New addition

Mary Worth returned to her comic strip after a 15 day absence.

Our family has new addition, a cockatiel named Janie. He was advertised on Craig's List as a female but he has the coloring of a male. So far he gets along well with Salvador, not so well with Edgar. I will post pictures soon.

We are thinking about giving Janie a different name. It was not his original name. The person we got him from acquired him when her brother put a birdcage outside to dry and Janie flew into it. This is the fifth story I've heard about a cockatiel just picking a person to live with. Unfortunately for Janie the person is allergic.

Janie did come with a lot of accessories that I'm trying to integrate into the surroundings.

Loki's training is going well. Today he pretty much ignored the little yapping dogs from across the street even though they were in our yard and one of them nipped at Loki's tail. He looked at the little nipper and then turned away to sniff around for something more interesting. The neighbor's dogs are becoming way too territorial.

I live in an all-male household.

Made it through

We just got rain and wind gusts but no power outage nor flooding. My family closer to the coast made it through but they do not have power. Last time I checked on them they did not sustain any damage to their homes but they have a lot of debris in their yards. I don't know if my mother's mobile home made it through undamaged.

The pets made it through. I think the birds were more upset about having their cage moved than the goings on outside.

Ms. Kitty's Kitty

When I saw this cartoon at Chron.com, it reminded me of a post about Ms. Kitty's cat, Maxie and dealing with his hunting instinct. Looks like a 6 or 7 point buck. At least she does not have to worry about field dressing Maxie's kills.

Speaking of adopted pets, two years ago today Loki went from being a foster dog with two unsuccessful adoptions under his collar to permanent member of the family. Right now, he is becoming one with the floor.

The Voice of the Shatner

I think the term, whisperer to describe a gifted animal behaviour expert has been a bit over-used. Perhaps, now a cliche. It inspired a few gags: Gila Monster whisperer, Whisperer whisperer, Ho whisperer. I drew the Gila Monster whisperer.

This weekend, I discovered that William Shatner's musical work has a very calming effect on the birds. Walter was playing selections from our music collection and transferring some of the songs to his phone. I own a CD of William Shatner's The Transformed Man. Salvador and Edgar would chatter, scream and bother each other while other songs played but as soon as Shatner's rendition of Mr. Tambourine Man played both birds calmed down and by the end of the song they were hunkered down on opposite ends of the shelf barely keeping their eyes open. Walter played other songs and the birds would start up again but they calmed down upon hearing Shatner's Lucy in the Sky. This experiment continued for another hour. Most songs would get them excited but the voice of the Shatner (that needed to be bold) calmed them down. Leonard Nimoy had a similar effect but not as pronounced as the Shatner.

I will try the experiment some more with other Shatner renditions from YouTube. He did a pretty cool rendition of Common People with Joe Jackson on the Conan O'Brien Show. I have an animated Star Trek mash-up featuring that song among my favorites on my YouTube channel. If the birds start squawking during Joe Jackson's singing part then it is safe to say that my birds have really interesting musical tastes.

I am glad that they have not added the Enzyte commercial to their whistling repertoire. I'm sure a quick search of YouTube will turn up video of a pet bird that has added that to their repertoire.

New digs

The birds have new digs. The cage is taller with an extra roof roost. The features I like are the seed catch and the bottom tray and floor slides out for easy cleaning. It's rare to find a slide out floor on a cage designed for smaller birds.

This evening we had a bit of a crisis when two perches got loose but I put them back. Salvador and Edgar seem to like the cage. Edgar especially likes the new height.

I have a new foster dog named Backpack. He is a lab mix. He's energetic and loves to play in water.

Pet Photo Friday

Loki hoping that Walter drops something edible. Loki did get to clean the plate after Walter ate.

It's hard to see in this photo but whenever Loki sleeps or lays his head on the ground the tip of his tongue always sticks out.

The eye with less than 20/20 vision is watching you!

Salvador and Edgar now act like a flock. Edgar follows Salvador in flight and attempts to either land on Salvador's back or as close to Salvador as he can get.

Edgar the daredevil. Yes, that's a ceiling fan blade that Edgar has landed on and we are trying to discourage that behavior. Edgar has developed four interesting blue/purple dots on his neck.

Salvador preening while perching on top of the refrigerator. Salvador is standing next to Poop Off.

Loki, relax! Good dog!

Religion is a smile on a dog.

Friday

Brilliant idea, Marcus! I should do the same thing. I should put together an activity kit for social gatherings and market it to introverts to use while being forced to attend a social gathering.

Beetle, that's not casual, that's insane!

I can imagine what having a squirrel running around in my blouse and removing my bra feels like.
SPELLMAN! The asshole harassing Dr. Drew about his sex life is named Spellman. About damn time the guy got a name.
Those are not strawberries but peyote.

I thought I saw the light at the end of the tunnel in regards to the project, I dubbed the Infinite Project. Turns out it was a train. Things keep getting added to this damn project. I think I will qualify for retirement (time of service + age = 80; in my case 10 years + 38 years old = 48 subtract from 80 = 32 years until qualification for full retirement) before this project sees its first iteration. This project will require periodic updates.

I did not update my cartoon last night because I attended a long board meeting. There was a lot to cover. I could have updated after my dental appointment this morning but I decided I needed a nap instead. I have great teeth, the dentist said my teeth were fun to floss and my blood pressure was 115/ 52. Maybe my dentist needs to get out more - using flossing and fun in the same sentence. I admire him for finding joy in the small things.

Edgar is becoming more confident about leaving the cage. I let the birds out while I took my nap. Salvador perched on my upper arm (I usually sleep on my side). When I got out of bed I almost stepped on Edgar. He was on the floor in the hallway. He usually perches on the top of the cage or on some shelves. Fortunately, Edgar got away quickly.

During my nap I dreamt that both Edgar and Salvador were flying around outside. Edgar was flying and landing very well. Both of the birds landed among a group of wild birds. Then Salvador was picked up by a Great Blue Heron. That upset me. I sort of woke up to the sound of one of Salvador's chirps. I moved on to my back and Salvador moved on to my pillow. He is molting so when I left this afternoon there was a small pile of feathers on my pillow.

Parrot refuses to leave man's head

A Stockholm, Sweden, man was forced to get veterinary assistance when a mysterious parrot took up a position on his head and refused to budge. Catharina Nordin of Stockholm Police said the bird "came out of nowhere" Monday and attached itself to the head of the man, whose name was not released, The Local reported Tuesday. The man and his wife sought assistance from the local animal hospital after their own attempts at removing the bird from the man's head failed. It was unknown Tuesday whether the incident caused any injuries to the man or the bird.

Look at the Birdie!

I did not run this week. I took some time off from work to take care of family matters and rest. Instead of a running log I give you pictures of Edgar, our parakeet. He is learning how to fly. He wants to follow Salvador around but he does not have the flight feathers to do that yet.


I have a new foster dog. Abbey is in a new foster home. This foster only handles smaller dogs so moving Abbey in with her freed up my home for a larger dog that has been biding her time at one of the vets that help Woodstock. Right now her name is Precious but that will change. I'm leaning towards Aurora or Athena. She is a 40 pound, chocolate/ red lab mix with lots of energy. She and Loki have been playing all day. She needs to learn how not to jump on people. Both dogs are in the backyard playing. I brought them inside briefly but the play got a bit rambunctious so I sent them back outside. I'm told that Precious is great in a kennel. I will find out tonight.

My real life

I've lost my cartoon backlog because of real life. I have one cartoon ready to go. Family matters have taken up some of my time. Other parts of my time have been taken up by lack of interest in doing anything. I'll watch TV, surf the Internet or play games but I have very little interest in doing anything productive or needed. I picked up a book at a garage sale about time management and leveraging my time and bringing balance into my life but the book sits on the kitchen table. I don't feel like reading it. I have a small backlog of books and magazines to read.

I took some time time off from work. Give me a chance to do some things at a slower pace.

The local movie theater played their first showing of the Transformers movie at 8:00 pm Monday. Decided to go see it after we heard about the early showing on the radio while traveling back from Temple. Walter really needed over two hours of escapist entertainment. He got it and was quite happy.

Walter went back to Temple today and he will be back later tonight. The drive is a little over an hour. I might travel with him tomorrow.

I planned on doing a few things around the house but so far I've eaten breakfast with Walter, taken a nap, read e-mails, read a bit of a book, fed and dried off the dogs, and read other blogs.

The dogs are outside so that Salvador and Edgar can have some flight time. Edgar still cannot fully fly but he can eat in peace with Salvador out of the cage. Edgar is really showing quite a bit of personality. I think he misses Sal being out of the cage. Edgar has a lot of neat chirps and calls and has taught Salvador a few of them. In the morning and afternoon they sing and chirp as a duet. I need to get that on video.

The day is not over yet so I will try to do something around the house. Definitely, will post the one cartoon I have ready. Beyond that, who knows. Maybe a few days of laziness will recharge my batteries.

Pool Party and other things

The appearance of this comic has helped answer the real time vs. comic time question. Mary will attempt to set up Drew with Vera at the Charterstone pool party (whenever that happens). I will actually read Mary Worth this weekend. I normally confine my Mary Worth habit to 5 days a week but I will make an exception in anticipation of the big pool party. I run the risk of finding Mary Worth time much slower than I previously thought. I've have some deep breathing exercises and a punching bag ready in case the pool party does not happen this weekend.

I do have a real life. I will attend a real party in appreciation of the church's ministerial search committee this Sunday.

Also on the church front, we have neighbors that like to use the alley and our grounds to run their dune buggy. Three members and two police officers have spoken to them and they have not modified their behavior. I missed the service but I read that they ran their dune buggy up and down the alley during service. What happened to respecting other people's property and obeying the police?

Edgar has become more comfortable with his surroundings. He has joined Salvador in the morning chirp, shriek and whistle fest and he climbs in and out of the cage. He does not bite as hard. He perched on my thumb after I guided him from the floor back to the cage. His wing feathers have not grown out long enough for him to fly properly. Edgar has even intimidated Salvador enough to make him move from a perch. Funny that Sal lets a bird half his size intimidate him.

Collaboration

Walter and I are collaborating on a graphic novel. He's writing and doing layouts and I'm drawing, scanning and lettering. This is my first project with serious content. We collaborated on some funny projects during the first years of our marriage. This will be a challenge for me because the story requires a drawing style that I don't use very often. I have to sharpen some very rusty skills. I'm a bit worried about my ability to bring Walter's vision to life.

I need to draw some model sheets; something I haven't done in years.

We've decided on Edgar as the name for our new parakeet. He chirps and makes his own set of noises now. I think he has become comfortable with Salvador. Still trying to teach him to perch on one of our fingers.
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Royboy didn't look at his neighbor's paper, he stole in between panel 2 and 3. It's little mistakes like that, in which I don't want to make on this graphic novel. The advantage of drawing single panel comics is that one does not have to worry about continuity errors.

Leroy, never mock a woman carrying a crowbar.

Ah, poor Mary, she didn't really expect Dr. Jeff to actually fund raise. The fundraising bit was to ease Dr. Jeff's guilt about leaving those sick children without a doctor. Mary does not care about children, she just wants Dr. Jeff. But he's raising the funds and not paying attention to Mary. How will Mary put a stop to this?

Wow, Dr. Jeff has recovered nicely, even looks several years younger.

More on the new addition

Little bird has survived more than 48 hours, so he deserves a name. So far, Walter and I have come up with Edgar and Ficus. Edgar, after Edgar Allen Poe to stick with the arty theme for naming birds and Ficus because of his personality, so far.

One has to interact a lot with a parakeet to get them to display some personality. I'm trying to get Edgar/ Ficus used to my hand in the cage. Hopefully, he will associate my hand with food and realize that it is a good thing. Maybe he will also see how much fun Salvador has outside of the cage interacting with people and he will join in the fun. I will try not to rush things, let Edgar/ Ficus do things at his pace.

I need to take some pictures.

Running Log and New Addition

This week I ran 10.76 miles, burned 1332.5 calories and weigh 177.3 pounds.

Monday: 3.06 miles in 35:00
Wednesday: 3.10 miles in 35:00
Friday: 4.60 miles in 65:00

Next week I start my marathon training. I downloaded a training plan from Runnersworld.com. It is based upon my half-marathon time, current weekly mileage and how intense I want to train. I chose the hard option (mileage increases of 15% with a gradual pace increase). Only three runs a week (sometimes only 2) - it should be interesting.

We have added a parakeet to the family. Right now, he has been dubbed "little bird". He and Salvador are working things out and we are waiting for a bit more personality to emerge before he is formally named. Pictures will be posted soon. The little guy looks so tiny next to Salvador.