Guy's blog about life with pets in northern mich.

Yesterday I applied to begin getting Social Security checks beginning in November. I opted for the early benefits package. Being a smoker; I don’t expect to make it to 100. Somehow, I thought that I had to wait until 63 ½ to file early because of changes being imposed on us by the government that raided the Social Security fund whenever they spent too much tax money buying $600 hammers. Now I hear that half of 190,000 rifles and 80,000 handguns can’t be accounted for in Iraq by the Butch... Sign in to see full entry.

Today I watched “Pale Rider” for the forth or fifth time. I never re-read novels but there are a few movies that I’ll watch over and over again. As I was trying to decide if “Pale Rider” is my favorite Clint Eastwood movie, ( better than “The Unforgiven”, “The Good, The Bad and the Ugly”, “Dirty Harry”, “Paint Your Wagon”, “The Dead Pool”?) there are so many of his movies that are my favorite while I’m watching it, that I probably never will decide which I like the most. (Right now it’s “The... Sign in to see full entry.

Do you also like the E-Trade commercial that examines the things you can do with just one finger? I think they are onto something that could become a whole series of successful ads with this idea. I got a good belly laugh when the announcer said you could get to know your doctor better. The variations on this theme are practically endless and given the time constraints of a commercial, this format is perfect for many more commercials with the same lead in. I wish I’d thought of it. As always,... Sign in to see full entry.

Baby really likes pigs! We both happened to be at my rental property this week as the two pigs my renters were raising were being moved from their pen to a stock trailer. These were pretty big oinkers, man-sized and about two hundred pounds. The two guys who came for them were about the same size as the animals and they had quite a task on their hands, because the pigs weren’t inclined to cooperate. That’s putting it mildly! As soon as the first guy got a hold of a back foot and the squealing... Sign in to see full entry.

I know a cat that can dial 911 and he really likes me! I didn’t know about this talent, until last week when his owner fell and the cat’s training kicked in. Mrs. S. fell on her face and was knocked unconscious. The cat dialed 911, (speed dial?) and the number was traced to her apartment. Mrs. S. has raccoon eyes and doesn’t remember the fall but nonetheless, the cat prolonged her life! I was just speaking with someone who was telling me about two brothers that were both diagnosed with the same... Sign in to see full entry.

I just saw a documentary about a Hindu sect that reveres rats as souls that are about to reincarnate into humans, when the rats die. People who didn’t get their last lives right, become rats upon death, obviously. The rats are protected from all harm, fed better than many Indian humans, and live the good life. I’m not a real big fan of rats! If I ever visited India, I’d be tempted to help a whole lot of rats become human again, ahead of schedule, take my word for it. Speaking of lower forms of... Sign in to see full entry.

In Phoenix two TV News helicopters collided and crashed while taping a police chase. I hear that authorities want to charge the driver of the car being chased with the deaths of the TV crew and the pilots. This is abuse of prosecutorial power unless the car thief called the TV station and invited them to film a really good car chase. I’m pretty sure he had his hands too full at the time trying to escape, to be inviting choppers to join in the chase. News crews thrust themselves into people’s... Sign in to see full entry.

Ivy’s “purple brain disease” is a new malady that closely mimics what we used to call “brain-freeze”. I first observed it while watching Ivy eat a grape Popsicle. She would take a bite, chew up the chunk and then she would push her palms against her temples, eyes closed and obviously in pain. I said, “Brain freeze.” “Nope,” she said. “When the purple stuff gets to my brain, it makes my head hurt. It’s Purple Brain Disease!” I have a high opinion of her demented intelligence, so I will assume... Sign in to see full entry.

I just saw Emo Phillips on TV! I’m shocked to see him after not seeing him or hearing his name for probably 20/25 years! He must have been absent from comedy for a long time and only recently returned to it. Probably spent all that time in a cave becoming weirder and crazier. I enjoyed his humor and his strange delivery all those years ago, and he still has it! He looks like an old time 30’s movie villain now, an improvement over his shaggy, Icabod Crane look of decades ago. Back then he said... Sign in to see full entry.

Those pharmaceutical companies have pretty sharp executives making important bottom-line decisions, obviously. They are earning millions-a-day in profits. One of them is advertising a new drug named Mirapex. During the government mandated side-effects warning, I was asking myself, “Who in their right mind, would even touch, let alone swallow one of those pills?” Some of the warnings included drowsiness, even to the point of falling asleep WHILE DRIVING! I stopped listening to the other side... Sign in to see full entry.