It's in his genes

Speaking of family, our horse, Shaft, is the great-grandson of Secretariat. You know, the famed race horse who won the Triple Crown in 1973. There have only been 2 other race horses since Secretariat to win the coveted Triple Crown; Seattle Slew in 1977, and Affirmed in 1978. But there's a great difference between great grandson and grandpa.

Shaft is a thoroughbred, quarter horse mix. He is not quite as tall as his fabled great grandfather. Nor does he have the speed, or desire to run like Secretariat. But he does have that thoroughbred attitude. In other words, he's a snot.

We have owned Shaft for 9 years. He is 13 yrs old. He still acts like a 2 year old brat. Now don't get me wrong, I love my horse, but he can be a pain in the ass. Literally. When putting a saddle on him, he turns slightly your way and tries to nip your butt. Not hard. Just enough to let you know he's not interested in riding today. Or any day for that matter. If you don't ride him often enough, he'll buck and kick for a few yards, until he realizes you're still on him, and he's obligated to cart you around for an hour or so.

Shaft does have a personality. Almost everyone who meets him, falls in love with him. He's funny, mischievous, friendly, loving, and damn smart.

And although he has the blood in his veins, he doesn't have the kick in his hooves. Which is just fine. I don't have the strength in my back.

So much for genetics.

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La Famiglia

Separated at birth?

In witness protection?

These two Bordeaux's are not Titan. Maybe they are Titan's long lost brothers. Could be. Behavior is about the same.

Titan was one of about 9 puppies, and the cutest. He seemed the most friendly of the clan, and came right to me. Probably the reason he came home with us.

I would say Titan is more of a Asics dog than Adidas anyway.

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Dying for your vote

In other unrelated news, a dead man was elected mayor of a Tennessee town. Why am I not surprised?

It seems this gentlemen, Carl Geary, had died a few weeks before the election, but beat out the current mayor for the position.

Some folks voted for him, (even though they knew he was dead), because they wanted someone other than the current mayor.

For some reason, this almost makes sense to me. Almost.

I guess you could say Mr Geary came in dead first.....

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Titan loves the broom

Great weekend for New York; not so good for Texas, and a pretty good start to this week.

The Yankees had a clean 3 game sweep of the Texas Rangers, at Yankee Stadium this past weekend. And today, Boston loses to Tampa Barf, I mean Tampa Bay. So the Bronx Bombers are 1/2 game out of first place in the East from Tampa Bay.

They are headed to the west coast for a series with Oakland, and then Los Angeles. The Angels seem to give the boys grief, although Oakland is playing better (for now).

But I do have one question.

What's going on with the Red Sox?

Ah, never mind. I don't care.....

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Runner's high, runner's low

Almost everyone has heard of, or has experienced, a runner's high. But if you are an avid runner, you will eventually get to experience the low too.

Most lows come disguised as injuries. They can be slow growing chronic maladies, such as shin splints, plantar fasciitis, or bursitis. Immediate ones, can be twisted ankles, pulled hamstrings, or burning lungs.

In my case, herniated discs in the lower back. To be honest, it's over a 20 year old injury. So I'd say it's been slow and steady.

As I had been building my mileage up (to 16 miles in a single run), preparing myself for half marathons (accomplished), and eventually a full marathon, a simple move or twist, jacks my back up. So much so, injections were needed, twice already. Every time I hit the pavement for a longer run, after a couple of weeks return, the back has talked back. Actually, it screamed at me.

To make matters worse, I am signed up for the Marine Corps Marathon this fall. But it's not looking real good.........at all.

This is my runner's low. Mentally, and physically.

I plan on healing up, again, and pounding the pavement in the next month or so. But I may be relegated to lower mileage runs and races. This is something I just may have to accept.

But I say congratulations to all of those who accomplished the ultimate; the qualification for the Boston Marathon. Have a wonderful race this Monday, Patriot's Day, in Boston.

Now that is a runner's high.

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Why have a dog?

There are many reasons to own a dog. Protection. Companionship. Love of animals. Interesting photography.

But besides the ridiculous pictures you get to take (like above), you can opt for this....

I guess we need to get more furniture.

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Gnome More

Everywhere I look in our yard are these little, ugly, plaster old men. They give me the creeps. Even Titan doesn't like them invading his domain, so he pees on them. But they're still here.

If I didn't know any better, I'd think they could multiply on their own. Now that would really freak me out. Little old men having gay, plaster sex in my yard. Where's that armed Sarah Palin when I need her?

Oh well, I'll just hope Titan's constant wetting of these demonic statues will eventually make them melt. I just want to hear one of them scream out:

"I'm melting! melting! Oh, what a world! Who would have thought a big ass Mastiff like you could destroy our wickedness?"

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Taking a bite out of crime-fighters

This crazy ass dog in Tennessee (dah), decided he was REALLY hungry, or was breaking his parole, and bit the hell out of this Chattanoogo police car.

So the local judge said that "Winston" was a very bad doggie, and must go to obedience and canine good citizen classes.

Really??

Oh, and it gets better. He has to wear a tag that says he might be dangerous.

No shit.

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Training, a Shih Tzu

Titan doesn't care much for little dogs, especially ones that are plain stupid. Like the one in Utah that got run over by a train........... twice in the same day.

I think this damn dog was on a suicide mission, and failed....miserably. He jumped in front of a train, with no luck. Then, as the same train conductor was later returning, hits the same dog, again, and the dog still lives.

Seems the train driver went back after work, found the dazed dog, and is nursing him back to health. Physical health anyway. The dog may need mental healthcare, in my opinion.

Besides being a dumb dog, he is one lucky dog.

All I know is I'd be taking "Shit-Sue" to Vegas with me....

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Intelligence not required

Staying on the subject of addictions and dependencies, a Vermont man driving himself to prison, to serve his sentence for a DUI, was arrested for driving drunk...........to the damn prison.

Yes, you read that right. He was driving himself to the prison where he was to serve his time for his previous DUI.

At least he could have gotten a designated driver to haul his drunk ass to prison. Geez.

I wonder if this year's Census will show how many stupid people we have living in the U.S.?

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Intervention

Addictions, dependencies, habits, whatever.

It seems everyone has dependencies on something these days.

Whether it be professional hookers, crack cocaine, tattooed biker chicks, or bumpy balls, there's a multitude of dependencies out there. Although, one would argue that bumpy balls requires a doctor....

But there is professional help available. Some want it, some don't.

I think Titan is over due for his detox stay, somewhere.

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How come this doesn't happen on my American flights?

Photo Source: Reuters

It seems a Spanish airline, Air Comet, has not paid their lovely flight attendants for almost 9 months of work. So, the young ladies are posing nude to get attention to their situation.

I would say they are getting LOTS of attention, considering some of them are now models.

I have had lots of things happen to me on airplane flights over the last 30 years, but nothing like this. Talk about flying the friendly skies.

BTW, the "quality" of flight attendants on American has been dropping faster than Obama's healthcare plan approval ratings.

Question for you: Would you pay for your carry on bags, if you could have one of these lovely ladies serving you in the buff on your next flight?

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Another problem caused by deforestation

This shot just cracked me up. Not sure who or how they took it, so I'm giving them credit here.

Say what you want about protecting the environment, but dogs have their reasons for it too.

Titan also likes trees. He thinks his bumpy balls grow on them.

PS. Thanks for the forwarded photo, Ray.

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I don't need no stinkin' iPad

Who needs an iPad anyway?

Not Titan. He'll stick with the MacBook Pro. All his great photos are on it.

(At least for now).

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I'll just play with my balls

As the kids had colored fancy eggs for Easter, Titan decided he would rather play with his fancy colored balls.

To him it's the same difference. Colorful, creative, and........tasty.

Happy Easter everyone!

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Insult to injury

A father buries his Marine son, killed in Iraq, only to have some wacko religious group from Kansas protest at his funeral. The father sues and wins, and on appeal, it is reversed. Now the court wants the grieving father to pay these nut jobs, as they hide behind their "constitutional rights".

Is this what our forefathers had in mind for the 1st Amendment?

This group has the right to voice their opinions, because of Marines like Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder. But they don't have the right to mock, and invade the privacy of this family's funeral service for their son.

All I know is, they better be careful of other military families they protest who may exercise their rights with the 2nd Amendment.

And I am one of them.

Fast track to recovery

It looks like some states have found a way to a “speedy” economic recovery.

The recession has hit almost everyone, so now states are going to recoup lost revenues by taking away that little 5-10 mph cushion we all have had when driving over the speed limit.

Officer: “Do you realize how fast you were going?”

Driver: “Ah, yes Officer. I was doing 35mph.”

Officer: “I should cuff you and throw your ass in jail right now. You were going 3 miles over the speed limit buddy.”

Driver: “But officer, I’m driving a Toyota.”

Officer: “Good answer, but here’s your damn ticket anyway. The governor needs the money.”

Written warnings may be a thing of the past. If you have one, frame it. It might become a collectable in a few years.

“It could happen.”

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