of each photo. The entire photo album is also available for viewing.

These diving students look like they were trying to create a human dock -

A beautiful sunset over the Pacific ocean -

A diver waiting to descend with his buddy -

U.S. Senate to Consider Border Fence Bill

It's about darn time!

Our oh-so-wonderful Senate, having shown themselves earlier this year to be nothing more than a body of complete dufuses when they passed S.2611, the "Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006", seem to be slowly waking up to the fact that a large majority of Americans want our porous borders secured.

This morning, the Washington Times reports that the Senate is set to consider a fence bill. H.R. 6061, the "Secure Fence Act of 2006," was passed just last week by the House of Representatives and is now being taken up by the Senate. It calls for the construction of 700 miles of reinforced, double-layer fencing in key, highly-trafficked areas of our southern border and mandates that the Department of Homeland Security achieve control over the border by means of a virtual fence consisting of cameras, ground vehicles, and unmanned aerial vehicles. It would also finally give border patrol agents the necessary authority to disable fleeing vehicles.

More coverage at USA Today, Fox News, and the OC Register.

Boycott of Miller Brewing Company

Almost two weeks ago, I posted about Miller Brewing Company donating more than $30,000 to help fund a march/demonstration of illegal aliens and their advocates. Since then, the blogosphere has been rife with outrage that Miller Brewing Company would actually support the illegal alien movement in this country.

In response to Miller's actions, a new website, MillerBoycott.com, has been created. The folks running this website are "fed up with corporations aiding and abetting illegal aliens" and hope to put some pain in Miller's pocketbook by creating a nationwide boycott of Miller and SAB products (SAB Miller plc is the parent corporation of Miller Brewing Company). I personally support their efforts, and were I a beer drinker, I'd certainly boycott all of the Miller/SAB products listed below.

Miller Lite
Miller Genuine Draft
Miller Genuine Draft Light
Miller High Life
Miller High Life Light
Sharp's non-alcohol brew
Red Dog
Icehouse 5.0
Icehouse 5.5
Icehouse Light
Southpaw Light
Leinenkugel's Original
Leinenkugel's Light
Leinenkugel's Red Lager
Leinenkugel's Honey Weiss
Leinenkugel's Apple Spice (seasonal)
Leinenkugel's Berry Weiss
Leinenkugel's Oktoberfest (seasonal)
Leinenkugel's Creamy Dark
Leinenkugel's Big Butt Doppelbock (seasonal)
Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat
Henry Weinhard's Private Reserve
Henry Weinhard's Blue Boar Pale Ale
Henry Weinhard's Classic Dark
Henry Weinhard's Northwest Trail Blonde Lager
Henry Weinhard's Hefeweizen
Henry Weinhard's Summer Wheat
Hamm's
Hamm's Draft
Hamm's Special Light
Olde English 800 Malt Liquor
Olde English HG800
Olde English HG800 7.5
Magnum Malt Liquor
Mickey's Malt Liquor
Mickey's Ice
Milwaukee's Best
Milwaukee's Best Light
Milwaukee's Best Ice
Foster's Lager
Foster's Special Bitter
Peroni Nastro Azzurro
Pilsner Urquell
Sheaf Stout
Sparks
Sparks Light
Sparks Plus 7%
Sparks Plus 6%
Steel Reserve Triple Export 8.1%
Steel Reserve High Gravity
Steel Reserve High Gravity 6.0
Steel Six

If you drink any of the above beverages and are upset with Miller Brewing for pandering to illegal aliens, I encourage you to find an alternate brew to enjoy. Then, please visit the Miller Boycott website and view their short list of ways you can participate in the nationwide boycott. MillerBoycott.com has also started a petition called the Illegal Immigration Boycott Petition for folks to sign indicating their desire that "... all companies and corporations operating within the territory of the USA cease and desist any financial or political support for illegal aliens, groups, organizations, candidates, and activists that support illegal immigration and illegal aliens." I've already signed the petition. You'll need to scroll to the bottom of the main web page to find the signature form.

Should you wish to express your opinions to Miller Brewing Company in writing, you can also send them an email from the Miller Brewing Feedback page. (Thanks go out to Michelle Malkin for providing the link.)

In Memory of Annette Andrea Dataram

Today marks the 5th anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. To commemorate today, I signed up to participate in the 2,996 Project back in July.

I was randomly assigned Ms. Annette Andrea Dataram as my victim to honor and memorialize. It's been a very strange feeling that I don't think I felt even that fateful day. Fortunately for me, I did not know anyone personally affected by those horrible attacks. Unfortunately for me, because I didn't know anyone personally affected, I did not have the same level of emotion and appreciation for the losses we suffered as would someone who was directly affected by the attacks. Reading up on Annette has brought back the memories of that day and has added some genuine emotion to it. To think that this lively, smiling, beautiful person was with us on the sun-filled morning of September 11, 2001, and a few hours later she was not, has had a profound effect on me. The finality of what happened is really starting to sink in, and the appreciation I am gaining for our country's loss has made me thankful that I signed up to join the 2,996 Project.

Unlike other victims that day, it was not easy finding information about Annette. What I did find, however, has quite surprisingly led me to imagine what this young lady's life must have been like.

Annette, also known as Priya, was a young woman, only 25, and had her whole life ahead of her to live. A most poignant and bittersweet aspect of her life was that she was engaged to be married in 2002, according to her mother, Chandra Dataram. Imagine the children and grandchildren she might have had. The family memories she would have created with her new husband. The meals they would have shared together that began as a recipe Annette would perhaps decide to try after watching one of her favorite cooking shows. Food was her passion and no doubt would have become a part of her married life.

Annette was the eldest of five children -- three brothers and two sisters -- and was born in Guyana. After her family emigrated from Guyana to New York in 1992, they finally settled in Queens. Annette worked in the accounting department of Windows on the World, a famed restaurant located in Tower 1 of the World Trade Center. She had attended Wales Secondary School in Guyana and was majoring in accounting at Borough of Manhattan Community College in New York to further her career in accounting. Her memorial quilt square shows her connection to both the U.S. and her native Guayana.

The human toll of September 11, 2001, while certainly tragic, is almost too big to fully comprehend on a larger level. When thought of on an individual basis, and learning a little about the lives of those who perished, the concept of the sheer magnitude really sinks in. If the loss of even one person touches me this much, then the loss of two, three or 2,996 means that much more.

Miller Beer Supports Illegal Aliens

The Chicago Tribune broke an unbelievable story this morning: the Miller Brewing Company is actually paying for pro-illegal-alien marchers to protest at the offices of U.S. Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert because he has blocked the Senate's illegal alien amnesty plan all summer!

... as demonstrators march from Chinatown to House Speaker Dennis Hastert's (R-Ill.) Batavia office this weekend, they will have Miller Brewing Co. as a sponsor. The brewer has paid more than $30,000 for a planning convention, materials and newspaper ads publicizing the event.

This just crosses the line. Clearly, Miller Brewing Company is so concerned about wooing the Hispanic market (because, as we all know, every Hispanic supports illegal aliens) that they're willing to pander to criminals who broke into our country and their supporters. It's absolutely despicable.

I hope you will express your outrage at the Miller Brewing Company for their outlandish business decision by calling one of their offices below. If you call this weekend, please leave a voicemail message. If you call next week, you'll definitely want to speak to a person, any person. It really doesn't much matter which department you choose or which person you get when you call one of the phone numbers below. The important thing is to talk to somebody -- anybody. If enough people call to express their anger and discontent, you can be sure the message will make it's way up the corporate ladder.

When you call, give your opinion about what Miller is doing by supporting illegal immigration. If you are a Miller customer, you may want to talk about how their behavior and decision may cause you to boycott their products.

Miller Corporate Headquarters, Milwaukee: (414) 931.2000
Takes you to a recording; callers should press “0” to talk to operator.

Miller Regional Brewery, Eden, NC: (336) 627.2100

Miller Regional Brewery, Trenton, OH: (513) 896.9200
You'll get a recorded list of departments (e.g., plant manager, brewing, etc.)

Miller Regional Brewery, Albany, GA: (229) 420.5000
Takes you to a recording; callers should press “0” to talk to operator.

Miller Regional Brewery, Ft. Worth, TX: (817) 551.3300
Press “1” to get a list of departments.

Miller Regional Brewery, Irwindale, CA: (626) 969.6811
Get a recorded list of departments.

Leinenkugel Brewery, aka "Leinie's Lodge", Chippewa Falls, WI: (715) 723.5558 or (888) 534.6437