Bailout Schmailout

Thank god that the bailout plan fell apart. I'm glad that there is at least a few people in this government willing to step up and speak out against what is just a short term solution to a long term problem.

Don't get me wrong, I am feeling this 'recession' as much as everyone else in this country (more that I am in Michigan). But simply writing a check for $700 Billion doesn't sound like the right solution right now. According to the thestar.com (The Toronto Star), economists are predicting the deficit to reach a record $ 1 Trillion next year. So....I am thinking that the $700 Billion check might bounce. Currently, it is estimated that each American citizen is responsible for approx. $37,000.

Really?

The real problem is that no one, and that includes me, has any sort of suggestion on how to get out of this mess. Bush is right on one thing, we need to do something. But who's dumb ass idea was it to just cut a check? Hell, I'm surprised he didn't just say we were going to print more money.

The good thing is that this is NOT a depression. That word gets tossed around right now like people know how to use it. In the Great Depression, the unemployment for the ENTIRE country rose to around 25%. Right now, this country stands at 6.1%. That is just one example of how this country may be experiencing some bad times right now, but nowhere NEAR what our Grandparents went through. Makes you respect them a little more doesn't it?

And stop playing the blame game America. Granted our country revels in its history. But for the love of God, stop trying to blame someone (or something) for this problem we're in and get together and get us the hell out of it. I eventually want to sell my house one day. I want to retire. I want my kids to go to college. All of those things are in question at this point. I'm almost thankful that I don't make enough money to contribute to my 401K....cause what's the point? My mortgage is nearly unaffordable, we spend a car payment in gas every week, and we live paycheck to paycheck...probably like a lot of Americans.

However, I am as optimistic as the next guy. I am looking forward to getting out of this mess. But I worry that if they write this $700 Billion check, who gets the bill? Will my children's taxes be higher because of this? I just want the government to act responsible for once and get EVERYONE together and determine a solution. The white house economic advisers are smart. They wouldn't be there if they weren't. But consider the possibility of convening top economists from all parts of the country. Consider consulting with economists from around the WORLD. Maybe they have, I don't know. But it seems to me that if they did, SOMEONE could have came up with something better than writing a $700 Billion check that is going to bounce hard.

Pet Injuries

When considering a pet, especially a dog, take into consideration what you're getting into and the responsibilities that come with it. A recent event has brought that original decision to light.

Yesterday, a kind of overdraft Sunday, I surrendered to the long, wet grass as I tried to cut its four week growth. There hadn't been a weekend where I could get out and spend some quality time on it. After realizing that I was getting nowhere with the grass, I retreated inside to our TV-less house (the lamp on the LCD in the living room had gone out and the new one hadn't arrived). Realizing that the dogs were just about foaming at the mouth for something fun to do and now bored of the newly cleaned basement, I decided that it was time to visit the dog park again. It's a great dog park. Complete with a large, long lake, wooded runs, and plenty of friendly dogs. We hadn't gotten there that much this summer due to the wedding but both the dogs' ears still perked up when the word 'park' was uttered.

Making our way into the park, I was already dreading the first steps in as I wasn't sure that the water had all dried up after the long rain the previous weekend. However, stepping into the park, it was refreshing to see that the park hadn't taken on the water that I thought it would.

As soon as the gate opened, they were off. Gibson, barking and howling as if eight rabbits had just crossed his path and he was just inches from them, and Chiquita carefully sprinting to the edge of his comfort zone away from me. After a few moments of chaos, we settled in to our usual 'park' routine. As we rounded the corner, we ran into an old woman and her two old dogs. Sniffing and the usual greeting occurred as normal as Chiquita made his way quickly away from the other park dwellers towards the water. He bathed himself in the shallows and shook violently to make sure that ALL the lake water covered his body. Returning to the path and catching up with Gibson and I, he made one more shake in close proximity as if to notion, 'I'm wet, so you might as well be a little wet too'.

We moved pretty quickly to the southeast side of the park. Here, Chiquita was free to enjoy the makeshift beach as I continually threw stick after stick into the water for him to retrieve. Meanwhile, Gibson was free to roam and sniff as he liked without leaving site as the city had erected barriers in the park to ward off people and their dogs from the part of the park that was damaged in storms earlier in the summer. This day was a little stranger though as the wildlife around the area (squirrels, rabbits, etc.) were much more active then they had ever been since we had been coming there. Every so often, you would hear Gibson in the distance begin to bay as he gave small chase to one of the creatures who dared step foot on ground inside the park. A small pack of dogs would gather with him and give chase until the animal thought better of that decision and retreated to the safety of the trees or outside the fence.

As we got ready to leave the park, I became increasingly frustrated with these small chases as Gibson started to become slightly obsessed with catching one of these animals. He barked and bayed at the fence as if trying to challenge the small creatures to come in the park again to give him something to do. Ready to go, I was able to corner Gibson against the fence and get the leash hooked up to him. Seemingly ready to go, we headed for the exit to the park. And so it starts.

Rounding the corner towards the exit, Gibson's obsession had recessed. Being that I always think of the park as 'their' place, I released Gibson from the leash. The mistake that I made was not looking around to see if there were any dogs around that would divert his attention from Chiquita and I and our path toward the exit. Almost as quick as I got the leash of of Gibson, a new dog just making his first pass around the park darted past us and into the densely wooded area. Gibson, noticing the urgency that the dog had as he ran (and just because of his general curiosity with other dogs) darted off after him with great enthusiasm. Chiquita was not far behind them as they disappeared for a moment in the woods. I quietly made my way over to lean on a tree as I usually did. I love to just watch these guys run after each other in the park. One is always the chasee, and the rest act as the chasers in what I compare to a high speed game of tag. However, not long after I leaned myself up against the tree, I noticed that there was no dog acting as a chasee, but rather what looked like a squirrel. This really interested me as I knew that Gibson was a shoe in to catch the squirrel if it were to continue on the ground. But at this point, all I could do was hear Gibson and his cries of fury as he gave chase to the animal. I called out for him to come as I was eager to get home for lunch. Chiquita cam galloping up with a look on his face that said 'Omigod! You should have seen it. It was right there like it didn't know we were there'. But Gibson didn't come. And now, his barking and baying had stopped. I could see through the trees that he was moving around in the woods, but it wasn't until he got closer did I realize that something was seriously wrong. As I stepped closer to the woods, I could see that he was visibly limping. And this was no limp like he stung his foot on a stray branch. This was that kind of 'oh crap' kind of limp where a million scenarios run through your head that start from a boring vet's visit to the possibility of having to put the dog down.

I had to go into the woods to retrieve Gibson. I could see now that it was his right hind leg and that he was putting zero weight on it. And when I say zero weight, I mean like he figured the leg didn't exist anymore.

But we had been in this situation before, like many other dog owners, we had been through our fair share of small injuries that ranged from a sprained ankle to a pierced eyebrow. But this was visibly different. For no other reason, this was different because of the absence of any sort of show of pain. Gibson, like I mentioned, was acting as if I had magically cut off his leg and he was just going on without it, just dragging it around. The millions of thoughts that had just raced through my head were becoming more condensed as I recalled my uncle and the troubles that he has had with his dogs' legs. After a quick look-over and pain test of his leg, my best guess at that point was that he tore some sort of tendon or ligament in his leg and that this was a catastrophic injury.

Coming home, it was important that I not jump to conclusion about the leg. Both Audrey and I felt it best that we give it AT LEAST 24 hours to see what would happen and that maybe this wasn't as bad an injury as I was anticipating. In the morning, however, the whole scope of the injury changed.

Just after 7am, as I was getting my things in order to leave for work, I heard Gibson vomit n the bedroom. A little irritated to have to be the one to clean it, I gathered the brush and carpet soap and made my way to the bedroom. When I got there, I noticed not one, but two visible spots where Gibson had vomited on the carpet. Becoming increasingly irritated, I took both the dogs and put them outside so that I wouldn't have stray feet around as I cleaned the carpet. Returning to the bedroom, I decided that where there's two vomits, there might be more and made my way over to Gibson's 'sleeping quarters' where I discovered that he had vomited in his bed and slept in it that night. That is when I realized that something was terribly wrong.

I called Audrey on her way to work and explained the situation and that I thought it best to take him in to the vet. After a few quick calls to tie up loose ends at work and confirm the appointment for 9:30 that morning, I re-parked myself back on the couch and watched as Gibson hobbled off the couch and under the coffee table to vomit twice more. Trouble.

As the vet stepped in to the exam room, she immediately could tell from Gibby's limp that there wa the possibility of a catastrophic leg injury and after a few careful tests of the flexibility of the leg, she determined that Gibson had suffered a FULL ANTERIOR CRUCIATE LIGAMENT RUPTURE ON THE RIGHT HIND LEG. This was not good news to me nor Audrey as I phoned her the bad news. We are not rich people by any means and for all intents and purposed, we are just starting out as newlyweds. So to hear this news was a pretty big blow to us and we were both anticipating a long debate over our options.

Option #1 (~$200): Do nothing. Gibson would have to be caged for 4 - 6 weeks with only the possibility to go outside to do his business. The leg would eventually begin to develop scar tissue in place of the ligament but never replace it. The leg would regain some use, but Gibson would always have a 'lame' leg and walk with a limp.

Option #2 (~$1200): Surgery. Gibson would undergo ligament repair surgery to reattach the ligament to the bone using fishing wire. The scar tissue would then develop around that fishing wire (which will eventually fail) and reattach itself to the bone, developing a new ligament in place of the old. The leg will have to be vigorously rehabilitated, but will restore itself to nearly 100%.

This is where the story turns philosophical. Following the presentation of options, a debate over then soon followed. Save who was for what, the debate was, at heart, how much was the dog worth. The problem with the debate was that both sides were somewhat right. On one side, there was argument that the dog was just that...a dog. And that being that it's just a dog, that our situation didn't permit such a great expenditure. On the other side was the argument for compassion. That although the dog was just a dog, that it was our responsibility of owners to do all we could to ensure our pet was healthy. A compromise would be impossible to reach.

After about a ten minute conversation, the decision was reached to go with option #2. Though money is tight at the moment, we decided that we couldn't very well not take advantage of the modernity of veterinary medicine and repair the leg.

So Gibson's initial exam came and went and we are now getting ready to schedule the surgery.

So through it all, and this very long story, it's time to pose the question of the morals and ethics of pet injuries. Where is the line drawn? It's impossible to compare this to a child as the decision would be a no-brainer. But what about your pet? How far do you stretch your finances to ensure that your pet lives their lives to the fullest?

I'm up tonight wrestling with these questions as Chiquita lays his head on my hands begging for my attention and Gibson rests on a blanket made by my mother for (what he thinks) him.

I love my dogs as just that...dogs. But the line that differentiates them from human to pet is being closed in on as we toss back and forth with our decision to move forward with the surgery.

Stay tuned for updates.

Mobile Wallpapers Now Available!

Through some overtime and extra work from home, I have been able to take advantage of my knowledge of, and partnership, with WirelessDeveloper Agency to bring you EXCLUSIVE mobile wallpapers.

In my spare time and with the contract that I signed with WDA, I am able to provide those that are interested with mobile wallpapers of Gibson, our Beagle, and some beautiful black and white photos of the Grand River in Lansing.

I am WELL aware that these wallpapers may not be for everyone, but take a look and see if any of them are of interest. If you are a T-Mobile customer, you can find a wallpaper of mine in the T-Zone store under the Pets category.

For those that prefer to use SMS, you can access the Mid-Michigan All-Stars mobile store by texting MMAS to 32852.

Tina Fey as Sarah Palin

We all knew this was coming. But her impression of Sarah Palin is near-perfect. Not to mention that she has an uncanny resemblance to her.

Check it out.

Unnecessary Censorship

Unnecessary Censorship Sesame Street Edition - Watch more free videos

OMG! Thought this was too funny as well.

Disney Pixar Short "Presto"

Thought this was super funny. maybe a bit too cute for me, but nonetheless, the bunny's expressions are priceless.

Wedding Photos

They have finally arrived! Here are my five favorites so far. Angie did a wonderful job that day considering how hot it was. You can't even tell that we were sweating like hogs.

Like I mentioned before, if there is anyone out there getting married and in need of a great photographer with some truly inventive ideas, check Angie out at http://angie-baan.com

These are just the photos that were posted on the website of the photography company that we went from. We are also expecting to receive all of our digital negatives in the mail sometime soon. With the high-res images, it will be fun to play with them in photoshop. I am hoping that they send me the .RAW files straight from Angie's camera, but those are pretty high hopes. Anyways, I just hope they send them in some sort of lossless format other than JPEG. But I am guessing that is how they will come. I think that I am going to put in a phone call if they come as JPEG and see about getting them resent in a better format.

My wife is absolutely gorgeous in these pictures. It was an incredible day.