Dog-Cat Relations

The relations between the cat and the dogs seem to have gotten better, in particular between Dixie and Dodo. (Archie was never that bad to Dodo.) Dixie no longer goes berserk every time she sees or hears the cat. All it took was for a characteristic plopping sound of Dodo landing on the floor from the counter for Dixie to transform. The transformation was not good. Dixie would tense-up, bring her senses to full alert, jump off the couch and zero-in on where she thought the cat was. Dixie never hurt or bit Dodo, but the amount of harassment irritated and scare the hell out of poor Dodo. Dixie would put her nose on Dodo and sniff him. Also, Dixie would vigorously lick the cat. (I'd hate to think Dixie was "tasting" the cat, but I'll give Doodle the benefit of the doubt.)

I'm not saying Dixie is a sweetheart to Dodo, but Dixie can look at the cat without turning into a whirlwind creature wild as hell.

Dixie On Ice

The "winter storm" was a dud. Instead of snow, we got freezing rain and sleet. Though the wintry mix stuck to the ground and glazed everything, ice is not nearly as fun as snow.

Doodle still hasn't seen snow accumulation. However, we did get a few flakes thrown in the mix. Dixie tried to capture a few snowflakes with her mouth. As cute as that was, snow accumulation would have been better.

"Peak"-ing is a City in China

Archie peaking over the table

I know the capital of China is "Beijing" and not "Peking" like it was called when I was a kid.

I snapped that photo when Archie lifted his head during a nap to see where everyone was. If we are in our places, then he feels comforted and goes back to sleep. But if no one is around, he gets lonely, stands up and finds where everyone is at.

Teethies

Dixie (l); Archie (r)

I bet there will be viewers who think that these dogs were about to tear each other apart. Also, those people would believe that instead of breaking apart an impending fight, I instead picked up a camera to take a picture. It's amazing how many people lack commonsense.

They really were playing. They were all bark and no bite.

Exhibition of the Accomplishments of Expensive Dog Training

This is where the plate for the cat's food should be.

This is where I found the plate

Once again, Dixie has helped herself to the cat's food. Despite the food being on the counter far from the edge, Doodle can stretch that body of hers to get the plate. I imagine the cat food tastes yummy because of the effort Dixie has to go through to get it. This is what expensive dog training gets you in the Raleigh area nowadays.

Judging a Book By Its CoverYes, Law Professors Do That

Dear gentle readers who read this blog for the law school content (as opposed to those who read the content about pets) law school professors do judge a book by its cover. We are told not to determine who and what a person is by what he wears or how he looks. But trust me, this goes on all the time, even in law school.

For example, in the last week of class, my criminal procedure professor saw me hanging around a classroom. The previous class had run past its scheduled end time, so I milled around the hallway with my classmates waiting for the room to open. The professor, whose office is just a couple of door down from that classroom, saw me, waived and initiated a conversation with me. It was the first time we had spoken to each other that semester.

She wanted to know how things were going for me and in particular, criminal procedure. I gave some pat answers. But when we went into detail, I mentioned that there were some cases I did not like which pissed me off such as Terry and Wardlow. She seemed surprised. She actually said that she thought I'd be conservative, "on the right."

I was taken aback she would say something like that out loud. I responded by saying that for the most part, I am conservative, "you should ask my environmental law professor." (What was funny about that remark is that I latter found out that her husband is an environmental lawyer.) I told her what other viewpoints I had and she said that I sounded more like a libertarian. Who knows.

But, people do indeed judge a book by its cover, even law professors.

The irony of this story is that minutes after my professor said that I "looked" conservative, I gave a presentation on a paper in which I took the same side of an issue as the ACLU and Greenpeace.

A Pretty White Cat on a Pink Pillow

Dodo

In another bout of eccentricity, my mom bought a fluffy pillow specifically for the purpose of the cat laying on it on the porch. He hangs out in the porch quite a bit, so my mom thought it would be nice for him to be as comfortable as possible.

Dodo loves that pink pillow. [I realize the pillow may not be exactly 'pink' but that is what it looks like to me] He especially loves to lie there when it's cool, somewhere around 40 degrees. If it's too cold, he wants to come in. If it's too warm, then the pillow will be too hot. Besides, in warmer weather, he wants to sit all the way outside to guard against the interlopers prowling around.

Advice to 0Ls On How to Address Female Professors.in Law School

When you are called on in your first year (and you will be called on), make sure to address your female professors as "ma'am." She will appreciate the show of respect and the deference. Trust me, they will really like it.

Media Bias? What Media Bias? WRAL and the Gov. McCrory "Promise Tracker"

WRAL has set up a Gov. McCrory "Promise Tracker" in a prominent place on its website. Funny, I don't remember seeing a campaign promise accountability initiative for Gov. Bev Perdue, or even President Obama. Why not? What is the difference between McCrory and Perdue/Obama that would warrant such a different and more aggressive news coverage on McCrory in contrast to Perdue/Obama? I'll let the gentle readers figure that one out.

I especially loved how WRAL shutdown any viewer comments. What a  bunch of chickenshit cowards.

http://www.wral.com/mccrory-faces-promises-and-expectations-/11897511/

A Mexican Standoff

Archie, left. Dixie, right.

That bone is driving them both crazy. Archie wants it. Dixie has it. But Dixie cannot enjoy it because if she takes her eye off of Archie for a moment, he will pounce on her and take the bone. Dixie knows Archie is a lot bigger than her.

The photos cannot capture Dixie's growling whenever Archie merely looked in her direction.

Archie trying to get through the cat door

Archie trying to get through the cat door

We bought a gate with special cat-door in it and placed it by the french doors in the living room. The cat can now go in the living room without us having to open the door for him. Dodo likes to sit in the living room in peace and quiet without the dogs hassling him. He likes the solitude.

We also don't have to open the door when he wants to leave. Before the gate was installed, he would sit by the door, look up at us when we passed by and cry at us. Now he can get out whenever he feels like it.

One problem is when I watch TV in the living room. The babies do not like to be separated from me. They will sit by the gate and cry and whine to get in. Archie will try to get in through the cat door without success. He's too big.

Random Thought:True Blood, Vampires and Tattoos

I had a random thought pop in my head when I was recently watching True Blood. If vampires "auto-heal" when injured (unless they meet their true death), does that mean that a vampire cannot get a tattoo?

And if vampires cannot get new tattoos, does that mean the ones any do have were acquired when they were still human?

Has the Veil of Anonymity Been Pierced?

There is a chance that people at my school may know who the author of this blog is. In other words, my blog may no longer be anonymous except to a handful of friends, family and internet friends.

I had to give a 30min talk on my last day of my upper-level writing course. I tried setting up my slides on the classroom computer so the images could be displayed by a projector linked to the classroom computer. Most people simply uploaded their slides on their gmail account. But not me, I had to be special. [I didn't know how to do that.]

I tried using a flash drive but the classroom computer could not read it. I was frustrated as hell at this point and sweating like I was in a sauna, which makes me even more nervous and more sweaty. I've gone quite a ways with my issues with public speaking but some vestiges of that fear lingers on, sweating being one of them from time to time. So, the flash drive was not working, but my professor suggested I directly link my laptop to the class-computer. This is where the anonymity problems appeared.

The direct-link/computer-to-computer idea worked. What I did not know was that whatever was on my screen would appear on the screen for the projector.

The computer took a couple of minutes to boot-up, but once it did, a 5-ft picture of my white cat showed up on the screen. My background on my laptop is a photo of my cat. Several of my classmates thought he was adorable.

Then I started to open the file where my powerpoint slides are: Libraries--> Documents --> 3L, etc. While I was at the "Documents" screen, quite a few files and documents appeared: 1L, 2L, 3L, "personal". But towards the bottom was a Word document: "Abby and Andy Blog."

Did anyone see it? It is possible. For example, when I was at the "3L" folder, my prof commented on the various files in my "Wills and Trust" folder. That does not mean anyone saw the "Abby and Andy Blog" document. But there is always that chance.

At the stroke of midnight, Dixie jumped into my arms

The fireworks at the start of the new year scared Doodle quite a bit. But she didn't really jump into my arms. She tried to climb into my lap while I was seated at a chair.

Waiting

Archie (left); Dixie (right)

Above is a picture of the babies waiting for a man who just left them. They're hoping he will return through that door at any moment, but that moment won't happen until several weeks from now, if not months. My brother was here and now he's gone. He's the one they are pining over.

I'm not sure why Archie has bonded so strongly with my brother. Archie lived in Atlanta for a few weeks while my mom recovered from an accident. Archie knocked her down last spring and broke her arm. So, a my brother's friend took care of Archie while she was rehabilitating. Maybe when Archie was down there, he became familiar with my brother.

During that time, Archie bonded with my brother since he would often see Archie. He'd also visit my brother and Dixie at my brother's condo. Dixie still loves my brother and does not mind that he gave her away to my mom. He could not handle her. She is wild as hell.

While my brother was here, Archie followed my brother around the house wherever he went. If they were separated, Archie would trot to my brother when he heard his voice from somewhere else in the house. He even insisted on sleeping with my brother in his bed. Had Archie and Dixie not been so attached to one another, my brother would take Archie back to Atlanta, but this would break the dogs' hearts.

The dogs waited in the kitchen by the door for over an hour after my brother left until they returned to normal.

Random Thought:A race to fight racism gives me an idea on how to fight sexism.

During one of my many random thoughts, I remembered seeing a running event hosted by the YMCA a while ago, A Race to Fight Racism. I admit it was a neat play on words and catchy. But then I thought, using the logic above, if a group has a race to fight racism, what should they do to fight sexism? Have sex to fight sexism?

11 Months Ago to the Day

I got those babies 11 months ago to the day. They were not intended to be a pair but it looks like they will be together for a long time.

Same as it ever was.

Debris from Dixie's misconduct. To be fair, it was taken a few months ago.

Finishing school (training school) did not do a goddamn bit of good for Dixie. She's as naughty, rambunctious and uncontrollable as ever. What makes it funny and frustrating, is that Dixie reverted back to her old ways while the trainers were still here talking to us. For example, she grabbed a roll of toilet paper from my bathroom and a wash rag from my mom's on different occasions. But in both times, she proudly and defiantly brought them straight into the den where we were. She did not even try to hide her misconduct. She sat there, contraband visibly in mouth, and looked at us.

That dog is incorrigible.

Dixie the Recidivist?Tomorrow, Dixie Returns from Finishing School

Dixie under my bed. Doesn't she look like a naughty little shit?

Tomorrow is the big day. Dixie comes home after a few weeks of obedience training. And she will be tested tomorrow. I'll be home and so will the pretty white cat, two things that get her very excited. Of course, the handsome fella will be there. Dixie will be happy to see him, too.

The trainers will drop her off tomorrow around noon. They will immediately see if their dog-training methods have worked.

Dixie Goes to Finishing School

Dixie at far right

"Finishing School" is a euphemism for obedience training. We thought it would be more lady-like to say she is in finishing school. The above photo was taken at the obedience school she is in.

Doodle has been a handful. My brother couldn't handle her; my mom couldn't and I couldn't. Overall she's a good girl and very playful and loving. But there are some rough edges in need of polishing.

I know Dixie, and she does not look happy in that picture.