I've pretty much decided I have to go.
I can't live with the threat hanging over me.

But hey, it's an adventure!
As long as I can take the Diz-cat with me I'll be okay.

It sounds like you're ready to do your own thing. All you needed was a blow-up to realize it. I hope you guys can patch things up after you get your own place.

I once had a friend living in my house that I finally had to ask to leave. We still get along fine.

Sounds like a crappy situation. I'd like to hear his side of things - I wonder what his perspective on it all is.

Fucked up my knee AGAIN! Arrggh! hurts.

Potential TMI. Lil' Pete is new to this menstration stuff and she's dealing with it at fencing camp... intense physical activity, white clothing, you get the picture. She managed to win all her bouts yesterday despite the issue.


edit: Just got a very happy phone call. All is well.

awww @ "new to this menstruation stuff"

if she uses tampax she can ride a horse in a white pantsuit. i know because i saw the commercials

that's not funny dude. my sister was riding a horse in a white pant suit under the wtc on 9-11.

White horse too. Damn fine product.

I always wanted a white horse. Who knew all I had to do was buy tampax to get it? I wonder if they would have given me Tonto, to?

If a woman had been responsible for those ads, it would have been a pastel pantsuit. White is easy to bleach. Baby blue, not so much.

Don't forget swimming... I understand they're good for swimming too.

My neighbors lost all but one of their chickens to dog(s).:sniff: They spotted one leaving the scene of the crime bird in mouth. I'm giving them some of my extra birds to rebuild the flock but now they're afraid to let them roam so the birds will be confined to a small hopefully dog proof area. Remember that your sweet pets are perfectly capable of untold destruction.

The biggest cause of friction between various neighbors on my street is dogs. (Unless you count Jersey Guy, who claims to have a permit to shoot elk from his front porch - with a high-powered rifle.) Common complaints include dogs barking, dogs whining, aggressive dogs harassing walkers and bikers, dogs killing other dogs, dogs tearing up the trash, dogs lying in the middle of the road, dogs chasing the wild-life, etc.

Was it a pet dog or a stray?

and people shouldn't let their pets (including cats imo) roam around at will. And FIX them!

I think he's a pet. He had a collar on. He looks like one who was sneaking around my place last summer, earning the warning shot from me. He probably has a home near a local lake (could be a summer visitor) but wanders when he gets off the cable. My Dad's garbage can in his then open basement got torn up a couple nights ago as well. My neighbors are pissed enough to shoot next time. :yeldead:

The only way to keep our black lab from roaming is to hobble him. If we had raised him from a puppy I assure you he would know the fence is his boundary. But he is fixed, and the neighbors know him for the sweet thing he is, so far we haven't had any complaints since we did get him fixed. When we first adopted him we didn't realize his lack of respect for fences, chain link and the 7ft wooden portion. If he couldn't safely roam we would've looked for a farm to put him on, even still we try and chastise him when we catch him out. One of our last dogs was constantly accused of eating our neighbor's chickens (which if she did good, better end for them than dying in the cock fights or constantly being tied up like they were), but there was no evidence supporting their claim. It was most likely the coyote/stray dog pack in the area, which they killed off, :( :( :(. Buddy (the black lab) has also ended the lives of several stray cats that get dumped in the area. I'm not particularly sad about that, they probably would've starved to death, and were only catchable because of they're weakened state. When the fields in the area become developed housing (ew!) my parents are planning on moving to the area my brother currently lives, that is very dog roaming friendly. Part of directions out to the place include "when you're chased by the three white sheep dogs..."

Today I'm upset because I'm on my way to destitution and having to be supported by my parents. More so than I've had to depend on them since high school. On top of that I can't even afford to play World of Warcraft (mainly I miss it b/c of all my friends on it) and it would be a very irresponsible expense. I haven't been that worried about it, except today an especially close friend asked me about it. Lastly, I took my first Hist exam, I think I did well, but I didn't have time to finish the essay question, I still had a good paragraph or two to write on the subject. Hopefully the professor understands my direction and sees enough detail in the beginning to give me full credit, knowing that I obviously fully understand the subject. I'm just a perfectionist and don't want any less than an "A" I need to raise my GPA.

If you wanna ride, don't ride the white horse.

can't bleach a gray horse white.

Yeah, but you can paint it...

Just rename it... "Spot"

You can lead a horse to paint, but you can't make it pink.

Change "paint" to "watercolor" and that's a keeper!

Hah! Nicely done. I was thinking 'colour' but that didn't make sense.

Disagree about the cats - I think a life indoors is an unnatural one for cats. And they are far less dangerous than dogs. But as a cat owner I am biased and I freely admit it.
Dogs? Definitely not. No dog should be allowed to roam outside - fenced yards and private property only. And ideally on a lead when walking unless on open ground.

And all pets should be neutered unless the owner specifically buys the animal for breeding purposes.

The problem with cats outside is that they like to kill small animals, like birds and squirrels.

I have no problem with that. It's nature.
BTW I'd hate to see my cat go up against a squirrel. Expensive visit to the vet methinks.

My childhood cat went up against a raccoon and was fatally injured. He was a tough old guy though - kicked the crap outta many other "wild" animals, squirrels included.

I live next to a busy highway. I can't see a splat cat, I couldn't deal with that. I rode in the back of the station wagon with a kitty when I was a kid because I had climbed up the old Chinese Elm to see Cinders and he jumped down and ran in front of a car...it was one of the most horrible things I've ever seen. I still have the picture in my head. He was of course put to sleep and I was traumatized for days. (When I went back to school Sister Frances yelled at me that animals don't have souls and I would NOT be seeing my cat again. THis was the only time I remember my mom fighting my battles, but I was in second grade and my mom recalls she ripped Sister French Fry a new one.)

My cats don't go outside, but they have the run of the screened in front porch. I never thought of it as cruel to keep them in...they run and play and seem happy. Now I feel kind of bad. :sniff:

I've seen dogs chase and injure a baby deer. I guess you'd say that's nature, also, but that doesn't make it right.

I don't think dogs should be allowed to roam because they are dangerous to people and vehicles. Yes, if I agreed with them being free to roam then I would agree with them killing large wildlife. Maybe not - there are less of them available to kill (here at least) so it makes more impact.

I take back what I said. Situations are different for different people, different locations. My cats have a great life, and I don't think I've ruined their lives by keeping them healthy and happy.

Dogs CAN be trained to not leave the yard. Zeke, may he rest in peace, knew exactly what his boundaries were and never got near leaving those boundaries...even to chase things.

Try training a cat to not wander in front of a semi.

I don't recall where I saw the numbers or if they're even verifiable but if you think about how easy it is for a cat to grab birds at the feeder it gives you pause. Wanted to type paws so badly but will hide pun here.

The guilty animal was found. He is a permanent resident near the lake who started to wander a couple years ago during a divorce deal, apparently neither owner wanted responsibility for him. We know both parties to the divorce, but don't know why the dog is back on the street after settling down for so long.

We forget the real victims of divorce: the pets. Oh, yeah, and the children.

Poor thing is probably hungry if they've abandoned him.

I'm trying not to think about the consequences for the kids... they're in the same custody as the dog.

Oh lord...are you sure the kids didn't kill some of the chickens?

Feral children do have a certain independent streak I admire.

There was my laugh out loud for the day.

I'm sad because our Grand Pier has burned down. Monday the townn awoke to the smell of burning and noise of sirens and all we could do was watch while it took two hours for the entire pavilion to be ungulfed and entirely destroyed. I hope the picutres will upload.

Sadly, the rain came too late to help and all of the pavilion is lost. The underlying metal structure though is apparantly ok, and hopefully in good enough shape to be built on. What didn't help was the tide being out and the firefighters having virtually no water, they couldn't drive their tanker up the pier. I was carried up the pier as a babe in arms and was only there the day before this happened. It's what we do here, walk up the pier in the evening.

Lots of sad looking people around town at present.:(

What about the small dogs? Are they a "danger to humans?" I think no moreso than a cat.

A well trained pet, be it a cat, a dog or whatever is no danger to anyone. Its the peopleidiots who buy animals and don't train them that are the problem.

That sad CZ - sorry.

Thanks C, and I meant 'engulfed' of course!

This is a bad hit on a small traditonal English seaside town whose annual influx of summer visitors funds very many small businesses. Hotels, caravan parks, bars, restaraunts etc.

Monday was day one of the summer holiday season and coachloads of people arrived to find the central attraction ablaze. Ironically they stayed and ate ice cream and Fish n' Chips but once the novelty has worn off and the pier has stopped smoking, we face a grim summer, cancellations have already started.

And of course - it's raining!

Wow. That sucks. I'm sorry.

lol...come on over and train my cats, will you? Yes, I know it can be done...but it's ten times harder than training a dog.

Oh, as to small dogs, the ones I know tend to be more snappy and bitey and barky than big dogs I know. I call it Short Dog Syndrome. My friend's little chihuahua can bite my ass...literally.

yeh, but a human can stomp or punt the little bastards, unlike the larger variety.

Bummer CZ. :(

Major suckage, CZ. How old was the structure?

Will it be rebuilt CZ?

:( CZ. seems one by one the piers are going. let's hope they are able to raise enough to rebuild and recover.

I burnt my breakfast porridge. It was ok after I added some honey and nutmeg though. Just not as good as it could have been. :(

stressy/crappy/sicky week.

I saw the news about the pier and was very sad. It was only just being renovated and put back on a profitable footing by a millionaire investor. I walked on that pier with the first man I really loved, on a rainy, squally, grey day. I thought it was just perfect of course.

Such a blow for the town.

Terrible loss. Things like that really are integral to a town's self-identity. I know I'd be devastated if anything happened to our historic Piece Hall.

Diz stayed out last night.
He's not home yet.

I am now terrified I've lost another cat.

Sad about that pier. I hate to see such devastation, and I"m sure it was a place that brought joy to a lot of people.

Keeping things crossed for you, SG.

Found Diz - posting in the Happy thread

[Phone rings.]
Mr. Clod: Hello?
His mother: Hello sweetie. We're just cleaning out the garage up here. Is this your ten-speed bike?
MC: No.
MIL: I'm pretty sure you had one.
MC: I didn't.
MIL: I'm pretty sure it's yours.
MC: No, it's not. Maybe it's [my brother's].
MIL: No, he never had one.
MC: Neither did I.
MIL: Well, I'll call you and ask about it when you're more awake.


OH, DID I MENTION this conversation took place at 7:00 AM?!

The Pier was opened in 1904 and was a Victorian/Edwardian Music/Concert Hall which also hosted boxing and wrestling matches etc, and the pavilion part was only a section of the mile long boardwalk which allowed some boats to dock at the end, permitting visitors from Wales (across the water from here about 60 miles) to visit Weston the easy way.

Then two things happened. In 1930 the Pavilion burned down and later in the thirties we had WW11, and the longest stretch of the pier was dismanted as a means of discouraging invasion. The long arm of the pier was anyway a problem because we have the 2nd highest tidal rise and fall in the world, and when the tide goes out it's gone for miles and miles, so the pier was pretty useless to ships getting caught as the tide left them on the mudflats.

The destroyed pavilion re-opened as an amusement arcade, or covered fairground which has remained pretty much unchanged in some respects, although modernisation has permitted its owners to upgrade some of the games and attractions, but they were always confined to the space available. It was owned by several generations of one local family until in the Spring of this year they sold it to two young entrepeneurs, also a local family, Kerry and Michelle Michael
who since April this year have already spent about a million pounds on renovations including indoor go-carts on a new floor built into the existing roof. To put the finances in perspective, the owner has suggested that a rough estimate of cash lost in the fire included 'probably' half a millilon pounds, most of that in pound coins. I would say he isn't exagerating, its a money pit.

Then came the fire on Monday which destroyed completely the very beautiful pavilion.

The Michaels will re-build and it will be fantastic and loads of people are already saying that the fire might be a blessing in disguise, but the pier held wonderful and special memories for so many people that lots of us feel quite bereaved, and it will take time for the sense of loss to ease.

So there we go, and ever since Monday we have had prolonged squalls and thunderstorms, typical English summer.