Army Drowsy

I love this reserve unit I landed with - it's a great group of people. But it makes for some long weekend days.

I came home today, ate and curled up on the couch with a blanket and a small dog. Can't beat a couch nap. I caught the first five and last ten minutes of the Steelers/Jaguars ballgame, and it looked like a fun one.

Most annoying - because this is Texas, and because it is a good unit, I really can't bitch too much with my 38-mile drive to drill. Some of these people commute from different timezones.

Know what's amazing?

The fact that you can order Pizza Hut online.

You don't have to talk to anyone stupid, you can just click click click, and there you go!

Also, you can specifiy extra toppings on all or only on a portion of your pizza. How cool is that?

No, I probably don't get out enough.

Scratching my head

Is tonight's headline from Iowa

Iowa voters call for change, vote for character and hope?

or is it

Voters in Iowa go big for two guys who spent a lot of time having coffee with them?

I have got to tell you, I just don't know.

So it begins

Well, gang, the actual counting part of Election '08 begins tonight in Iowa.

For some odd reason, after Iowans "caucus," and after...New Hampshirites? New Hamphshirians? New Hamsters? vote, several of the candidates will be judged "unelectable," and the rest of the nation will be offered a steadily dwindling slate of choices.

I cannot stand the primary system, can you tell?

Anyway, I'm a giant geek this way, so I'll be looking forward to watching the news this evening, which should be beyond hysterical in its coverage of what 36 people in a church basement outside of Waterloo think.

I don't know if we've got any Iowans who hang out here, but if so, please understand that I don't have anything against you - it just doesn't seem like a logical setup to me. But if you are an Iowan, particularly one who does this whole caucus thing, I'd love it if you dropped a comment to tell us a little about it.

I am grumpy, but intrigued.

Busy day

After four days away from work, the whininess level today was high. Swear to God, if I ever work in customer service again after this, it'll be for a medical supply company or something where lives really do depend on the product.

I did get to finish off a fun project - an Army buddy who is one of the most talented people I know is applying to several MBA programs, and I wrote a couple letters of recommendation. I enjoy doing that - I've worked with some good people and helping them try to get where they want to be is gratifying.

The monthly depressing ordeal of wrestling bills was also completed. Good news - electic waaay down, gas only slightly up (let's hear it for keeping the house uncomfortably chilly!). Bad news - still no money for truck-lot ammo purchases.

And best of all...received news that Cousin R and her longtime companion, Mr. Really Great, have decided to make it all official and get hitched.

I was an only child, but I grew up never more than a couple miles from Cousin R, who is exactly four days older than I am. We're close members of an already close family, I love her like I imagine one would love a sister, and the fact that she's delirious with happiness makes me smile.

And, of course, the fact that she and Mr. Really Great are getting hitched means we have another lab in the family! Yep - Dog Cousin Allie is now going to be Canine Family.



She may only be marrying him for his dog, but she's a Very Good Dog, so that's cool.

For Joseph

..and in the spirit of learning something new, we here at Bad Dog Central bring you...video. We think. We hope. An ongoing discussion in comments about the takedown procedure for a pistol prompted me to see if I could do this. If it works, we should have two video clips - one on takedown, and the second on reassembly.


OK. Once you have it apart, you clean it. Then, if you're me, you force your poor, tortured spouse to take six videos of you jabbering and trying get the darn thing back together.



If you watch these, let me know if they work smoothly for you or not. If video is a winner, then there may be no limit to the hours of canine hysteria we'll be able to share.

Another one bites the dust

As we fling 2007 onto the scap heap and tear open a shiny new 2008. Last year was an adventure, and this one promises to be entertaining as well.

I avoided too much wild and craziness last night, so I'm munching on donuts and feeling superior. The Mister, on the other hand, is suffering just a little.

I hope y'all survived your evenings in good shape.