Oddessey2000 WebLog

Giovanni Eben Sean Eddington was born at 1145 pm on July 31. He weighed 7 lbs 6.9 oz and is 20 inches long. Both he and Mary are doing just fine. He was delivered by Dr Fred at St Elizabeth Hospital in Edgewood, KY. I will post pics real soon.

Only a month to go....If the month is February....and its a leap year. That means 29 days to those of you who don't follow my thinking. And, I admit my thinking can be hard to follow. Anyhow, Gio will be here real soon. Time seems to be speeding up on us.

I wanted to have a turkey sandwich today. I went to the refrigerator and the turkey was there. I got it out and lets just say it was crusty old. Have you ever done that? Seen a package in the fridge or cupboard, decide you want it, and then find the package is empty or bad? Its quite the let down.

Do you know what would be really good right now? A Kona Ice. The Kona Ice man is a combination between Mr Softee and a Hawaiin Snow stand. I just thought it would be really good. Know what else would be good? Some King Crab legs. Boy I dont ask for much do I?

No major updates other than these few random thoughts.......

Sometimes...Just sometimes, you feel like kicking something or someone. I mean dont get me wrong, I don't actually kick but I am grumpy. My dogs are safe. The wife and kids are safe but grumble grumble grumble I am irritated. Somebody please tell me what is wrong with not wanting to go to the pool? It's not always that I don't want to, but siometimes I don't. I mean if you are looking at going as the oppurtunity to sit in the heat with a bunch of screaming splashing kids running around and my own children fitting into that group but also whining because they want you to buy them stuff from the concessions stand.

Other times I see it as fun at the pool but today it was as I described in my head. I didnt want to go. Now its like I am a bad husband/dad. Hey I like to go to the pet store and spend an hour looking at the fish. I dont see anyone jumping up to do that with me. hey if YOU want to do it great, but if I dont want to do your thing the same should be true.

OK, I am done complaining. Updates? we are a little over a month out from Gio's due date. Mary is uncomfortable but getting on well I suppose. We had a 16th Birthday party this past weekend for Katie. I know her Birthday is in January but this way she could have it outdoors and have lots of people. It went very well. My uncle tommy was there. I havent gotten to see him in years. Stephani is working for Booone County Parks for a summer program with kids. Katie and Bronte completed a CSI Camp. They had alot of fun playing with Maggots and dead stuff. While they were their we did take Nyoka, Mik, and Joee to a water park in Latonia. I guess thats about it. If I think of more I'll add another entry.

Bet you think I'm gonna talk about the same thing as last time. Well I am not. Have you ever played Peek-a-boo? If you haven't this will mean nothing to you. However, as I am certain that most everyone has played, and thus knows the rules, I will go ahead with my story. I was in the car with Josette the other day and I hear hear behind me in her car seat chanting "poo poo....poo poo....poo poo....poo poo!" Although I was somewhat worried about what I would find, when I reached a stoplight I turned around. I found Joee with one hand covering one eye and the other hand split in to the Vulcan hand sign and sort of covering the other eye (so she could see). When she noted me looking she shouted "POO POO...You cant see me!"

OK fun stuff aside, I wanna complain now. Craigslist.com has really come to a point where it sucks dirty gym socks. The plan to allow selfmoderation of the boards was once a fine idea that could be extremely effective. In essence it works like this. "Bad Guy" posts something that is against the rules, is SPAM, or is in the wrong category. Then, the general population of the board "Flags" the post for deletion. Once an unspecified number of "Flags" are received the post is deleted. The Problem???? Well, in the case of for instance the pets section, The Flag Nazi's will flag posts that in no way actually break the rules. For example post involves to Basset hounds (male and pregnant female) that are in need of a new home. I am assuming the post lacked the requisite mention of being a pet rescue animal or god only knows what bug the got up their butts, and bam the entry is deleted. I see it briefly before its gone but not long enuf to get the info. So I post to the original poster to contact me. They flag my post and it is deleted. I have contacted Craigslist myself before about this sort of things and they get their jollies off of how "well the flagger system is working" and refuse to even look into it. I suppose it is laziness on the part of the powers that be that make Craigslist suck so bad today.

Along a mildly related line of thought, on another website a person had asked about what kind of dog they should get as a pet for their young child/children. one responder stated that they should get a puppy so that it can grow up with the children as opposed to an adult dog. The next poster accused this poster of being the reason there are so many puppy mills. This nearly enraged me. Why? because I would bet any amount of many this person is somehow tied to a rescue or a "reputable breeder." To further explain read on.

Rescues. I want a Chinese crested. I went to about 5 different rescues and spent probably a total of 8 hours filling out there applications, ensuring my references are in order, etc. I emailed the rescues directly and let them know I had submitted their application, was ok with a home visit (where they come inspect my house), and that I was fine with the exorbitant amounts of money they were asking as a rehoming fee (I did NOT word it that way). They all responded that they would look over my application and get back with me. I never heard from them again except for one who I had asked about a specific Dog they had in their program. They emailed to tell me the dog had already found a new home. Then amazingly shows back up with new pictures on their site. I emailed to inquire if the new home had failed and to express my continued interest in the girl. The emailed that they would check my application and get back with me and YEP I never heard from them again. None of the rescues emailed to say we were unable to check a reference that you provided, we don't want to give the dogs to a house with children, other animals, or some other outwardly stated reason. NO hey if you can fix this issue we can work it out. Nope nothing. I don't think they are interested in all at re-homing these animals.

So If you want a crested or a Basset hound (have dealt with these rescues with similar results) or an English Bulldog (have dealt with these rescues with similar results) then you wont get it from a Rescue. Whats next?

Reputable Breeders. Well its easy enough to say accurately that these guys are few and far between and then that they charge UNGODLY prices for a pup. So if you are not independently wealthy and by that I mean RICH, then you can't afford to have the dog you want from them. What's next?

Backyard Breeders. These are actually my favorites. they charge a few hundred for a dog, but at least it is an attainable price. Its where I got our Basset hound Frankey. He is a healthy well behaved and happy dog. Why do rescues and "reputable breeders hate these guys? Supposedly because they don't Genetically test their animals for the best traits before breeding and thus don't get as good of animals. I refer you to my statements about Frankey. I think the dislike is because the BY breeders have MUCH lower prices so "reputable breeders don't turn a profit" and you can often get a pup cheaper than an adult from a rescue. Whats next?

Puppymills. I don't like these guys either. Maybe if Rep breeds and rescued didn't charge such outrageous prices. Hmmm what a thought. Whats next?

Spay or Neuter! I have nothing against someone neutering there animal if that is their choice. Just don't harp on me with a bunch of misinformation and misapplied statistics.

1. It helps prevent testicular cancer. Um OBVIOUSLY. get rid of the testicles and you cant get testicular cancer. One problem, I have had MANY unaltered dogs die of old age. I have had NO dogs period get testicular cancer. Maybe, I should have all my pets stomachs removed. I did have a dog get stomach cancer once.

2. It will stop them from running off. Um My dog growing up was a German Shepard named Roman. It should have been Roamin'. He jumped the fence and ran constantly. funny thing is he was fixed when we got him. Go figure. He also marked when he was in the house which its supposed to stop.

3. It wont change his/her personality. Well isn't that a complete contradiction of number 2? And I think number one can be mentioned here too. Tell me this. If testicular cancer is such a risk and castration prevents it, why do men after deciding they have enough kids get a vasectomy as opposed to castration. I'll tell you why. because there are SERIOUS side effects due to hormonal imbalances and changes. So YES it does change them.

4. Now if you DONT fix you pure breed and responsibly breed it, guess what? you can allow others to enjoy the breed in an honest fashion without lining the pockets of "reputable breeders" or playing games with rescues that have no intention of giving people a chance.


As you can see I feel VERY strongly on these issues and could actually go on with more. I just feel I have made my point. I do want to say though that I do support and like local animal shelters and pounds as a place to get a pet.