Finally had a chance and the motivation to head out to the practice field for some running dogwalk practice. This is my first ever try with the stride regulator that Rosanne recommended to me at the seminar last week. It worked a treat, he was 6/6 though the video only shows the first 3 reps because the battery died.
I didn't push my luck and remove the stride regulator this practice session because I have a trial this weekend and a snowstorm coming tomorrow so no other chances to practice and I wanted to end with success. I'm also debating whether or not to fade it at all. My training partner always puts stride regulators on the A-frame for her dog, the only time he doesn't see them is at a trial. He's got a beautiful running A-frame and in several years of competition I think has missed only 1. There's a certain logic to leaving it up all the time. For now I think I'm going to use it every practice until the mid-January USDAA trial and see how he does at the trial. Nothing to lose at this point really. If the behavior holds up in the ring I'll continue with it, if not I'll work on fading it. I'll probably test him without it once or twice at course run-throughs between now and the Jan. trial but I'm going to try to set up the regulator at most course run-throughs as well.
I'm not thrilled about using a prop but I'm out of things to try and preliminary results are promising so we'll see what happens with this experiment.
I put the A-frame up to USDAA height and he had a few misses so I'll have to work on that as well for the next few weeks. His A-frame was perfect at the seminar and it was USDAA height so no feedback for that. I think I just need to reward the successes and stop the sequences when he misses same as I've been doing. His A-frame is back to being very reliable so I'm not too worried about that.
Worked some teeters and weaves as well to sharpen him up a bit for the weekend. Also did some easy Ketschker work with jumps. I had a handling practice session with my training partner yesterday and Strum and I were struggling with the Ketschker, mostly with him refusing to take the jump so I worked with just one jump then 2 with me stationary with back to jump. It wasn't until I added motion and turned into him to get into position for the Ketschker that he started refusing again mostly because he was too focused on his toy. But we worked through it and he finally got it. Definitely not something I'm ready to use in a trial but I can see how useful it'll be once we get a handle on it. No good places for practicing blind crosses yesterday, we'll see if there's a good place to use one during the trial.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Blue Skies on the Blue Sky Trail
Another miserable day out biking on the trails.
Sun and dry trails and shorts weather, life is rough I tell you.
Colorado sucks.
Sun and dry trails and shorts weather, life is rough I tell you.
Colorado sucks.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
The Epitome of Poor Planning
4 pack roll of toilet paper from local Whole Foods: $3.00
Not having to go to Target on Black Friday: Priceless
Not having to go to Target on Black Friday: Priceless
Thursday, November 24, 2011
My dog ate my Chocolate Crack Pie Recipe
StrumMER! This is a common refrain at my house.
It wouldn't be the holidays without Chocolate Crack Pie and it's also one of the very few things I can make that people like. In fact Jonny went riding with someone yesterday who asked him if I would be making Chocolate Crack Pie this year. So when a friend invited us over for Thanksgiving I said I would bring it even though she didn't request dessert. Because you can never have too many desserts and if I make the pie for everybody I can have a piece and not have a whole pie sitting around my house for weeks, er, days, er, maybe 2 days if we're lucky.
I made the pie part yesterday because it needs to congeal in the fridge and left the recipe sitting out for today so I could make the mascarpone whipped cream topping. Unfortunately I had drizzled melted butter on it because I'm kind of, well, very messy when I cook. And that Strummer, he doesn't miss a trick and even though I'm careful not to leave food on the counter it never crossed my mind that a piece of paper drizzled with butter was a delicacy if you're a goat of a Border Collie. He was careful to eat only the part that had butter on it but this was not helpful to me.
I thought that maybe this would be the last ever Chocolate Crack Pie. I scoured my hard drive for the recipe to no avail. I had to dig out the external hard drive for my old computers and dig through various file directory systems until I finally found it, of course in the very last possible location. Naughty naughty dog, always causing me so much extra work.
I denies it.
Happy Thanksgiving to all. Hopefully your dogs aren't as naughty as mine.
It wouldn't be the holidays without Chocolate Crack Pie and it's also one of the very few things I can make that people like. In fact Jonny went riding with someone yesterday who asked him if I would be making Chocolate Crack Pie this year. So when a friend invited us over for Thanksgiving I said I would bring it even though she didn't request dessert. Because you can never have too many desserts and if I make the pie for everybody I can have a piece and not have a whole pie sitting around my house for weeks, er, days, er, maybe 2 days if we're lucky.
I made the pie part yesterday because it needs to congeal in the fridge and left the recipe sitting out for today so I could make the mascarpone whipped cream topping. Unfortunately I had drizzled melted butter on it because I'm kind of, well, very messy when I cook. And that Strummer, he doesn't miss a trick and even though I'm careful not to leave food on the counter it never crossed my mind that a piece of paper drizzled with butter was a delicacy if you're a goat of a Border Collie. He was careful to eat only the part that had butter on it but this was not helpful to me.
I thought that maybe this would be the last ever Chocolate Crack Pie. I scoured my hard drive for the recipe to no avail. I had to dig out the external hard drive for my old computers and dig through various file directory systems until I finally found it, of course in the very last possible location. Naughty naughty dog, always causing me so much extra work.
I denies it.
Happy Thanksgiving to all. Hopefully your dogs aren't as naughty as mine.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Rosanne DeMascio Seminar
Strum and I had a fun 3 days but now I'm very tired. Saturday we had a Running Contact session then a full day of Masters Handling on Sunday and a full day of International Handling on Monday. Lots of running, lots of new handling stuff and an idea for moving forward with the dogwalk. I don't have any video, was planning on asking people to shoot at least a few sequences but kept forgetting about it or remembered too close to my turn.
Lots of international flavor to the courses, even the novice/advanced folks had some back sides of jumps if I remember correctly. It turns out it's not really a hard skill to learn and Strum and I have been getting better at it with practice. We practiced all sorts of scenarios with back sides of jumps and I feel a lot more comfortable with them now and I have exercises for practicing the basic skills for them, especially sending through a gap. I also did a lot more running backwards then I'm used to for handling threadles, wraps, pulling through a gap. And the blind crosses! I do them occasionally after tunnels, the A-frame, weave poles but pretty much never after jumps. But wow, what a useful skill for certain scenarios and so easy and natural to learn. Wish I'd had that skill for some of those courses at DOCNA Champs. Will be fun to try them out at the upcoming DOCNA trial if the course calls for them.
I also learned how to use a Ketschker turn to handle a wrap. When Marco Mouwen was here a million years ago he taught them to us and everybody was freaking out. Nobody was terribly enthusiastic about the idea of sending their dog behind them and I never saw anybody do it at a trial. It was back when I was running Cody and it turned out Cody was the one dog at the seminar that naturally did really well with it but aside from a 180 degree turn we didn't learn very many scenarios to use it and I never did see a use for it at a trial. But it turns out to be a handy thing for handling certain types of wrap scenarios and Strummer picked it up fairly easily which was surprising because generally if I face him too soon it's too much collection and he'll refuse the jump he's headed for. But he did well with it at the seminar. Will have to practice that one a bit more before trotting it out at a trial.
Another handy little thing I learned was calling his name before a straight tunnel to alert him to a tight turn coming out. At first I was skeptical about this because we already have a problem with very late commitment to tunnels and I was certain that calling his name would pull him off. But surprisingly this turned out to work well for him. I do sometimes call his name before he takes off for a jump to indicate a tight turn or convergence so it does sort of make sense that it should work and it's a consistent use of my cues.
And finally the dogwalk. My next move for the dogwalk is the dreaded stride regulator. I've been considering it and rejecting the idea for years now partly because I don't want to have to fade a prop but mostly because I wasn't sure where to put it. But Strummer was doing his extend and leap move at the seminar so Rosanne was able to see where it should go and showed me where to put it. It worked great at the seminar though, we'll see how he does out at the field and if it'll transfer to the ring.
Lots of running this weekend which was fun for me. I've been watching some European handlers on YouTube and puzzling how it is that they run so quickly and aggressively on such technical courses that you would think would require a lot of collection but now I'm starting to understand. I was tired by the end of each day and had to quit one exercise early both days. We covered a lot of ground each day and I feel like I've got more than enough to work on for the next few months. Rosanne was a great instructor, explained everything very clearly and had several different handling options for most of the handling challenges. Was interesting to see myself as well as the others in the class able to handle such difficult stuff without a huge amount of struggle. The handling seemed to come naturally without too much brain drain or over thinking, just going out there and doing. Very fun. The other attendees liked her as well, I woke up to a lot of positive feedback in my email box this morning.
And at the end of the seminar I was surprised to find out that the club was giving me vouchers for organizing the seminar, something I wasn't expecting at all and I was even more surprised at how generously they paid me. It amounted to several whole trial entries, tournaments and all! I was so excited about that. I may even be able to afford to go to Regionals now if we can qualify in time since I won't have to pay for trial entries for several months.
Normal people's normal dogs are tired after a seminar with lots of running. Strummer had a relatively quiet morning then decided a run around the yard with his watering can was in order.
What is this 'Rest Day'?
He may not need one but I do. No agility until at least the weekend or maybe even next week. I didn't make it to masters today either. I wish a couple full days of agility were not so exhausting.
Lots of international flavor to the courses, even the novice/advanced folks had some back sides of jumps if I remember correctly. It turns out it's not really a hard skill to learn and Strum and I have been getting better at it with practice. We practiced all sorts of scenarios with back sides of jumps and I feel a lot more comfortable with them now and I have exercises for practicing the basic skills for them, especially sending through a gap. I also did a lot more running backwards then I'm used to for handling threadles, wraps, pulling through a gap. And the blind crosses! I do them occasionally after tunnels, the A-frame, weave poles but pretty much never after jumps. But wow, what a useful skill for certain scenarios and so easy and natural to learn. Wish I'd had that skill for some of those courses at DOCNA Champs. Will be fun to try them out at the upcoming DOCNA trial if the course calls for them.
I also learned how to use a Ketschker turn to handle a wrap. When Marco Mouwen was here a million years ago he taught them to us and everybody was freaking out. Nobody was terribly enthusiastic about the idea of sending their dog behind them and I never saw anybody do it at a trial. It was back when I was running Cody and it turned out Cody was the one dog at the seminar that naturally did really well with it but aside from a 180 degree turn we didn't learn very many scenarios to use it and I never did see a use for it at a trial. But it turns out to be a handy thing for handling certain types of wrap scenarios and Strummer picked it up fairly easily which was surprising because generally if I face him too soon it's too much collection and he'll refuse the jump he's headed for. But he did well with it at the seminar. Will have to practice that one a bit more before trotting it out at a trial.
Another handy little thing I learned was calling his name before a straight tunnel to alert him to a tight turn coming out. At first I was skeptical about this because we already have a problem with very late commitment to tunnels and I was certain that calling his name would pull him off. But surprisingly this turned out to work well for him. I do sometimes call his name before he takes off for a jump to indicate a tight turn or convergence so it does sort of make sense that it should work and it's a consistent use of my cues.
And finally the dogwalk. My next move for the dogwalk is the dreaded stride regulator. I've been considering it and rejecting the idea for years now partly because I don't want to have to fade a prop but mostly because I wasn't sure where to put it. But Strummer was doing his extend and leap move at the seminar so Rosanne was able to see where it should go and showed me where to put it. It worked great at the seminar though, we'll see how he does out at the field and if it'll transfer to the ring.
Lots of running this weekend which was fun for me. I've been watching some European handlers on YouTube and puzzling how it is that they run so quickly and aggressively on such technical courses that you would think would require a lot of collection but now I'm starting to understand. I was tired by the end of each day and had to quit one exercise early both days. We covered a lot of ground each day and I feel like I've got more than enough to work on for the next few months. Rosanne was a great instructor, explained everything very clearly and had several different handling options for most of the handling challenges. Was interesting to see myself as well as the others in the class able to handle such difficult stuff without a huge amount of struggle. The handling seemed to come naturally without too much brain drain or over thinking, just going out there and doing. Very fun. The other attendees liked her as well, I woke up to a lot of positive feedback in my email box this morning.
And at the end of the seminar I was surprised to find out that the club was giving me vouchers for organizing the seminar, something I wasn't expecting at all and I was even more surprised at how generously they paid me. It amounted to several whole trial entries, tournaments and all! I was so excited about that. I may even be able to afford to go to Regionals now if we can qualify in time since I won't have to pay for trial entries for several months.
Normal people's normal dogs are tired after a seminar with lots of running. Strummer had a relatively quiet morning then decided a run around the yard with his watering can was in order.
What is this 'Rest Day'?
He may not need one but I do. No agility until at least the weekend or maybe even next week. I didn't make it to masters today either. I wish a couple full days of agility were not so exhausting.
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Fun With Seminars
I somehow ended up in charge of the yearly seminar for one of the agility clubs I belong to because I made the critical mistake of going to a club meeting and not understanding how they work. So when somebody said that I should be in charge of the next year's seminar in a half joking tone I figured everybody would forget about it by the next meeting and as long as I didn't go to any more meetings I'd be safe. Now here's where you agility club meeting neophytes should perk up and pay attention and learn from my mistakes-it turns out they take notes at these meetings. So imagine my surprise when several months later someone from the club emailed me offering to help me with the seminar. On the one hand this was just what I needed to take on (what is the internet convention for indicating sarcasm?). On the other hand there are certain advantages to being in charge. For one I got to pick the presenter. For another I get to attend for free. And how hard can this be? I somehow ended up in charge of putting on punk rock shows back in college and I was thinking that if I can deal with folks from the music industry I can deal with the dog agility folks. I once had to stare down and remove a hostile football player suffering from roid rage or mental instability or something plus his psycho little accomplice because they were using the mosh pit as an excuse to beat the crap out of everyone with the misfortune to come within punching distance. But knowledge is power and someone told me the football player had been arrested the previous week for wrapping some guy around a railing at a hotdog stand and this was not his first assault. In fact he'd been in trouble so many times that the professional football team that had hired him to play the following fall had threatened to cut him if he had but one more incident. And despite his dearth of brain cells and overabundance of testosterone he was able to do the math (just) and decided that maybe assaulting a puny little female engineering student was not worth his multi-million dollar NFL career. Then there was the girl with Borderline Personality Disorder who would try to insert herself into the operation with the sole purpose of sabotaging things and I had a hard time explaining to people why we couldn't let her 'help' because for those unfamiliar with Borderlines they are very charismatic and manipulative and nobody would believe me that she was going to be a problem. Until she was a problem, then they believed me.
Anyway, I figured that a dog agility seminar would be a piece of cake compared to all the meatheads and drama of the music world and let's not even get into the sleazy band managers and roadies never mind the bands themselves who often ended up staying at my house as if I already didn't have enough disruption to my life (though admittedly I did meet some interesting people). And so far I was right. I picked Rosanne Demascio for the instructor and she's been really easy to work with and other club members have been very helpful with telling me what I need to do and helping coordinate things. Of course there may be unanticipated things that happen on the day but so far everything is set and organized and I don't anticipate any big issues. The seminar filled except for the Novice/Advanced Handling class but the club was committed to offering such a class so not much I could do about that. There's also an AKC trial and another seminar going on the same weekend and I couldn't do anything about that either because the club has the same dates every year for the arena. It's very hard to rent space in this particular arena so we take whatever dates we can get. It's a very nice facility too, has heat and bathrooms with running hot water.
I'm excited to finally have some instruction. I haven't had a lesson since the Mary Ellen Barry/Jennifer Crank seminar last February. My training partner has been an invaluable set of eyes and has helped me a lot but it's nice to have some instruction and a fresh set of eyes every once in a while. I've signed up for a day of Masters Handling, a day of International Handling and a 2 hour running contact session. This turned out to be one of the most popular sessions next to the Foundation session. I'm hoping I can get some ideas for what to try next. I'm somewhat at a loss at the moment and feel like I'm beating my head against the wall. No matter what I try I can't seem to get past the 70% accuracy mark and I've lost a lot of Standard Q's to the dogwalk. Also I'd like to qualify for USDAA Nationals in the Grand Prix and I'd hate to miss Q's for the dogswalk. I'm willing to put the work in to break through that barrier but at this point I'm not sure what that work should be.
In other news I was in a swim meet and had a lot of fun and did not embarrass myself and had another mountain biking lesson but I guess those stories will have to wait for another day.
In the meantime I think someone is excited about the weekend.
Anyway, I figured that a dog agility seminar would be a piece of cake compared to all the meatheads and drama of the music world and let's not even get into the sleazy band managers and roadies never mind the bands themselves who often ended up staying at my house as if I already didn't have enough disruption to my life (though admittedly I did meet some interesting people). And so far I was right. I picked Rosanne Demascio for the instructor and she's been really easy to work with and other club members have been very helpful with telling me what I need to do and helping coordinate things. Of course there may be unanticipated things that happen on the day but so far everything is set and organized and I don't anticipate any big issues. The seminar filled except for the Novice/Advanced Handling class but the club was committed to offering such a class so not much I could do about that. There's also an AKC trial and another seminar going on the same weekend and I couldn't do anything about that either because the club has the same dates every year for the arena. It's very hard to rent space in this particular arena so we take whatever dates we can get. It's a very nice facility too, has heat and bathrooms with running hot water.
I'm excited to finally have some instruction. I haven't had a lesson since the Mary Ellen Barry/Jennifer Crank seminar last February. My training partner has been an invaluable set of eyes and has helped me a lot but it's nice to have some instruction and a fresh set of eyes every once in a while. I've signed up for a day of Masters Handling, a day of International Handling and a 2 hour running contact session. This turned out to be one of the most popular sessions next to the Foundation session. I'm hoping I can get some ideas for what to try next. I'm somewhat at a loss at the moment and feel like I'm beating my head against the wall. No matter what I try I can't seem to get past the 70% accuracy mark and I've lost a lot of Standard Q's to the dogwalk. Also I'd like to qualify for USDAA Nationals in the Grand Prix and I'd hate to miss Q's for the dogswalk. I'm willing to put the work in to break through that barrier but at this point I'm not sure what that work should be.
In other news I was in a swim meet and had a lot of fun and did not embarrass myself and had another mountain biking lesson but I guess those stories will have to wait for another day.
In the meantime I think someone is excited about the weekend.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Career Opportunities
You are getting sleepy.
No I'm not!
Yes you are.
O.k., I guess I am.
Because as of last June I am officially a Certified Consulting Hypnotherapist with the National Guild of Hypnotists. I had to pass an exam and everything. It probably seems an odd career leap, Professional Structural Engineer to Hypnotherapist but when I was an undergrad studying engineering I was interested in psychology and took every class I could that didn't require the lab class prerequisite. Because that class made you electric shock animals and since Animal Rights movements/protests were starting to become popular back then they even warned you up front that you had to shock the animals, there was no other way to complete the course work. So if you wanted a psychology degree from the University of Illinois back in the mid-80's you had to be willing to pull the switch on the lab animals and I was so not o.k. with that. I also wasn't interested in pursuing a career where that was a common method of 'research'. Plus if you've ever taken a psychology course, yikes, the experiments they did were the stuff of horror movies. I couldn't fathom the sort of twisted minds who thought them up and didn't want any part of it really.
But I have a friend in Chicago whose wife is a hypnotherapist (as well as massage therapist for the Chicago Bears) and after talking to her I decided that that's what I have to do with the rest of my life. Because the construction industry is getting worse rather than better and predictions are for even more decline. And to be honest I was getting a little burnt out. It wasn't so bad that I was looking to change careers but so far I love my new one. Hypnotherapy is very fun and I love helping people. I'm not so thrilled with having to start my own business, never was one of those folks who dreamed of being an entrepreneur and I knew it would be a lot of work but most hypnotherapists work for themselves so that's how it goes. There's a lot to learn about running a business and marketing but I'm soaking up all I can and experimenting with different things to see what's effective. I get a little more business each month and hopefully one day enough to pay my mortgage.
In addition to my regular certification course I took a specialty course in Sports Hypnosis and I'm working on creating a little niche for myself in that area. Lots of athletes in Boulder. I even wrote an article on using hypnosis for mental management in agility for Clean Run that is supposed to run in January so keep your eyes peeled for that.
I'm also looking into doing medical type stuff, chronic pain relief, IBS, Fybromyalgia, etc. The specialized training is expensive but it sounds really interesting and how cool would it be to help people with those sorts of issues?
Creating my own website has been an adventure in itself. Like I said in a previous post, if you're looking to start a website do not let some well meaning (or perhaps evil meaning) friend convince you that Wordpress is easy, especially if you're not familiar with the jargon of website design. It still needs a lot of work and a lot more content but this is what I have so far:
http://www.newdayrisinghypno.com/
I need a more professional looking photo and a lot more content but so far it's bringing in the bulk of my business.
The one nice thing about being the boss is that I get to pick my office location and I found a place 2.8 miles/9 mins. from home. I'm in a chiropractor's office and there is also a naturopath, massage therapist, acupuncturist, etc. I've also got Skype set up because I've already got one potential client who lives a couple of hours away. Lots of hours spent figuring all this stuff out but at some point it'll all pay off.
No I'm not!
Yes you are.
O.k., I guess I am.
Because as of last June I am officially a Certified Consulting Hypnotherapist with the National Guild of Hypnotists. I had to pass an exam and everything. It probably seems an odd career leap, Professional Structural Engineer to Hypnotherapist but when I was an undergrad studying engineering I was interested in psychology and took every class I could that didn't require the lab class prerequisite. Because that class made you electric shock animals and since Animal Rights movements/protests were starting to become popular back then they even warned you up front that you had to shock the animals, there was no other way to complete the course work. So if you wanted a psychology degree from the University of Illinois back in the mid-80's you had to be willing to pull the switch on the lab animals and I was so not o.k. with that. I also wasn't interested in pursuing a career where that was a common method of 'research'. Plus if you've ever taken a psychology course, yikes, the experiments they did were the stuff of horror movies. I couldn't fathom the sort of twisted minds who thought them up and didn't want any part of it really.
But I have a friend in Chicago whose wife is a hypnotherapist (as well as massage therapist for the Chicago Bears) and after talking to her I decided that that's what I have to do with the rest of my life. Because the construction industry is getting worse rather than better and predictions are for even more decline. And to be honest I was getting a little burnt out. It wasn't so bad that I was looking to change careers but so far I love my new one. Hypnotherapy is very fun and I love helping people. I'm not so thrilled with having to start my own business, never was one of those folks who dreamed of being an entrepreneur and I knew it would be a lot of work but most hypnotherapists work for themselves so that's how it goes. There's a lot to learn about running a business and marketing but I'm soaking up all I can and experimenting with different things to see what's effective. I get a little more business each month and hopefully one day enough to pay my mortgage.
In addition to my regular certification course I took a specialty course in Sports Hypnosis and I'm working on creating a little niche for myself in that area. Lots of athletes in Boulder. I even wrote an article on using hypnosis for mental management in agility for Clean Run that is supposed to run in January so keep your eyes peeled for that.
I'm also looking into doing medical type stuff, chronic pain relief, IBS, Fybromyalgia, etc. The specialized training is expensive but it sounds really interesting and how cool would it be to help people with those sorts of issues?
Creating my own website has been an adventure in itself. Like I said in a previous post, if you're looking to start a website do not let some well meaning (or perhaps evil meaning) friend convince you that Wordpress is easy, especially if you're not familiar with the jargon of website design. It still needs a lot of work and a lot more content but this is what I have so far:
http://www.newdayrisinghypno.com/
I need a more professional looking photo and a lot more content but so far it's bringing in the bulk of my business.
The one nice thing about being the boss is that I get to pick my office location and I found a place 2.8 miles/9 mins. from home. I'm in a chiropractor's office and there is also a naturopath, massage therapist, acupuncturist, etc. I've also got Skype set up because I've already got one potential client who lives a couple of hours away. Lots of hours spent figuring all this stuff out but at some point it'll all pay off.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Crazy Dog Lady Pees Her Pants
Went over to the Lory Xterra website to see if they were taking registrations yet since the race sells out quickly and found out they've added a new race, Xterra Curt Gowdy. This race is in Curt Gowdy State Park up in Wyoming between Laramie and Cheyenne and I've heard nothing but rave reviews about how awesome the mountain bike trails are up there. They're somewhat newish, only a few years old and I haven't made my way up there yet but now I have a good excuse. So excited for this race. The drive is only 1 hour, 50 minutes which means I now have 4 local Xterra races to try to qualify for Nat's. even though I almost certainly won't go. Though I'll admit I've secretly been trying to convince myself I can do it, ie both Xterra and USDAA Nat's. only 2 days apart. Yeah, right, I know, I know. But I hit the trails on my bike today and it felt so good and I felt so sure I could somehow squeeze both in. I know when that race rolls around in Sept. I'm going to so want to be there. I even have a secret plan for how I'm going to make it all work. My impulse control is getting worse as I age.
And as if that isn't enough exciting news for one week I also found out that I now have a reason to live during the month of December, namely 'Merry Clash-mas', featuring the Nuns of Brixton (a Clash cover band that dresses up like nuns, Joe Strummer is smiling in his grave), The Shaloms (billed as 'The Jewish Ramones') and Coverage (a Descendents cover band). A concert with Clash, Ramones and Descendents cover bands-my brain is exploding from the awesomeness of it. Locals mark your calendars for Thurs., Dec. 22, Bluebird Theater in Denver. And if you aren't local then you still have plenty of time to buy your plane tickets. Ah the anticipation, I'm going to feel like a little kid at, well, Clash-mas.
Skanking Nuns! Everybody get your dancing shoes on.
And as if that isn't enough exciting news for one week I also found out that I now have a reason to live during the month of December, namely 'Merry Clash-mas', featuring the Nuns of Brixton (a Clash cover band that dresses up like nuns, Joe Strummer is smiling in his grave), The Shaloms (billed as 'The Jewish Ramones') and Coverage (a Descendents cover band). A concert with Clash, Ramones and Descendents cover bands-my brain is exploding from the awesomeness of it. Locals mark your calendars for Thurs., Dec. 22, Bluebird Theater in Denver. And if you aren't local then you still have plenty of time to buy your plane tickets. Ah the anticipation, I'm going to feel like a little kid at, well, Clash-mas.
Skanking Nuns! Everybody get your dancing shoes on.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Sundogs and Strumdogs at Walker Ranch
Jonny had the day off so we went for a hike at Walker Ranch. Normally it's a popular mountain biking trail but there was still some snow and ice on the shady parts of the trail and we didn't see a single biker or hardly any people for that matter. We were greeted at the trail head by some spectacular sundogs.
One of these days I'll figure out how to photograph them. My cheapo point and shoot was struggling.
We took Strummer along but sometimes I wonder how much he enjoys hiking with the both of us. If we drift too far apart he breaks out in stress dander. Other things cause it too while we're hiking though I could only guess at what. He's such a worrier sometimes.
But he's not like that the whole hike and I'm sure he enjoys it for the most part.
Throw the pine cone and all will be o.k.
We hiked for 2.6 miles to an upper parking lot that had a nice viewpoint then called it a day and headed back.
It's times like this I really wish I had Photoshop. Or some dog pants.
South Boulder Creek
Another sundog at the end of our hike. Had a beautiful photo of it next to a peak but it didn't come out at all, was just a white blob so this will have to do.
Tomorrow I have agility practice in the a.m. with my training partner then a swim meet in the afternoon. I only agreed to the swim meet because of peer pressure and the gathering at Southern Sun afterwards. Because apparently I'll suffer any indignity for an avocado veggie burger and fries with my masters lane mates.
One of these days I'll figure out how to photograph them. My cheapo point and shoot was struggling.
We took Strummer along but sometimes I wonder how much he enjoys hiking with the both of us. If we drift too far apart he breaks out in stress dander. Other things cause it too while we're hiking though I could only guess at what. He's such a worrier sometimes.
But he's not like that the whole hike and I'm sure he enjoys it for the most part.
Throw the pine cone and all will be o.k.
We hiked for 2.6 miles to an upper parking lot that had a nice viewpoint then called it a day and headed back.
It's times like this I really wish I had Photoshop. Or some dog pants.
South Boulder Creek
Another sundog at the end of our hike. Had a beautiful photo of it next to a peak but it didn't come out at all, was just a white blob so this will have to do.
Tomorrow I have agility practice in the a.m. with my training partner then a swim meet in the afternoon. I only agreed to the swim meet because of peer pressure and the gathering at Southern Sun afterwards. Because apparently I'll suffer any indignity for an avocado veggie burger and fries with my masters lane mates.
Wednesday, November 09, 2011
USDAA Nationals a boon for DOCNA Champs?
At first when USDAA announced they were moving their Nationals to 3 days after DOCNA Champs I thought, 'Poor little DOCNA Champs just can't catch a break, kicked to the curb then stomped into the gutter.' But it turns out there are people out there who actually want to go to a trial before Nat's. Now I thought I'd go to DOCNA Champs because it's fun and 40 minutes away and I may as well if I'm not going to Xterra Nat's. and if I only enter a few classes it'll be a nice little warm-up. But then a local club proposed moving their USDAA trial that would normally be the week after Nat's. to the same weekend as DOCNA Champs. as a warm-up for USDAA Nat's. And people were all over it. Apparently a club in Phoenix did this one year and they were so overwhelmed they didn't do it again. Personally I think a 3 day trial with Team just 3 days before Nat's. is all kinds of crazy and I've got a high drive dog but I guess lots of people like the idea. In the end the club decided against it because they didn't want to deal with the potentially large crowd so I wonder if DOCNA Champs will get some folks coming into town early and looking for a chance to warm up for USDAA Nat's. or even some locals who dabble in DOCNA and normally wouldn't have gone to Champs? Could make for an interesting DOCNA Champs and possibly more than make up for the split with the AZ crowd. Will be interesting to see what happens and if DOCNA will try to market to the USDAA folks. If I was in charge I'd waive the qualifying requirement for people who had qualified for USDAA Nat's. since lots of areas in the country don't have DOCNA. People from other areas would have the opportunity to check out the venue and maybe somebody would like it enough to go back home and put on a trial or two. And it would be great to see some new competition at Champs. The agility plot thickens.
Tuesday, November 08, 2011
Dogs on NPR
There was an interesting interview with Mark Derr on NPR's Fresh Air about the evolution of dogs. Mark Derr had some great quotes, my favorite being, 'Dog's are nuts. They do crazy things'. I should check for spy cams at my house. But I also have to give him props for speaking about against breeding for defect:
"I'll say it bluntly, and it has to be said: Some of these breeds are incapable of giving birth without C-section. ... I think that it certainly is wrong to produce animals that aren't healthy. It's bad for the animal and bad for the people who take them into their homes and find out that this dog they love is going to die at a very young age because of an inheritable disease. ... We really should ask ourselves whether it is fair to the animal to do that. I am of the opinion that it's not."
This quote is the short version, he had more to say on breeding issues in the interview and sadly he acknowledged that saying these things had gotten him in trouble in the past. Because even more sadly speaking out against intentionally creating breeds of dogs with genetic diseases, deformities, orthopedic and breathing problems, etc. is controversial.
"I'll say it bluntly, and it has to be said: Some of these breeds are incapable of giving birth without C-section. ... I think that it certainly is wrong to produce animals that aren't healthy. It's bad for the animal and bad for the people who take them into their homes and find out that this dog they love is going to die at a very young age because of an inheritable disease. ... We really should ask ourselves whether it is fair to the animal to do that. I am of the opinion that it's not."
This quote is the short version, he had more to say on breeding issues in the interview and sadly he acknowledged that saying these things had gotten him in trouble in the past. Because even more sadly speaking out against intentionally creating breeds of dogs with genetic diseases, deformities, orthopedic and breathing problems, etc. is controversial.
SPOILED Dog
Indoor drop-ins started up last night at the Boulder County Fairgrounds, a nice heated arena just 18 minutes from my house. 18 minutes when it's not rush hour that is. After 10 minutes I found myself in a parking lot of traffic doing 10 minutes miles and happily would have turned around and headed back home at the first turn-off but for my little black and white friend who had started whining his head off as soon as we hit the highway for my little friend is a clever one and he knows all the routes that lead to agility. He was so excited, I couldn't tease him like that then deny him. So I endured the 35 minute drive of traffic and whining and 45 minutes of waiting around for our 90 seconds in the ring. Because it appears that my dog is totally spoiled. But he was so happy, was worth the $4 and 2 hours all told. Just.
Monday, November 07, 2011
Eye Candy Monday - Wonderland Lake
The high country is beautiful in the fall but the trails in my neighborhood are no slouches either. Took the little point and shoot on my daily dog walk around Wonderland Lake because the colors are mahvelous this time of year. I'm behind in my blogging, that week in Chicago with no internet set me back so these photos are from around Oct. 18.
Nice views of the Flatirons
Where the plains meet the start of the Rocky Mountains
Two snowstorms and several windy days later and the leaves are now brown and crunchy and mostly gone but it was nice while it lasted.
Piled on the clothes for a bike ride out on the dirt roads on the plains yesterday. Jonny laughed at me because I was wearing all my heaviest gear and as much layers as I could fit and still move but with temps. in the mid-40's and 20-30 mph winds I was happy for every layer. Sunny blue skies though and beautiful views of the dusting of snow still left on the hills, llamas, miniature horses, weird metal sculpture of a person with a pumpkin for a head, all kinds of cool stuff out there and I forgot to put a battery in my camera because I was so preoccupied with digging out my winter gear. Ah well, next time. 2 1/4 hours/21.5 miles of gloriousness on legs that felt stronger than I thought they would since I can't even begin to remember the last time I was on my bike. Been focusing on the running lately since that's my big weakness at the moment and the cool fall temps. are perfect for running. Had some agility practice too but I'll save that for another post.
Nice views of the Flatirons
Where the plains meet the start of the Rocky Mountains
Two snowstorms and several windy days later and the leaves are now brown and crunchy and mostly gone but it was nice while it lasted.
Piled on the clothes for a bike ride out on the dirt roads on the plains yesterday. Jonny laughed at me because I was wearing all my heaviest gear and as much layers as I could fit and still move but with temps. in the mid-40's and 20-30 mph winds I was happy for every layer. Sunny blue skies though and beautiful views of the dusting of snow still left on the hills, llamas, miniature horses, weird metal sculpture of a person with a pumpkin for a head, all kinds of cool stuff out there and I forgot to put a battery in my camera because I was so preoccupied with digging out my winter gear. Ah well, next time. 2 1/4 hours/21.5 miles of gloriousness on legs that felt stronger than I thought they would since I can't even begin to remember the last time I was on my bike. Been focusing on the running lately since that's my big weakness at the moment and the cool fall temps. are perfect for running. Had some agility practice too but I'll save that for another post.
Saturday, November 05, 2011
Shifting Goals-USDAA Throws Me Another Curve Ball
I was away from my computer most of the day yesterday so imagine my surprise to see a comment on my blog about a new date for the 2012 USDAA Nationals. I guess people were freaking out about the weather. Or something. Ironically according to a local meteorologist they've moved it to dates that actually have a higher chance of precipitation (14%-18% for the Sept. weekend vs. 12%-14% for the Oct. weekend). Admittedly these statistics are only slightly useful and the difference is probably negligible. However the temps. are likely to be warmer and if nothing else it eases people's fears which is perhaps more important than the reality of the situation because really it's probably 6 half a dozen which weekend they have it on as far as weather goes and if Sept. makes people feel better then I can see why they made the decision. I have to give USDAA credit for starting to listen more to competitors. I like the new kindler, gentler, more responsive USDAA and I'm feeling more likely to do more USDAA these days as a result.
However on a purely personal note they've moved Nationals to 3 days after Xterra Nationals in Utah. No matter how I do the math I can't see myself recovering from Xterra Nat's. in time for USDAA. Plus the 7 1/2 hour drive to and from UT, that will add to my required recovery time. Driving wears me out these days and for me that's a very long trip. Haven't driven that far in years. Plus it's difficult to gear up mentally for 2 such different, big deal events so close together. One of them has to go and I'm leaning towards Xterra Nat's. because USDAA is so close. And it's likely Strum's only opportunity to enter such a big event because I'm not willing to travel for USDAA Nat's. though maybe my mind will change depending on how the Denver event goes. But Strum is going to be 7 in March, hitting his prime really, and this is his time to go.
Before USDAA announced the date change I was already wavering a little on Xterra Nat's. anyway because I'd read some unpleasant things about the race in a couple of race reports, mostly stuff about competitors being rude and outright dangerous. Most triathletes are nice people, especially the folk doing the off-road tri's but apparently Nat's. attracts more of the over competitive assholes and I don't enjoy that sort of atmosphere. The mass start swim was a nightmare with the men in particular being really violent, kicking and punching and not only swimming over the backs of people but pushing and holding them under. Also there was a guy who started screaming at a woman who got off to walk a rocky part of the trail. She moved out of his way at a wide part but he came over to her and elbowed her hard. Then the same woman was elbowed by another woman near the finish line who was trying to prevent the first woman from passing her. I'm sorry but I have no patience for that sort of behavior and I don't want to spend the day racing with people like that. On the other hand the race reports were written by a pro and someone who is way younger and closer to the front of the pack than I would be so it's possible I wouldn't encounter such bad behavior further back in the pack.
Then there was the hoopla over Lance Armstrong which sounds like it was very annoying as I expected. But there's no guarantee he'd return. He didn't do so great for someone with an ego like his (finished 5th and 5 minutes behind the leader, his bike time was 5th as well) and he did even worse at Worlds (finished 23rd, 10 minutes behind the leader and 10th place on the bike, even got beat by some age-groupers, ie non-pro's) so maybe he's done with the Xterra lark. But who can say if he'll return next year? It's not a deal breaker but makes me feel not so bad about missing the race.
I'm a little irritated that USDAA moved Nat's. so close to DOCNA Champs. They're also the weekend before USDAA Nat's. I wish the venues would have a little more respect for each other. DOCNA has had those dates scheduled in Denver for at least 6 months, maybe longer, maybe even since last year. Ironically though this means I may actually enter a few runs of DOCNA Champs. since I won't be at Xterra Nat's. If I enter only the Jumpers/Standard runs and the North America Challenge it might make for a nice warm-up for USDAA. 2 runs on Friday, 3 runs on Sat. and 0-2 runs on Sun. (depending which if any Finals we made) wouldn't be so much that it would wear Strum out for USDAA Nat's. plus it's only 40-45 minutes away so we'd be home every day at a reasonable hour. Heck it would barely take the edge off of him.
The plan for now though is to try to qualify for everything and see what works out the best nearer the events. If Strum gets injured I have Xterra Nat's. to fall back on. If I'm good to go for both then it'll be USDAA. I feel fortunate to have so much fun stuff to choose from. What a great year for agility in the Denver area.
However on a purely personal note they've moved Nationals to 3 days after Xterra Nationals in Utah. No matter how I do the math I can't see myself recovering from Xterra Nat's. in time for USDAA. Plus the 7 1/2 hour drive to and from UT, that will add to my required recovery time. Driving wears me out these days and for me that's a very long trip. Haven't driven that far in years. Plus it's difficult to gear up mentally for 2 such different, big deal events so close together. One of them has to go and I'm leaning towards Xterra Nat's. because USDAA is so close. And it's likely Strum's only opportunity to enter such a big event because I'm not willing to travel for USDAA Nat's. though maybe my mind will change depending on how the Denver event goes. But Strum is going to be 7 in March, hitting his prime really, and this is his time to go.
Before USDAA announced the date change I was already wavering a little on Xterra Nat's. anyway because I'd read some unpleasant things about the race in a couple of race reports, mostly stuff about competitors being rude and outright dangerous. Most triathletes are nice people, especially the folk doing the off-road tri's but apparently Nat's. attracts more of the over competitive assholes and I don't enjoy that sort of atmosphere. The mass start swim was a nightmare with the men in particular being really violent, kicking and punching and not only swimming over the backs of people but pushing and holding them under. Also there was a guy who started screaming at a woman who got off to walk a rocky part of the trail. She moved out of his way at a wide part but he came over to her and elbowed her hard. Then the same woman was elbowed by another woman near the finish line who was trying to prevent the first woman from passing her. I'm sorry but I have no patience for that sort of behavior and I don't want to spend the day racing with people like that. On the other hand the race reports were written by a pro and someone who is way younger and closer to the front of the pack than I would be so it's possible I wouldn't encounter such bad behavior further back in the pack.
Then there was the hoopla over Lance Armstrong which sounds like it was very annoying as I expected. But there's no guarantee he'd return. He didn't do so great for someone with an ego like his (finished 5th and 5 minutes behind the leader, his bike time was 5th as well) and he did even worse at Worlds (finished 23rd, 10 minutes behind the leader and 10th place on the bike, even got beat by some age-groupers, ie non-pro's) so maybe he's done with the Xterra lark. But who can say if he'll return next year? It's not a deal breaker but makes me feel not so bad about missing the race.
I'm a little irritated that USDAA moved Nat's. so close to DOCNA Champs. They're also the weekend before USDAA Nat's. I wish the venues would have a little more respect for each other. DOCNA has had those dates scheduled in Denver for at least 6 months, maybe longer, maybe even since last year. Ironically though this means I may actually enter a few runs of DOCNA Champs. since I won't be at Xterra Nat's. If I enter only the Jumpers/Standard runs and the North America Challenge it might make for a nice warm-up for USDAA. 2 runs on Friday, 3 runs on Sat. and 0-2 runs on Sun. (depending which if any Finals we made) wouldn't be so much that it would wear Strum out for USDAA Nat's. plus it's only 40-45 minutes away so we'd be home every day at a reasonable hour. Heck it would barely take the edge off of him.
The plan for now though is to try to qualify for everything and see what works out the best nearer the events. If Strum gets injured I have Xterra Nat's. to fall back on. If I'm good to go for both then it'll be USDAA. I feel fortunate to have so much fun stuff to choose from. What a great year for agility in the Denver area.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)