A Geek Goes Flying

TIL not all dogs have hackles (I think I probably knew that, since I never noticed them on my first Labrador), and that they can be considered a disqualifying condition for service dogs! Ricki was released in the final phase of guide-dog training for having “hackles,” or a shark-fin-like fur on the ridge of her back that sticks up and can be seen as a sign of aggression. ( Inside the World of Guide Dog Dropouts ) Hmm. Who knew?  Normal mode Brian Brian with hackles up

For the first time in my life, I have a dog that’s AKC. Time to start competing. (I have my reasons.) He’s still so much a puppy, but growing so quickly! I'm just going to throw this out there: The dog the AKC used for their website is basically my Labrador. White, with darker ears: I have no idea where to start. Talked to opposing counsel on one of our cases who was requesting a trial continuance because her Border Collie keeps winning. She pointed me towards the “Jack Bradshaw” website, mentioned “conformation classes,” and described a new AKC 4-6 month puppy “competition” that doesn’t count but gets dogs and handlers familiar with what to expect. Okay, now I’m on a mission... I don’t think my boy is registered with AKC yet, so that’s step 1: https://www.akc.org/register/ I’m so glad I scan everything. I needed his AKC number to register, and found it at the very top of the registration form his breeder gave me: But at least finding the paperwork was as simple...

Saturday (puppies age: 49 days), flew up to Santa Maria to meet with Alyson Rodges at Holly’s Labradores to run the three boys in the litter through the Volhard Puppy Aptitude Test . (I had Maynard tested when he was about 7 weeks old.) I’m really glad I did. The darker boy, who really reminds me of a baby Maynard, was the least like Maynard in terms of personality and disposition. The closest match was one of the white boys, who scored almost all 3s. World: Meet Brian. I cried a little bit while I held him and he snuggled up against my chest, as I promised him I’d protect him and keep him safe. The oncologist tells me: “No one could have done better for Maynard.” But I will always   wonder , at least a little bit.

One of my Unicomp Spacesaver M  keyboards (of course, the one I got with “Brilliant White” keycaps) was 4 years old and grimy AF. I’ve taken the keys off a keyboard before, and it was a PITA. What a difference having the proper tool makes! Anyway. Soaked in warm water with dish soap for a couple of hours, wiped them clean with a microfiber cloth, and it’s so, so much nicer. The “living room” workstation (a Mid 2010 Mac Pro, 6-Core Intel Xeon 3.33 GHz, 32GB RAM, ATI Radeon HD 5870, 1TB SSD, 2x1.5TB spinning rust drives, USB 3.0 ports on a PCI card, etc) is now comfortably usable again. Now if only the scroll wheel on my ThinkPad USB Laser Mouse (I have several of these, including the wireless Bluetooth version; they’re normally great) hadn’t gone wonky. El cheapo Amazon Basics alternative arrived over the weekend. (I love, and am a bit scared by, the fact that we live in a world where a $7 optical mouse can be delivered to my door within 24 hours.) Meanwhile, ...