This story just plain pisses me off. There's a special place in hell for people who steal pets, and I truly hope that bitch karma catches up with this thief.
If you know someone in the Chicagoland area who has just acquired a red Macaw, keep in mind that Sam can say "Nick!" and "I can talk. Can you fly?" If you hear those words, you might just recommend that your friend get the bird checked for a microchip -- they may just have purchased a purloined parrot.
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What's the real fallout from the Wisconsin recall election? According to Peggy Noonan:
On a snowy Wednesday evening, in a back meeting room at the main branch of the Free Library of Philadelphia, 15 women sat at 15 different tables. Fourteen men sat down with each, briefly, for a micro-date.
As any single woman in a city will tell you, the dating scene is lopsided. Speed-dating sessions at the public library are no different. There were supposed to be 15 guys, but the library had a hard time filling those seats. They had to turn away 25 women.
Because it is a library, they brought books as ice breakers.
I actually think this is a great idea. I'd probably bring 911 and Home by Mark D. Paulson. Having a first edition, signed by the author, with a mention in the credits? A guaranteed conversation starter.
What book would you bring to the table?
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If you've left me a voicemail message in the past few weeks and didn't hear back from me... I got a new smart phone that's WAY smarter than me. Glad to see that I'm not the only one that feels that way.
Have patience.
I'm getting there. (It only took me a month to figure out how to retrieve emails. Sheesh.)
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If this is true...
The speed someone walks may predict the likelihood of developing dementia later in life, according to researchers in the US.
... then I'm going to be sharp as a tack well into my old age.
And if this is true...
They also told a conference that grip strength in middle-age was linked to the chance of a stroke.
... I'm going to have the ticker of a teenager for the rest of my born days.
Givenmyhistory with Chicago cabs, this is very good news indeed:
[C]ity officials are focusing on a new ordinance — it's set to go into effect this summer — they say will be easier to enforce and finally hold cab companies accountable for repeat offenders they let behind the wheel.
"One of the reasons why we took on the challenge of rewriting the ordinance is because we needed it to be clear, crisp and easy to enforce," said Rosemary Krimbel, commissioner of the Business Affairs and Consumer Protection department.
You have an intense personality and crave extreme emotional experiences. And your lucky orange underwear will help you take it to a whole new level.
Adventure and danger don't phase you - in fact you enjoy dicey situations. You're the first to take a risk, and the first to get the payoff.
And while your risks sometimes result in great rewards, they also sometimes result in devastating failures.
If you want to have intense moments without always risking all you have, put on your orange underpants. They'll help you experience life with rich emotions, no matter what you're doing.
You're the type of person who is always putting a new spin on things. You are very creative. You sometimes feel like you are a square peg trying to fit into a round hole, but that's okay! You'll build your own square hole.
You are cutting edge to the point of being avant-garde. You are extremely inventive. You can't help but be original. You love to experiment and try new things.
Back in my youth I once read my way through a chicken burning so badly that it welded itself to the pan, which had to be tossed. I was so wrapped up in my book that I didn't see or smell the smoke that had filled the entire first level of the house. (So it's no wonder that i can read in the middle of a very busy and noisy sports bar and not be distracted.)
I can now validly claim limited brain capacity... _____
Who will fight this effort the most? The teachers union, of course. _____
If you have a pet, whether cat, dog, ferret, bird or turtle, print this article and tape it inside a kitchen cabinet or medicine chest. You may thank me for that one day. _____
Not getting enough sleep these days? Put the tech toys down at least an hour before you go to bed. (Unless, of course, you have a Kindle or Nook or any other e-reader with e-ink.) _____
Ya think? That's just a sad state of affairs. _____
Every photo on this page is breathtakingly beautiful. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do! _____
I have a good friend in her mid-40's who just had her second heart attack. As she says, when it comes to smoking, not quitting is "not an option" any more.
If you or someone you know a pet who needs spaying or neutering and is strapped for cash, this is important info. In Chicago:
“We’re participating in Spay Day, although nearly every day is Spay Day for us,” Fasseas said. On a regular basis, PAWS Chicago offers free, or low-cost spaying or neutering several days a week — Sundays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. It’s free for pet owners on Medicaid or public assistance. They also offer free procedures for pets and owners who live in the following zip codes — 60617, 60619, 60620, 60621, 60628, 60629, 60636, 60639. Otherwise, the fee to spay or neuter a cat is $25 and $125 for a dog. Participants must pre-register. Call (773) 521-7729.
Outside of Chicago:
To find participating vets, clinics and pet centers nearest your, visit humanesociety.org/spaydayfind and type in your zip code.
Spaying or neutering your pet is a kindness to the animal.
Add this to my ridiculous Xmas/birthday/whatever wish list. Luge and skeleton are among my favorite winter Olympic sports, so this little doohickey has a lot of appeal.
Given that it doesn't have wheels or blades, I might even make it to the bottom of the hill without killing myself. Either way, it looks like it'd be fun. _____
If you've got a teen who's about to get his/her first driver's license, you might want to switch to American Family Insurance, which has a great plan to offer you:
Nora and John Suter said they trusted their son, but they didn't want to take their eyes off him completely as he sped off with his friends into a particularly risky phase of teen independence: the first year of driving.
Thanks to American Family Insurance's Teen Safe Driver program, they found a solution: The Suters installed a video camera just above the rearview mirror of the Mustang. It keeps a running tab of Tyler's every erratic driving move.
I wouldn't have thanked my parents for this, but I didn't have cell phones, iPods or any electronic distraction except the radio when I first started to drive.
Thanks to American Family Insurance's Teen Safe Driver program, they found a solution: The Suters installed a video camera just above the rearview mirror of the Mustang. It keeps a running tab of Tyler's every erratic driving move.
Alas, there have been many. Like the time Tyler floored the gas to pass a friend's pickup in a subdivision.
"I looked up and saw the (recording) light, and I knew I was busted," he said.
Then there was the time Tyler nearly rear-ended a car at a stop sign, or when he gassed the car into a right-hand turn to catch up with a friend. Thanks to two lenses, the camera simultaneously captured what was going on inside and in front of the car.
Nora Suter watched the videos on a laptop in the family's kitchen. "Tyler, do you see how dangerous this could be? A child could run out on the street, and you'd have no time to stop."
Sounds like it would ensure your teen knew when he/she was being watched and give you both plenty to discuss, as well. _____
This is a great list of what to do if you've had a pet escape or wander off. Print yourself a copy and tuck it in a drawer.
Here are some tips for finding a lost cat or dog from experts at the Anti-Cruelty of Chicago, PAWS Chicago, Feline Friends Chicago and the Citizens for Animal Protection:
† Act immediately. The longer you wait, the farther your pet can travel. Plus, the chances of your pet getting injured increases.
† Leave items with a familiar scent outside your home. A litter box, pet bed or a shirt or shoes recently worn by the pet owner can attract a pet who has strayed.
† Search the neighborhood. Walk, ride a bicycle or drive slowly through your neighborhood several times each day. Whistle a few times, then call your pet’s name twice. Listen carefully and look around.
† Your pet may be injured, frightened or trapped and unable to come to you. Hearing your voice may encourage your pet to answer you. After you call the pet’s name two or three times, remain in one place long enough to see if you can hear your pet.
† A lost pet may hide during the day, so go out again at night through your neighborhood with a flashlight and call for your cat or dog.
† Ask neighbors, letter carriers and delivery people, anyone you see, if they have seen your pet.
† Post flyers at intersections within a two-mile radius of the area of where your pet was lost. Also, give flyers to local grocery stores, community centers, pet stores, veterinary offices, churches and laundromats.
† The flyers should have a photograph of the pet and how to reach you as well as provide information such as fur color, breed and eye color.
† Advertise in local and community newspapers.
† Visit all local animal shelters and animal-control agencies as well as call or e-mail them. Your pet could show up at any time.
† File a lost pet report with every shelter in the city and suburbs. Check with the shelters every few days.
† If your pet was lost anywhere near a highway, contact the area’s department of transportation.
† Call veterinary hospitals.
† Do not send reward money or offer information to anyone claiming they have your pet.
† File a lost pet report with the Chicago Police Department.
I hope you never need it, but it's a great resource if or when you do. _____
Ear Worm of the Day:
I have no idea why this has been stuck in my head, but it's been there since last night. _____
... is related to my little buddy Grabby Hayes, so named because now he won't take the almonds dropped on the ground -- he'll ignore them and insists on being close enough to grab them from my hand. (Video to follow soon.)
I don't generally visit the bars on Division Street -- too touristy or waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too young -- but I might just have to make an exception and spend some time at The Lodge:
Whoohoo! Let the youngsters play their video games -- flash bowling and pinball are the games of my youth, and I'll take them over their contemporary counterparts every single time. _____
The Presidency hasn't grown -- the government has grown, and if it's too big for one president to handle, then it's time to shrink the government back to manageable proportions.
Once again, some entities are more equal than others in the eyes of the White House when it comes to Obama Care:
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If you live in NYC, you'd better make sure that either your pet stays indoors or it has a collar and tag or is microchipped... or your lost pet may be toast.
Hoffman said, by law, an unclaimed animal can be adopted out or euthanized after as little as 48 hours, although it usually takes longer than that.
My friend Mike blew into town to clear out the cobwebs and stretch his legs a bit. This is a look backwards (literally) at our day yesterday:
Oh! And we had dinner at Ma & I. Pear sake, prosecco, wasabi shiu mai, tuna, cold smoked salmon, wasabi and pickled ginger in great quantity, Panang curry (with chicken), green tea ice cream. Faaaaaaaaabulous!
[T]he incoming Marine commandant, Gen. Joseph Amos, and his predecessor, Gen. James Conway, both have told Congress that they think most Marines would be uncomfortable with the change and that the current policy works.
... is the only reason you don't want gays in the military, you've already lost that argument. It's the same argument that kept blacks out of the military or serving in separate units. It's the same argument that kept women out of the military. And look who's serving side by side with the old boy network in the military today!
You don't like it? Too bad. You played with them at recess. You studied with them. You sat next to them in school and you showered with them during PE. You should be used to being around them by now.
Any citizen who wants to serve in the military and can pass basic training and technical training should have the same right as anyone else to put on a uniform and protect and serve this country.
Grow a pair and deal with it already. _____
For all of you generous types out there that still support philanthropies, here are the 20 Worst in the U.S. If you're going to be generous, I'm sure you'd like to be getting the best bang for your buck. _____
[A]lthough many people now agree that driving while on a cell phone can be dangerous, they think the rules should apply to those other drivers -- not themselves. A University of Utah study found that 97.5 percent of the population does not have the ability to multitask in the manner required to talk on the phone and drive safely. The rare group who can might make good fighter pilots.
"The big problem is that people think they're in that 2.5 percent," said Smith. "Unless you're 'Top Gun,' you can't do it."
The problem is not caused by holding a phone -- people don't drive less safely because they have a stick shift, Smith noted. The problem is a phenomenon called "inattention blindness," which means you can be looking straight out the windshield and not see what's in front of you because your brain is elsewhere. Many drivers who have been in cell-phone related crashes said they didn't see that the light was red, Smith said.
"Their brain is task-switching, instead of multi-tasking," said Smith. Drivers using cell phones look but fail to see up to half the information in their driving environment, according to Dave Strayer, an author of the Utah study. Talking with a passenger is different, because a passenger can point out hazards and stop talking if driving conditions change.
2. If you're tired, pull over, turn the car off and take a nap:
Andy Dangerfield had been on his way college after an early start when he nodded off at the wheel.
He careered into the centre of Interstate 90 in Montana and straight into a metal guardrail which speared through the engine of his Chevy Suburban.
Before he could slow the station wagon, it had passed through and exited via the rear window - missing his body by inches.
Chicago police have gone on a ticketing blitz focusing on dozens of high-accident locations to enforce a new state law requiring drivers to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks.
The law, which took effect this summer yet remains little-known among the public, is all about improving safety and reducing crashes involving pedestrians, officials said....
From neighborhoods to congested business districts, the two-month-old crosswalk law is intended to create a sweeping change in the rules of the road pertaining to pedestrian safety by clarifying drivers' responsibility and making it clear-cut for police to ticket violators, authorities said.
The former crosswalk law in Illinois required drivers to yield to pedestrians and stop only when necessary.
Now, drivers must stop for pedestrians in all crosswalks — even those that are unmarked or don't have a stop sign or a traffic signal. The penalty for failing to stop is a traffic citation of $50 to $500. Fines vary by county.
The new law also applies to instances in which a pedestrian enters the crosswalk against a "Don't Walk" signal or a red light, just as the old law required drivers to yield in such cases, officials said.
Fun, huh? (Having been hit by a taxi while crossing an intersection on a green light with a walk signal, I can tell you that no one is going to obey this law unless the tickets fly fast and furious and without end.)
4. Curb Your Dog. I totally agree with Zorn that this woman was the victim and not the perpetrator:
Those who don't pick up after their dogs deserve nothing less than a little frontier poop justice.
A Crest Hill man died early Tuesday in a crash near southwest suburban Lockport....
Angus would not comment as of 7:15 a.m. on whether or not alcohol was a factor, but did say Mahalik’s driver’s license was revoked for DUI in the past.
Act like a future Darwin Award Winner and you'll more than likely get your wish. (Just ask Jake if you don't believe me.)
If you have to fly with your pet, which airline is the most pet-friendly? (Having flown all over the place when I was showing cats, I know this is valuable info.) _____
Ear Worm of the Day:
(How Much Is) That Doggie In The Window - Patti Page
How much is that doggie in the window? The one with the wagglely tail. How much is that doggie in the window? I do hope that doggie's for sale.
I must take a trip to California, And leave my poor sweetheart alone. If he has a dog, he won't be lonesome, And the doggie will have a good home.
How much is that doggie in the window? The one with the wagglely tail. How much is that doggie in the window? I do hope that doggie's for sale.
I don't want a rabbit or a kitten, I don't want a parrot that talks. I don't want a bowl of little fishies, 'Cause you can't take a fish for a walk.
How much is that doggie in the window? The one with the wagglely tail. How much is that doggie in the window? I do hope that doggie's for sale.
How much is that doggie in the window? The one with the wagglely tail. How much is that doggie in the window? I do hope that doggie's for sale.
I'd really like to know just how Philadelphia is going to enforce this $300 blogging fee. It'll cost more to enforce than it would in fees, one would think. _____
Alligator or crocodile, it's pretty darned certain this gives Jimbo one more reason to never visit New York City or Chicago. _____
I can see this law working for pet stores, but animal shelters and animal control facilities?
As of Jan. 1, pet stores, animal shelters and control facilities must disclose on the cages of dogs and cats the name and location of their breeders, as well as the animal's medical history.
How in the heck is an animal shelter going to get breeder information and medical history on strays? On pets dumped on their doorsteps? On mixed breed strays? Breeders who've moved? Died? Gone out of business?
Fines for disobeying the new law can cost up to $1,000 and include mandatory probation.
Will this new legislation lead to more euthanization because it's easier and cheaper to euthanize than it is to comply with this well-meaning, but next to impossible to comply with law? _____
Ear Worm of the Day:
Brought to you by the Danish family walking behind me this morning on their way to the Willis (Sears) Tower Observatory. Imagine this with a heavy Scandanavian accent and then you'll understand why it's been stuck in my head all day!
I freely admit I'm not a "board shorts" person, but, if I was, I'd be going ordering from http://www.shortomatic.com:
...[T]he Shortomatic.com site is so easy to use and so much fun, it's easy to burn an entire afternoon mocking up board short styles that will never see the light of day.
After you choose a size (due to fabric width constraints, sizes top out at a 38-inch waist) and upload a file from your computer, a preview of the finished product will appear on the screen, and the image on the shorts can be moved, resized, mirrored or duplicated on each leg. From there you can specify background and accent colors (which, in another cool feature, can be plucked from among the hues in your original image) and choose black or white for the contrast stitching and drawstring color. The final opportunity to personalize is writing a message of up to 140 characters on the inside waistband.
The end result — for a couple of clicks and a $99 price tag — is a one-off pair of super soft and supple polyester microfiber men's board shorts unlike anything else that exists, delivered to your door within 21 days. (Which means that if you uploaded a photo today, Dad could have a pair of boast-worthy board shorts in time for Fathers Day.)
How cool is that? (Massive style points for wearing these!) _____
If you have a pet or just love animals, you might just want to bookmark Lost and Pound. _____
