Coffee and Provocation

Where else but in Raceland, Kentucky would you expect to find the world's smallest dog? Video at link. And yes, I want credit for having not made any obvious jokes about inbreeding in the state of Kentucky!

Yesterday I posted PETA-shelter kill data, but today I looked on the web site of my local Northern Virginia animals shelter and could find no similar rack of data. Hmmmm. Ditto on the Virginia state site, which is about as transparent as a rock. So what did I do? I sent the shelter an email asking for the data and noting that PETA has to give the data to the state of Virginia, so I assume they do too. I can hardly wait for the response! For the record, the shelter appears to be a clean, bright well-funded place (Arlington is pretty rich), but I have never seen this shelter do real community outreach in the 30 years I have lived in the County. Flyers at the grocery stores, the coffee shops, the pet stores? Never! And yes, they do kill. So the question is: How many, do they kill, how often and compared to what in terms of numbers adopted out?

Do you wonder how the candidates stand (or fall) on energy issues? Check it out.

A very interesting working sled dog site. Check it out!

Smartdogs -- another good dog blog. Check it out.

The best safety disclaimer ever for a rocky outdoor nature area, this one in West Virginia, still land of the free and home of the brave. Check it out!

A blog on canine aggression. Check it out.

The Dog Show Game? I have no idea what this is, but here it is. The description is thus: "Have you ever dreamed of having your own quality show dogs to raise, feed, groom, train, breed, and show? ShowDog.Com brings this opportunity to you through its one-of-a-kind virtual dog simulation game. You choose from 165 different breeds; whether it be Great Dane, Beagle, Poodle, there is a breed for you. See them grow from puppy to Champion! " I'll let others play this game and report out to the rest of us. :: whistle ::

Don't Eat the Brains! The terrific photo, at right (click to enlarge), is from Teddy Moritz showing the results of a day in the woods with her dachshund, lurcher (not in photo) and shotgun. If ever given the opportunity to eat squirrel brains (sometimes served with eggs) give it a pass, however, as the brains can pass on a prion-disease similar to Mad Cow.

The N.C. Camo Coalition, is a great name and a good idea. The new organization is being launched and coordinated by Dick Hamilton the former director of the N.C. Wildlife Resource Commission, and there are no dues or membership fees — ever. Bottom line: Dick is doing this as pure good work, and as an act of faith and passion. Step up, sign up, and speak up on behalf of hunting and conservation in the great state of North Carolina. A hat tip to Moose Droppings for pointing us to this one. Now pass it on!

Earl Scheib costs too much! My cars and trucks are all well-painted, but if you have an old truck, tractor or swing set that could use a new look, this set of instructions on how to put on a $50 paint job looks like just the ticket.

Remember all those old back-of-the-magazine ads where companies would try to sucker kids into selling seeds or weekly newspapers in hopes of winning enough "sales points" for a Red Ryder BB gun? Whatever happened to those ads and companies? Gone. Victims of the times,and here' that story.

How did I ever get to be so cool? Simple -- genetics. My old man was cool long before I was. My mom is damn cool too. I did a good job of raising them up right. This is an older squib I came across while looking for something else, but since I like the picture, and it's still up on the infernal net, here 'tis.

Finding Lost Dogs. Some years back I put up a web page of phone numbers to call if you ever found a lost dog that had a tattoo identification. I think this was the first all-in-one tattoo number page on the internet. In any case, I am now happy to report that there's a whole web site with tips on finding your lost dog. Most of this stuff is pretty obvious, but one good tip they offer is to go up-wind from the last point you saw your pooch -- it's a good bet it's following a smell on the wind. A hat tip to the Southern Rockies Nature Blog for this one!

I missed it, but at Christmas time, George W. Bush wished us all a Very Happy Kwanza. And so let me say it now, if belatedly: "Happy Kwanza to you too George."

If you are looking for a good introduction to breeding and want to get a better handle on where it all went wrong in the 19th Century, you might want to read this excellent piece by J. Jeffrey Bragg. A hat tip to Steve Bodio for this one!

For a gift in bad taste, how about this egg separator to brighten up a friend's kitchen? No? OK, one more try. How about the Hillary Nutcracker? This one is simply inspired! And really, it's not in bad taste at all. Just good fun.

This Country Needs a good meat magazine! I have always said it, and now we have one! Meat Paper is "a print magazine of art and ideas about meat." Not that they have asked me, but I think they really should feature this short video prominently on their web site. A hat tip to Querencia for pointing us to this little treasure.

Finally some good meat porn can be seen here. Perfect for those of us who are on a diet and like meat (see above), but are trying to lose another 15 pounds. And no, I am not doing Atkins. I am doing carrots and the gym. Atkins Finally some good meat porn can be seen here. Perfect for those of us who are on a diet and like meat (see above), but are trying to lose another 15 pounds. And no, I am not doing Atkins. I am doing carrots and the gym. Atkins is what I go to when I hit weight.



Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians doing "What I Am." A bit of trivia: Edie is married to musician Paul Simon.

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