wordsgood

Where did the summer go already?!! Bookmonkey, you have my sympathy. I personally think cars and pets can smell money. And neither likes you to have any! Hope you month gets better from here.

Welcome! There's lots here to enjoy!

OMG, Bobblybear, how did you get in my house to take pics of my dog?!!! Right down to the tongue hanging out the side of the mouth! Emelee, when mine was that age she had this thing for remote controls. Fortunately (for me at least), my parents did puppy daycare during the first two years so it was their remotes that got eaten. That and my Dad's slippers. We weren't living in place that could accommodate a large, teething pup while we were working and they had this big yard, so......... I guess karma's getting me back though, 'cause now my Dad lives with us..... If he starts eating the remotes though, it's off to the home with him! Kylie, yes once of my cats has this problem as well. After adopting him at six months old and having him do so much that we ended up having a slew of tests run on him, but all came out well. The final conclusion was that since he was on his 4th (and last) home, was that he goes into the whole "feast or famine" mindset, so gobbles his food way too fast. And it frequently did, and still does, come right back up. That was 11 years ago and now he's fat, despite low cal food and portioning, but otherwise healthy and happy. Jasper's issue could be related to his food too. Like a human, he could be allergic, or just intolerant, to one or more of the chow ingredients. My dog's has many such food issues and the only way to really narrow it down is to gradually - emphasis on the gradually - try changing his food. If you do it too quickly, it will likely upset his tummy and he will have more upchucks problems. A good rule of thumb for cat's and dog's is the less filler and preservatives in their food, the better. Also, I wouldn't make any changes at all without consulting your vet's office. I don't know what it's like with your vet, but I've found the staff where I take mine very knowledgeable on such issues and the advice is often free. Oh, a couple more things. One cat I had several years ago had some very poor taste in non-authorized snacks. Paint, the neighbour's toxic flowers, and several other things not on the menu. Have you ever caught Jasper chowing down on stuff not put in his bowl? Also, if you currently provide any kind of kitty treats, you might want to consider cutting them out completely for several weeks to see if that makes a difference. Some cats are also just neurotic by nature and a simple case of nerves can cause everything from upset tummies to nervous ticks, to plucking themselves bald. The same cat who had the exotic taste buds, was very neurotic and it often manifested in any number of physical ways. (Including plucking himself bald!) Any changes in their routines, such as having the cleaners in as you mentioned, can upset them terribly and it could take days, weeks or even months before they feel secure enough that any resulting symptoms settle down. Even introducing them to a new piece of furniture, or another human, can set them off. One trick I found that helps is to leave an unwashed piece of your clothing where he likes to hide, and wherevery you put him when you need to isolate him. You don't have to leave the same stinky piece of laundry all the time, but switch it for a "fresh" one with your scent all over it, while you wash the other one. Hope some of this helps and I hope Jasper is feeling much better very soon! Sadly there is no quick fix, and every animal is different.

Julie: You're most welcome! From what I read in that excerpt, I "challenging" is probably as good description of his wife as you can get! I checked and this one's been out since 1997 so I would think you could find it a library somewhere. And nope, don't think I'd have wanted his job. Frankie: Thanks for those titles; I will definitely be looking them up! As for books I'd recommend about this topic, you should never ask me those kinds of questions. You're likely to get far more info than you wanted. I've forgotten, again, how to make my links look pretty and will have to look it up again later. In the meantime, I've just included the entire web addresses to some Amazon links for each of them. The Faber Book of Madness, edited by the late Roy Porter (Hands down my favourite.) http://www.amazon.co...r/dp/0571143881 Sad, Mad and Bad: Women and the Mind Doctors From 1800, by Lisa Appignanesi http://www.amazon.co...49237154&sr=1-1 The History of Madness, by Michel Foucalt http://www.amazon.co...49237215&sr=1-1 Madhouse: A Tragic Tale of Megalmania and Modern Medicine, by Andrew Skull http://www.amazon.co...by Andrew Skull Vodkafan: Hmm, interesting thought. Maybe that’s why he always wore the stovepipe hat...so he had a place to hide his trusty wooden stake?

First, my sincere apologies to the members for my recent vents (okay B***h fests ). I can only plead lack of sleep causing temporary insanity. Hope I haven't annoyed anyone too badly..... Picked up another one on the bargain table the other day. The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe. It's massive, and more than a bit intimidating! Will make a great doorstop if I don't get brave enough to dive in! Hey, is Michelle away? Anyone know?

Emelee: Yup, he's a retriever! Indiscriminate food choices are definite trait for any of the retriever/lab breeds. Basically they are four-legged garbage cans! Neo is one gorgeous boy! And not to worry, he will outgrow that teeting phase, it's just gonna take a while.

I've acquired too many books lately and keep getting side-tracked because I can't wait to find what's next in most of them! Oh well, not exactly a bad problem to have now is it?!

The good news? I grabbed a copy of a book I've been waiting months to be released, which I will post in my reading blog. (Can't remember how to link directly to it at the moment, but it's where the others are listed.) The bad news? Well, not really bad so much as incredibly freakin' annoying! I have been trying, for over 2 years no less, to take advantage of Microsoft's training sites to get up-to-date knowledge about the Office 2007. But I'm beginning think there's some kind of world-wide conspiracy to keep me from focusing on anything for more than 10 minutes without an interruption! If it ain't a furball, it's the phone, or the door, or the property company I rent from choosing to work with noisy machines right outside my window, or someone needs me to play nurse, slave, errand girl, or, or , or.........!!!! I need to win the lottery so I can buy a place that no-one knows about and I can go there to hide out now and then. Oh, and the really exciting news? I have major claustrophobia and get the spend about 40 minutes locked in a noisy metal tube tomorrow, without moving, screaming or hyperventilating. Getting a full body MRI. Oh joy! Off to see what I've missed on the boards now. Maybe it will put me in a better mood. Sorry for the rant.

Julie, I read several historical fiction sagas about that era and a few actual bios about the political situation and war, but haven't read anything that focused specifically on Lincoln, his life from childhood up, or how the many tragedies hurt Lincoln and his wife even while running a country at war with itself. But this one really caught my eye and I read an extensive excerpt at a seller's site that just made me want it even more. It did state in the excerpt that he grew up with quite abusive parents. I've added it to my "When I get rich wish list" and think for now I will have to settle for a shorter bio about Lincoln by the same author/historian. That one I can afford. Here's a pic of the cover and below that, a blurb taken from Amazon. Amazon Blurb: Abraham Lincoln's excruciating, yet highly productive, midlife crisis; his woeful marriage to a dishonest woman who often embarrassed and sometimes physically abused him; his intense estrangement from a shiftless father; his streak of cruelty; his explosive temper; and his aversion to women are among the topics covered by Michael Burlingame in The Inner World of Abraham Lincoln. Based primarily on long-neglected manuscript and newspaper sources - especially on reminiscences of people who knew Lincoln - this psychobiography casts new light on the emotional origins of Lincoln's deep hatred of slavery, on his transformation from a party hack to a statesman, on his relations with his family, on the causes of his depressions, and on the roots of his ambition. Burlingame uses a blend of Freudian and Jungian theory to interpret the psyche of the sixteenth president. Amazon's Book Link if anyone want's to check it out: http://www.amazon.co...n/dp/0252066677

Frankie, thank you for the well wishes. I'm sure it will be fine, but of course I will have to post about it here! Giggles about her name, we actually named her after a Star Trek Character. All of our pets, past and present, have been named after a TV show character. Keiko was Chief O'Brien's wife in Star Trek the Next Generation and also in DS9. According to Answers.com, it means "it means darling, playful, little girl" in Japanese, which describes her temperament perfectly! She might be 11 and technically well into her senior years for a lab, but she's also a perma-puppy. Emelee, OMG that's one adorable doggy you have there! How much does he weigh right now? Go ahead Neo, let it all hang-out! Being a four-legged guy, that pose is both adorable and socially acceptable. Now if you were a two-legged guy, it would be a little different....though it definitely seems to be a favourite of males in all species, judging from my own personal experience.

Does anyone here use AVG Antivirus, paid or free version? If so, I STRONGLY suggested you switch to something else and fast! They used to be a great company, but not anymore. I purchased a year's subscription in March of 2012 after having to get my computer repaired because the free AVG had let some viruses through. My thinking was that they had downgraded the free version services without telling the users, which is perfectly legal (unfortunately), so I think okay maybe if I get a paid version for $60.00 it will keep me safe again. But then, a couple of months ago another virus go through and their so-called help was nothing more than two days total frustration trying to get around language barriers, explain the same thing over and over again with their live chat while getting shuffled from one person to next. I finally get to speak a manager on the phone and run into another language barrier but after a long frustrating call, I finally understand that they are willing to help me if I'm willing to fork out between $129.00 (US and before tax) and maybe up to several hundred depending how hard it was to fix. NOT! Gave up and went to my own in-town computer guy who fixed it for a $110.00 (including tax) and said he too, no longer recommends AVG, free or paid. Fine, but maybe it was just another fluke. I was less than 4 months into my paid membership so foolishly did not switch then and there. But it happened all over again a week ago! I've been all over the internet looking for help as I really couldn't afford to pay for another repair. I follow AVG site advice to unistall and reinstall. Did that three times and it still wouldn't locate or fix the problem. I tried all kinds of fixes from free so-called experts "giving back" by providing their "valuable" tips, and the only thing that happened was my computer getting more and more unstable. On Sunday I had it with AVG after locating what appeared to be a users helping users forum and after not one, not two, but three utterly useless replies and one that was downright rude, I find out the guy WORKS for AVG! So I trashed my anti-virus, but kept the PC Analyzer, which I also purchased in March, and went hunting for a better program. That was truly frustrating given that I am not tech oriented every single site where I reviewed consumer reviews of the top 10 anti-virus programs currently out there, every single one had a mixed bag where some hated them and other's loved them. I couldn't narrow down the most popular ones based on so many varying opinions so went with what a lot of the computer sites recommend. I know have a lifetime license for Bitfender Security, which is much more than just an anti-virus program. The fine print on this "lifetime license" is no longer than the life of your computer or 5 years, whichever comes first. It cost me not quite $82.00 but for that much coverage, I think it's fair. However, it was not able to repair my current problems so I ended up having to take it back to my computer tech for another $117.00 fix, where he found not one, but TWO viruses thoroughly entrenched throughout my whole system! However, he did say that buying Bitfender, especially the package I bought, was a really good call because they are the best on the market. So in the last six months I've put out over $600 dollars in computer repairs and safety software. Does someone out there think I actually have money to waste? 'Cause I sure as h**l don't! Sorry for the long b****h fest, but I really needed to get that off my chest!

I'm wondering if anyone here has read, or even owns, Abraham Lincoln: A Life, by Michael Burlingame. It's a mammoth 2 volume biography that came out late in December 2008. I just read a review about it by the late Christopher Hitchens (in his book Arguably: Essays) and he makes it look fascinating. However, it also has a mammoth price tag, even for used copies, so before I even consider adding it my wish list, I would like other people's opinion.

I prefer the saga style fantasy series with multiple story arcs that all tie in together, but I get a bit miffed when they are not all wrapped up at the end of a series. Not a fan of too much gore, but enjoy a good battle scene. I definitely have to have points of view from various characters to really get into it, and humour interspersed through is a big plus too. Check out the different fantasy threads where you can find all kinds of books and people's opinions on them.

I think it also depends on what you see/read first, the movie or the book. I've read books after seeing the movie and been very pleased with both, but most of the time when I see a movie after reading the book, I'm very disappointed. Not always, but usually. For example, one of my favourite fantasy series is the Sword of Truth saga by Terry Goodkind, but after the short-lived TV series based on the books came out, I was hugely disappointed. I get that everyone has a different vision of what book's world is like, and that television/movies are limited in a way that books aren't, but still... Oddly, I really like movies based on comic books! And I find both mediums just as entertaining. Hmm, wonders if she should be embarrased now...

majestic

Greetings! There is much to enjoy here so I hope you have lots of fun!

Welcome to the forum. Hope you have lot's of fun here!

Okay. That makes perfect sense now that you've clarified. Just wanted to warn you. Have fun on the boards!

Pontabla, yup you've got it. Neverending but definitely worth every penny! I'm sure she'll feel much better when bad teeth are gone too. She hasn't actually shown any signs of discomfort or pain, but really doesn't get why no-one wants her kisses anymore. Kylie, that sounds effective! I couldn't do that with mine simply because they are both already very um, let's call it high-strung. Aw well, having furry helpers is part of my existence and I'm pretty sure it always will be.

Hi Frank. Very nice to meet you!

OMG, that letter is priceless! So wish I could have seen the recipient's face when he opened it!

Yay for me, I just figured out how to use the multiquote function! If you figure out a way to stop naughty paws, please do let me know the secret! I have that problem too. Maybe it's a twisted kind of disease? If so, let's not take the cure. And sure, if it helps I'll agree that it's almost the same as getting rid of them! I've been re-reading a couple of novels lately. They are from the Recluce Saga by L.E. Modesitt, and am quite enjoying them.

Welcome aboard!

I'm just happy it's back again. Dr. Who I've missed you!

Hi Alexander! Sadly I discovered these other sites after I'd picked and purchased bookCAT. Still, I'm pretty happy with it even I'm having a teensy bit of buyers remorse. I looked-up Delicious Library and it does look great. Does say they charge $35 for it though. Maybe they have a free version as well as a paid one?