redkow97

I posted this on facebook as well, so don't shoot me for being late to the party here, but doesn't this type of thing sound oddly like something a pedophile would come up with? "oh, we love children- we would never hurt one. Look how much I love cartoons. Come get into my van little girl." I didn't change my picture.

Nice bike. When did you get an expert race license?

I will suggest that anyone going into the military plan for retirement as well. My uncle enlisted late (22-24?), made it through Ranger school, and eventually retired (the first time) as a Master Sargent. When he transferred into the reserves, he worked full-time at the VA hospital in the benefits department. I assume he had 20 years in at that point, but I wasn't old enough to be cognizant of such things at the time. His reserve unit was being deployed to Afghanistan, so he re-enlisted to get more of his old rank back, and greater combat pay. As a result of re-enlisting, he was laid off from the VA. Never got his old job back after his tour. Now he's a security guard in his early 60's, and I don't think he has any hope of retiring at 65...

there's just a very fine line between justice and revenge. it's not uncommon for the latter to be desired when the former isn't as satisfying as we'd like.

yeah, she's kinda like an AMC gremlin in that way - ugly, but somebody's bound to love her.

Thanks. We're not in a position to be cutting checks to many charities, so we try to volunteer at events and help out where we can. Our dog (Henry/Hank) was a Second-Hand Mutt, and came in with a broken leg. I'm sure our $150 adoption fee barely put a dent in his vet bills (they neutered him too), so it's an easy call for us to help them out where we can. I never really liked dogs until we had one. Now I can't imagine him not being around. Hopefully someone can say that about Hammy soon.

ya, this is the full adopt list if anyone's interested http://www.secondhandmutts.org/adoptlist.html Hammy is just the dog we happen to have right now - there are plenty of others looking for homes as well. If anyone is concerned about the 'we will only adopt to a home with a fenced yard' thing, I don't think they'd be too strict on that. But Hammy DOES need someone active. I haven't tried to jog with her, but I think that would be a good alternative to a fenced yard. You just have to always remember that her hunting instinct is STRONG. I literaly have to pull her inside when she trees a squirrel, because she'll just keep barking... And then for the next 3 days, she'll SPRINT to the base of teh tree every time we let her out to see if it's still there.

The wife and I have been fostering Hammy (aka Miss Hambone - the shelter names a LOT of dogs...) on and off for going on 6 months now. We recently found a home for 5 month old beagle/shepherd mix, "Rocket," and as soon as he was gone, Hammy came back into our lives. she's a sweet dog. Probably about 3 yrs old. Very active, but also not afraid to nap (a lot). She's just driving us nuts by wanting so much attention when we already have a dog at home. Honestly, I think she'd be a FANTASTIC hunting/tracking dog. she's definitely got some guard dog instinct (our neighbor nearly swallowed his cigarette the other day when he tried to sneak a smoke in his back yard and Hammy caught him), but is good with kids, and other dogs. I wouldn't trust her with a cat. She is totally house-trained, and has never chewed anything in our home. She knows some basic commands, and we're doing our best to reinforce sit, lay, stay, and come while we have her at our house. the only 'weird' thing about this dog is that she's afraid of tile/laminate floors. She slips, and gets nervous. Again, we're working with her on that by drawing her into our kitchen with food and attention. she does pull pretty badly on a leash, so we have her using a 'control collar,' which has helped. a "gentle leader" that corrects by pulling her snout might be even better, but we haven't had a chance to pick one up for her yet. www.secondhandmutts.org for more info, or PM me.

I think you underestimate the "cowboy" reaction. while most people will SAY they'll do something like this, the vast majority would never have the balls to actually do it. Big talk, and not a lot of follow-through. I'm with John on not abusing a carry permit, but I would consider pulling a gun to prevent myself from being robbed by someone with a knife - but don't shoot until they actually swing the knife at you. Everyone should familiarize themselves with the legal definition of self defense. It's not (legally) self defense when you respond with greater force. You have (arguably) asserted yourself as the aggressor by pulling a gun on a someone brandishing a knife. There's a fine line to walk. Don't use a gun until you are legitimately preventing severe bodily harm to yourself or someone else.

point taken. I guess it wouldn't be the first time a track had shut-out a trackday org. it also wouldn't be the first time that a track's website was wrong, or grossly out of date though. I do see that they updated it to say 2011, and that the dates posted are primarily weekends. suspicious indeed. NESBA did quite a few days at Putnam in 2010, including the SED I attended.

NESBA's schedule usually comes out in mid January. they USUALLY won't publish a date until the contract is returned. It's still 2010 - some tracks probably haven't even closed their books for the year yet.

I hadn't seen this until today - honestly, I'd like to talk to this prosecutor. From a practical standpoint, I understand his actions, but I don't have to like them. He's basically acknowledging that justice isn't blind. Like I said, I understand it, and, given his explanation, I might even agree with him - but I don't like it. I get the impression he doesn't either.

^ i think the bigger issue there is that nonpayment of child support; long enough to get you jail time, is a FELONY. ever try getting a job with a felony on your record? If you're lucky, the prison has a work program that will help you find a job as a janitor or a line-cook. I'm not saying you shouldn't punish people for nonpayment of child support, but to make it a felony only destroys their life, and pretty much ensures they'll never be able to pay what they owe. misdemeanor, 30 days in jail, and then eligible for parole would be nice. Maybe even less jail time, or none at all if they're currently employed and their supervisor at work is willing to testify that they show up on time, etc.

the $500 budget is kind of a joke anymore. how to fix engine knock: 3 spare motors. seriously, check out their photo albums on facebook. they had a picture series titled, "how to win LeMons with a Taurus SHO," and it was a picture of the 5 or 6 parts cars the team brought with them. Another team had a mustang engine in their SHO. i think LeMons has kind of morphed into a redneck engineering competition more than anything. Not that I consider that a bad thing - but there's no way in hell you can win anymore with the $500 budget (which doesn't include safety gear, tires, and brakes, IIRC) it would be a LOT of fun to have an OR team though. I'd be in for $100 or so just to crew and hang out.

hunting implies the possibility of failure. I only go deer killing.

I think you have to ask yourself why you're joining the military, regardless of the branch. If the answer is, "because I don't know what else to do..." Think it over. Hard. I've not enlisted, so my opinion is just that; my opinion. But I can't tell you how many people I went to high school with who went to college, didn't like that, so they dropped out and joined the military. I don't know of any who are still enlisted that didn't make it their first choice (i.e. knew they preferred military and never even applied to colleges) The fact is, your job in the military is to take orders. One of my HUGE pet peeves is people who join the army, and then bitch about being deployed, as if they were never told that deployment was a possibility when they enlisted. It's no different than teachers who complain about being paid shit - if you don't know and accept the parameters of the job you're pursuing, find something else. That said, I get it when military personnel disagree with the political agendas behind their deployment, and support their right to have (and voice) that opinion - but it's not an excuse to neglect your job duties. I have a friend who works for Bank of America. He rigidly disagrees with many of their lending practices ...but it's his job to follow them. If he felt that strongly, he could quit. The same should go for the military. You don't have to like or agree with the reason you're getting shipped to the sandbox; the fact is, your job is to do what you're told. Your life is potentially on the line EVERY DAY you're enlisted. Risk of death (for causes you may not agree with) is part of the gig. If you go in knowing that and accepting that, the military will be a much less confrontational experience for you.

Mastiffs are definitely strong, but they're also supposed to be pretty loyal and chilled out. I'm basing this purely on the reading I did several years ago, but I think they were used at orphanages, almost like sheep-dogs for the kids. The quote I liked was, "the only way a mastiff is going to hurt a child is if it sits down without realizing that a child has walked up behind it." But yeah, dogs are kind of ridiculous at times. My mutt's like 38 lbs. I wouldn't say he can pull me, but when he wants to stay and smell something, and I want to keep moving, he's like an anchor. when we get snow, i'm making my own 2-dog sled team. video will be taken.

yeah, the owner of the mutt hutt tested this particular pooch with one of her dobermans (she has 5), and they didn't get along so well... The biggest immediate challenge with this mastiff is going to be her leash manners... 170+ lbs. of dog would give me a run for my money. That's the main reason I wish I could foster her I think it would either make me want one, or never want a large breed

http://www.24hoursoflemons.com/ end of story.

I think the "hooligan" 250cc motard is the most appealing thus far, but that's just me. still cool of them to try.

awesome - thanks. It's just such a shame when owners fail their dogs... By all accounts, this dog has a great personality, she's just aggressive toward other dogs, and has bad leash manners. the latter should be easy enough to correct, but it will take someone strong enough to deal with her, and a fenced-in yard. I'm sure she could be trained to accept other dogs too, but that will take time and patience.

Your other two dogs listened pretty well when I met them. Better than the kids anyway! the puppy looks like a cute addition to the controlled chaos We're dangerously close to adding another dog as well...

My wife and I are as active as we can be with Secondhand Mutts - That's where we adopted our beagle mutt, and we've fostered about 6 of their rescue dogs over the past year or so. This morning they sent out a facebook message to all their volunteers and foster 'parents' with the following: "we need a home TODAY for a 2 yr old (female) English Mastiff. The problem is, the owners surrendering her have done a terrible job of socializing her with other dogs, so we need it to be a dog (and cat) free home, which eliminates pretty much 100% of our normal go-to people." The owners are sick of spending money on their dog (a-holes...), and are having her put down today if they can't place her in foster care. If you're willing to take on a 170 lbs house guest, this would be a hugely rewarding "project." I would actually jump at the chance to train such a massive dog, but we already have Hank at home, plus a foster dog that my wife has (finally) admitted we'll keep if he's not adopted by Christmas... Please email me at radakchr@yahoo.com if you or anyone you know can help out. If they need a couple of days, I could try and talk my wife into taking the Mastiff for a couple of days, and boarding our dogs at the Mutt Hutt during that time. Knowing the breed, Mastiffs are gentle giants, but they're kind of like body-builders with downs syndrome if they're not properly trained. Like I said, I'd love to help this dog myself as a "winter project," but it's just not possible for me any leads or help are appreciate. I'll post pictures if I can get some.

the constitution has been bastardized into "supporting" ideas it was never meant to address. Interstate carry? In 1787? there was virtually no such thing as interstate travel when the constitution was drafted. Furthermore, there was no highway, let alone a highway patrol to hassle people for carrying. It was a non-issue. EVERYONE owned a firearm, because they used it to hunt. Carrying wouldn't become common until the "wild west" era. The federal government has almost limitless power via the commerce clause. The framers never even considered a society where parts would be shipped from all over the world and assembled in one place; they were only familiar with a truly local economy. I challenge you to find ONE item in your house that's made from parts only created and assembled in Ohio. Everything that's not is (arguably) subject to regulation by the federal government under the commerce clause. Of course there are exceptions; the court won't allow the fed to pass a regulation that has a blatant legislative effect that the states could (and probably should) pass on their own. But that's for things like labor laws, marriage, driving regulations, etc.