| October 2007 |
October 1 (Monday) Sam has started getting out of the fence again. Guess it's time to fix things up--maybe build a new fence. So LSU has reached the top. Not since November of 1959 have they been #1 in the AP poll. Of course, it doesn't matter. The AP poll does not count anymore, anyway. I wonder if I am the only one who notices uniforms. I dreaded seeing LSU play in those special uniforms. Go messing with the uni's and the Tigers don't play so well, as showed itself on Saturday. Yeah, they beat Tulane 34-9, but it was awfully uncomfortably for the first half. Isn't it ironic? Ty Willingham gets fired by Notre Dame, goes to Washington, and did you see their uniforms on Saturday? Looked just like Notre Dame's! Ron Zook got fired by Florida--and did you see Illinois' uniforms? Looked like Florida's! Surely that was just coincidence. October 3 (Wednesday) I started this journal in August. I thought it would be easy, but it's not. Updating the website is not that difficult but thinking of something meaningful to say everyday is. Among things on my mind today would be the upcoming Florida/LSU game on Saturday evening in Tiger stadium. I think that in general most people don't realize that LSU's mascot was not originally a Bengal Tiger. Originally, the LSU football team fashioned itself out of the "Louisiana Tigers" of Civil War Lore. Confederate troops from Louisiana were first dubbed "fighting tigers" at the 1st Battle of Manassas. After the war, General Sherman became superintendent of LSU and certainly brought some of that Civil War lore with him to the school. The football team adopted the "Louisiana Tigers" theme as theirs. In the old days, LSU was referred to as the "fightin' tigers." Nowadays, people think only of the animal, not realizing the true origin of LSU's mascot. October 4 (Thursday) Well, it happened again this morning. As I was leaving my house one of my neighbor's dogs was hit by an oncoming car. The car went on its way and I was left there alone with the dog at around 5:00. Well, there wasn't anything left to do except return to my house and get my .22. The dog was in pretty bad shape. I wonder how many times a dog gets run over by a car and has to lie there for hours, dying a slow and agonizing death. I wasn't going to let that happen to this one so I did the only thing I could do under the circumstances. It was a very difficult thing to do -- not the first time I've had to do that, and probably won't be the last. It is a relief, however, once it's over -- knowing that the poor thing is out of its misery, and realizing that you have indeed done the only right thing. October 7 (Sunday) No Sunday School today. Otis had called and asked me to meet him, but about an hour ago he called and said he wasn't going to make it. Rough night of sleep. Of course, I had an emotional experience with LSU pulling out a gut-wrenching 28-24 win over Florida, but worse than that, my dogs got after one of my cats yesterday. The dogs are not mean and vicious, but a couple of the cats tend to get them excited by scurrying from them. A few of the cats mix it up with the dogs really good (I have a picture on this site showing Thumper "attacking" Oscar as he enters through the pet door), but Cleo is not among those. I heard a commotion outside, and it was a good thing I got there when I did, I think. Cleo was not in great shape, but I've seen worse. I monitored her condition throughout the day and slept fittingly through the night. But when I got up this morning she appeared to be in better shape. I don't know if she is out of the woods or not, but I am hoping...and praying. It kills me to see one of my babies in distress. But I don't blame the dogs--they just thought they were playing. October 8 (Monday) LSU grabs 236 out of 238 possible first place votes in the three major polls (AP: 65 of 65; Coaches: 58 of 60; Harris: 113 of 113). The other two votes in the coaches poll went to Ohio State. Technically, none of it means a thing at this point. Only the final BCS poll really matters and the first one of those doesn't come out for another week. LSU has Kentucky, Auburn, Alabama, Louisiana Tech, Ole Miss, and Arkansas remaining on their schedule. Great news about Cleo. She appeared a bit more bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning. I really worried about that girl, but it appears that she will survive the dog attack. If you don't know me, Dear Reader, be advised that I think I would rather die than see one of my babies in distress (I think I've said that before). October 9 (Tuesday) Cleo is looking much better this morning. She is back to eating and she actually makes noises when she meows instead of just opening her mouth. Just yesterday when she would open her mouth to meow nothing could be heard. I was afraid maybe the dogs had damaged her larynx or something, but I guess she couldn't make noise because she was just so worn out. Otis returned the computer, so maybe I can get back to looking into a problem he gave me regarding one of our applications. At Inventiv I am continuing to work on figuring out the TList OCX issue that Dave hit me with last week. Ordinarily, if I have written something previously I can solve a problem in minutes. In this case, however, not having been the one to write the code initially, it is taking me much longer to figure out the problem. That is frustrating. October 10 (Wednesday) I'm nearly finished with the TList issue and now I have another project on which to work, which my boss has asked that I complete by next Wednesday--at least have a "quick and dirty" solution by then. On my way home from work yesterday I picked up a couple of Beagle pups in the middle of the road, and delivered them to the animal shelter this evening. I had to leave work at 2:00 in order to get to the shelter by closing time at 4:00. Sorry that I do not have pictures of them, but they were beautiful and in great shape. I cannot imagine how they got to be out there all alone like that. Surely, they were not just dumped there. October 11 (Thursday) Cleo appears to be back to full strength. She requested to go outside last night, so I let her out the front door. Her practice has been to go outside then find her own way back in, so I went to bed and sometime during the night I awoke during per usual to make a bathroom visit and Cleo was back in the house. This morning she was in her usual place--on my desk asking for my attention. It is absolutely great to see her back to her old self, and it only took a few days! Boy, that first day or two she hid out behind the dryer in the utility room and lay there constantly. I just knew she was going to die, but thank goodness, she pulled through. I love that baby. October 12 (Friday) Cleo is in good form. She's running around and standing her ground just like before. You would never know she came within a few seconds of going to that big kitty litter box in the sky. I can not express in words how thrilled I am. I am going to get a picture of Buddy to show you. Buddy is a solid white cat that I feed down at my mother's house. Buddy is what you call "wild." It took me three years, but I eventually got him tamed down enough to where he will let me pick him up and love on him. He loves to rub his face on mine, and he keeps his claws sheathed quite nicely. But in the beginning he would...well, let's just say I have quite a number of scars on my hands and arms to illustrate the point. But he is such a sweetheart now. I love that cat. There are other wild cats out there in the woods. I have already been able to put together a demo of the project Dave dropped on me Wednesday. Below is a screen shot of the interface: October 15 (Monday) I guess I let the weekend slip by without writing anything here. Cleo appears to be completely over her ordeal, which is a great source of relief for me. I discovered that the shelter euthanized the kitty I caught recently. Their reasoning was that the cat was wild and not adoptable. I do not disagree with their assessment and decision--it may seem cruel to some people, but sometimes there is just no other choice. But the truth is, I wish I had known that would actually be the result. I may have wanted to have the opportunity to work with the kitty. After all, I only have about 15 cats now. One more wouldn't hurt. I did some fence repair over the weekend, so hopefully when I get home today I won't find Fred and Sam running loose like I did all of last week. October 16 (Tuesday) I found a yellow lab puppy in the middle of the road on my way home from work yesterday evening. I gave him a bath in my kitchen sink, and was he ever eaten up with fleas and mange! I will look after him until I can get him over to the shelter this weekend--but he kept me up until nearly midnight last night with his yelping and crying. I'll have to find a place for him outside. Way outside! The latest rendition of my most recent project: October 17 (Wednesday) I don't have a picture yet of the puppy I found Monday, but I'll get one on here ASAP. Cleo is doing great. Below you'll see the modifications that Dave had me do on the new Quotas project. October 18 (Thursday) I had to put the yellow lab puppy in one of my out buildings last night so I could get some sleep. I placed him inside a hampster cage with food and water and put the cage inside an outbuilding. I didn't want him to get out and get lost. Well, about 1:00 this morning I heard him yelping loud and clear. I went to my back door, opened it up, and here he came waddling up the steps and into the house! Well, knock me down! It was like he had been there before and knew exactly where to go. This little guy is trying to wedge himself into my heart so I won't take him to the shelter. But...how did he get out of the cage, then out of the building...across the yard..through a gate and up to my back door? I think I'll name him 'Houdini.' October 19 (Friday) I would like to comment on the news about James Watson's speech being cancelled. In case you haven't head the news, James Watson, who along with Francis Crick is credited with discovering the molecular structure of DNA, is in a little hot water over "perceived" racial comments he has made recently and in the past. I read the book The Double Helix, in which he recounts the story of how he and Crick made the discovery. I do not have the time to comment on the recent situation surrounding the controversial remarks he made, which led to his scheduled speech at London's Science Museum being cancelled, but I would like to do that in the not to distant future. It is a very interesting situation. |
| Cleo, right after the attack. |
October 20 (Saturday)
I could no longer resist his cries. He's out of quarantine. I'll
keep treating him for mange for another week to 10 days, in
the event he has it, but he is a sweetie. The other dogs
have already begun to take to him.
Humans can get mange. I did. I came down with a bad case
right after I got Oscar. He was a pup about the size of the
one you see here, but he had open, oozing sores, and I
didn't know any better. I began treating him with Ivermectin
right away, but I got his mange mites just the same. I got a
prescription from my vet for some cream you rub on your
body. I needed about three treatments, but it went away.
For about two weeks i was pretty miserable, let me tell you.
I can only imagine how bad is is for dogs and other animals
that get it. I not only had a serious itch, I had a constant
fever. Oscar and I both eventually got well, but we were in
quarantine together.
I could no longer resist his cries. He's out of quarantine. I'll
keep treating him for mange for another week to 10 days, in
the event he has it, but he is a sweetie. The other dogs
have already begun to take to him.
Humans can get mange. I did. I came down with a bad case
right after I got Oscar. He was a pup about the size of the
one you see here, but he had open, oozing sores, and I
didn't know any better. I began treating him with Ivermectin
right away, but I got his mange mites just the same. I got a
prescription from my vet for some cream you rub on your
body. I needed about three treatments, but it went away.
For about two weeks i was pretty miserable, let me tell you.
I can only imagine how bad is is for dogs and other animals
that get it. I not only had a serious itch, I had a constant
fever. Oscar and I both eventually got well, but we were in
quarantine together.
| If I keep him this little guy is going to need a name. |
October 22 (Monday)
Sam was out when I arrived home from work on Friday, so the work I did last weekend evidently was for naught; so I worked on the fence
some more over the weekend. Of course, I watched some college football, also. Yes, I know, LSU apparently got lucky on that "last
second" pass play. The way I see it, with such high expectations at the beginning of the year, and given the fact that LSU was actually
ranked #1 in every poll for two weeks, for me it has come down to "all or nothing." What's the difference between winning with a
touchdown that comes with time running out in the fourth quarter or with a touchdown that comes halfway through the third? It's all about
perception. There was nothing illegal about the play, the pass was there, the catch was made within the confines of the endzone. Game
over. Whew!
Sam was out when I arrived home from work on Friday, so the work I did last weekend evidently was for naught; so I worked on the fence
some more over the weekend. Of course, I watched some college football, also. Yes, I know, LSU apparently got lucky on that "last
second" pass play. The way I see it, with such high expectations at the beginning of the year, and given the fact that LSU was actually
ranked #1 in every poll for two weeks, for me it has come down to "all or nothing." What's the difference between winning with a
touchdown that comes with time running out in the fourth quarter or with a touchdown that comes halfway through the third? It's all about
perception. There was nothing illegal about the play, the pass was there, the catch was made within the confines of the endzone. Game
over. Whew!
October 23 (Tuesday)
Sam was out when I arrived home from work yesterday...this is
becoming a broken record. The other dogs will burrow under
the fence if they get out, but Sam goes over the fence. One
of these days he is going to injure himself. He is a sweet
puppy, however. Never a more gentle or easy-going dog
have I been around. He looks mean and menacing, but he is
just a big baby. Sometimes, when I am sitting down he will
jump into my lap. There he stays until I've had enough. The
first time I saw Sam he was just outside the fence. Where he
came from I didn't know, but he had some very long "drools"
hanging from his jowls. I didn't know if he was mad (rabies),
or just a vicious pit-bull, but I wasn't going to take a chance. I
would put him out of his misery (he looked miserable). I got
my .22. He was there and I was here. I lowered the rifle; took
aim; put the bead right between his eyes; released the safety;
and put my finger on the trigger, and began a very slight
squeeze. But I stopped, and decided to take that chance
after all. What do you think? Did I make the right choice?
Sam was out when I arrived home from work yesterday...this is
becoming a broken record. The other dogs will burrow under
the fence if they get out, but Sam goes over the fence. One
of these days he is going to injure himself. He is a sweet
puppy, however. Never a more gentle or easy-going dog
have I been around. He looks mean and menacing, but he is
just a big baby. Sometimes, when I am sitting down he will
jump into my lap. There he stays until I've had enough. The
first time I saw Sam he was just outside the fence. Where he
came from I didn't know, but he had some very long "drools"
hanging from his jowls. I didn't know if he was mad (rabies),
or just a vicious pit-bull, but I wasn't going to take a chance. I
would put him out of his misery (he looked miserable). I got
my .22. He was there and I was here. I lowered the rifle; took
aim; put the bead right between his eyes; released the safety;
and put my finger on the trigger, and began a very slight
squeeze. But I stopped, and decided to take that chance
after all. What do you think? Did I make the right choice?
October 24 (Wednesday)
Sam was out when I arrived home from work yesterday..., yesterday...,
yesterday..., and so was Roy. Sam will usually hang around by the
gate, but Roy is a beagle, and beagles get lost. I lost a beagle not long
ago--Sally. Poor Sally, where are you? Well, I found Roy this time...he
was in the barn loft. Now how do you suppose he got up there?
The yellow lab pup is settling right in. Technically he belongs to the
folks across the street, but truthfully, they don't take good care of their
animals, and this one I found in the middle of the road. Not much
chance they'll get him back, but if I do keep him I have to hope they
don't see him before he gets bigger. I don't need my neighbors thinking
that I am stealing their pets. If I stayed home all the time it wouldn't
matter, but since I am gone during most of the day...
Sam was out when I arrived home from work yesterday..., yesterday...,
yesterday..., and so was Roy. Sam will usually hang around by the
gate, but Roy is a beagle, and beagles get lost. I lost a beagle not long
ago--Sally. Poor Sally, where are you? Well, I found Roy this time...he
was in the barn loft. Now how do you suppose he got up there?
The yellow lab pup is settling right in. Technically he belongs to the
folks across the street, but truthfully, they don't take good care of their
animals, and this one I found in the middle of the road. Not much
chance they'll get him back, but if I do keep him I have to hope they
don't see him before he gets bigger. I don't need my neighbors thinking
that I am stealing their pets. If I stayed home all the time it wouldn't
matter, but since I am gone during most of the day...
October 25 (Thursday)
Yes, Sam was out of the fence when I arrived home from work yesterday, and Roy was in the barn loft. What am I going to do with those
two? The yellow lab puppy curled up on my pillow last night and slept right there beside me.
I have spent the better part of the past four or five days working on a problem with one of our clients in Florida. They are getting a
"deadlock" error when 30 or so of their operators try to execute a single application. Deadlock will occur when multiple users try to
execute the same application. I inserted "with (no lock)" after the "From <TableName>" part of three SQL queries. I don't know if that fixed
the problem, but I left word for their IT guy to contact me and let me know. Of course, you gotta expect some slow-down when that many
people are trying to access the same program, but the SQL queries themselves are cumbersome and need some work. I shall work on
that problem today. These queries are built by the program "on the fly" and are not stored procedures, so that fact alone is going to slow
things down. We shall see.
Yes, Sam was out of the fence when I arrived home from work yesterday, and Roy was in the barn loft. What am I going to do with those
two? The yellow lab puppy curled up on my pillow last night and slept right there beside me.
I have spent the better part of the past four or five days working on a problem with one of our clients in Florida. They are getting a
"deadlock" error when 30 or so of their operators try to execute a single application. Deadlock will occur when multiple users try to
execute the same application. I inserted "with (no lock)" after the "From <TableName>" part of three SQL queries. I don't know if that fixed
the problem, but I left word for their IT guy to contact me and let me know. Of course, you gotta expect some slow-down when that many
people are trying to access the same program, but the SQL queries themselves are cumbersome and need some work. I shall work on
that problem today. These queries are built by the program "on the fly" and are not stored procedures, so that fact alone is going to slow
things down. We shall see.
October 26 (Friday)
Sam and Roy were not at home when I arrived yesterday. After I drove around the neighborhood and returned home, they decided to
make their separate appearances. Bad puppies!
I had one bad headache yesterday. I left work around 2:00 or something. Slept good last night, though, and got to work at 7:00 this
morning. The weather has been wet and nasty, but we've needed the rain. The catfish in my pond were beginning to hibernate in the
mud.
Sam and Roy were not at home when I arrived yesterday. After I drove around the neighborhood and returned home, they decided to
make their separate appearances. Bad puppies!
I had one bad headache yesterday. I left work around 2:00 or something. Slept good last night, though, and got to work at 7:00 this
morning. The weather has been wet and nasty, but we've needed the rain. The catfish in my pond were beginning to hibernate in the
mud.
October 29 (Monday)
Sam would be in the news again. After working on the fence all weekend, Sam was out before I
went to bed last night. I snapped the picture on the right just before I left for work this morning.
As you can see, he prefers a nice soft pillow and a couple of blankets, please. Below you see
another couple of shots I took this weekend. On the left is Lightly ("Princess"). Oscar and the
yellow Lab, on the right, had a rough day. Both of these were rescues.
Sam would be in the news again. After working on the fence all weekend, Sam was out before I
went to bed last night. I snapped the picture on the right just before I left for work this morning.
As you can see, he prefers a nice soft pillow and a couple of blankets, please. Below you see
another couple of shots I took this weekend. On the left is Lightly ("Princess"). Oscar and the
yellow Lab, on the right, had a rough day. Both of these were rescues.
October 30 (Tuesday)
Fred, Sam, and Roy were outside the fence when I arrived home from work yesterday. I looked the fence over and couldn't see where
they got out. I have my work cut out for me for the weekend. I have an idea that I think will work this time. We'll see.
Dave was back at work yesterday after having been gone for a week and a half. He and Amy went to Europe, ostensibly on a business
trip. Uh huh. Anyways, he and I discussed the Order Approval application issues on which I have been working. Dave is of the opinion
that the SQL queries are the cause of the deadlock problem. I think the problem lies elsewhere. Certainly the queries are poorly written
and are not efficient, and hopefully my adjustments will rectify whatever negative contribution they make, but I believe the solution to the
deadlock problem is going to be found somewhere else. As of yet we have not been able to test my "with (no lock)" solution. We shall
need the help of the client to test that, since we need to replicate the conditions under which deadlock occurs: multiple users.
Fred, Sam, and Roy were outside the fence when I arrived home from work yesterday. I looked the fence over and couldn't see where
they got out. I have my work cut out for me for the weekend. I have an idea that I think will work this time. We'll see.
Dave was back at work yesterday after having been gone for a week and a half. He and Amy went to Europe, ostensibly on a business
trip. Uh huh. Anyways, he and I discussed the Order Approval application issues on which I have been working. Dave is of the opinion
that the SQL queries are the cause of the deadlock problem. I think the problem lies elsewhere. Certainly the queries are poorly written
and are not efficient, and hopefully my adjustments will rectify whatever negative contribution they make, but I believe the solution to the
deadlock problem is going to be found somewhere else. As of yet we have not been able to test my "with (no lock)" solution. We shall
need the help of the client to test that, since we need to replicate the conditions under which deadlock occurs: multiple users.
October 31 (Wednesday)
I had the dogs locked up in my "fence within a fence," so none were out when I arrived home one yesterday.
This will be my last full week as a contractor with Vaco. Sometime during the middle of next week, the six-month contract period expires,
and I will go full time with Inventiv.
I am still working on the deadlock issue but have not had an opportunity to properly test my work.
I had the dogs locked up in my "fence within a fence," so none were out when I arrived home one yesterday.
This will be my last full week as a contractor with Vaco. Sometime during the middle of next week, the six-month contract period expires,
and I will go full time with Inventiv.
I am still working on the deadlock issue but have not had an opportunity to properly test my work.