Big Stick Physics

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Sparky comes when called.

August 11, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Sparky is a rugged individualist, but he knows the score.  In the Coyote post, I mentioned that Sparky gets to free-roam as long as he doesn’t go too far.  I am proud of him for figuring out that if I holler, he has to come back, or I have to get off my bench, chase him down and haul him in.

I am actually amazed that he comes running all the way back.  That might seem like a low bar for dog training, but for an old beagle with his own agenda and a mysterious past, it’s astounding.

The ground is tore up because First Energy contractors were in to clear brush. 

Get a dog with floppy ears.

Sparky meets a coyote.

July 29, 2024 / / 2 Comments

Sparky and I went out for dusk patrol.  Rabbits are more likely to be out at dusk and dawn, and it’s good for Sparky to get some exercise before dinner. 

With his brush anchor, he can’t go too far into the woods and the highway fence keeps him penned in on the other side.  He can free-roam all the way down to the creek, sniffing and pissing as much as he wants.  I keep an eye on him, and when he crosses the land bridge and starts to go up the hill, I call him and he comes back. 

That’s what happened tonight.  After he crossed, a coyote popped out of the woods about 30 feet away.  Ever vigilant, Sparky went after the coyote. 

When Sparky has something to chase, he stops listening.  As he ran up the hill away from me, I ran down the hill.  Thankfully, I’ve been diligent about doing my cardio, but I did a half-hour on the elliptical today, so this didn’t seem fair.  When I crossed the creek and started up the hill, I really wasn’t enjoying myself.  Croks are comfortable and convenient, but completely inappropriate for running up a hill. 

By the time I reached the top, Sparky was gone.  It wasn’t long before he popped out of the woods to tell me that he might need some help with the coyote.  We looked around for a while, and came in.

Sparky is really excited, and is going to be talking about this coyote all night.  As I was typing this, he came by to tell me about it again.

I told him that I was there and saw the coyote, but he doesn’t believe me.

Which states drink the most beer?

July 29, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Newsweek: Which States Drink the Most Beer

It’s North Dakota, at 45.8 gallons per person per year.  That’s a pint every two days.  When you subtract children and non-drinkers, there have to be some dedicated drinkers really hitting it hard.

The Newsweek article has an interactive map with per capita beer consumption and most popular brand.

The most popular brand is more interesting.  In Ohio, it’s 30.1 gallons per capita with Heineken being most popular.  Heineken is a fine beer, but it isn’t what you’d buy for a party, and for an interesting beer, most people go with a craft beer.  I don’t get it.

Consumer-grade exoskeleton.

July 28, 2024 / / 0 Comments

Tech Crunch: Exoskeleton

The tech, called MO/GO, short for “mountain goat,” is a hybrid soft/rigid system designed to assist wearer mobility and boost the wearer while walking.

Pretty sure they came up with MO/GO first, then came up with the “mountain goat” explanation.  Still, it would help a lot of people if it works.

The launch cost of $4,500 will almost certainly restrict its use for the non-mobility limited.

Depending on the performance specifications of the actual product, this could be big.  It’s certainly cheaper than a knee replacement and is in the price range of mobility scooters.  The military would be interested, along with people who aren’t impaired, just not up t the challenge.
MO/GO isn’t a great name, I’d go with “kicking pants”.

Sparky’s odd training.

July 26, 2024 / / 0 Comments

I’m still baffled by Sparky’s response to the word, “crank”.  Sparky wakes up with crank. 

Sparky’s godmother, Laurie Anderson, made a art movie called Heart of a Dog featuring her dog, Lolabelle.  She says that rat terriers can understand 500 words.  Now, she just has to figure out which words they are.  It’s funny when Laurie Anderson says it.  That’s how I feel with Sparky.  I wonder what other words trigger a response and if the word is actually “crank” or something that sounds similar.

When I say the word, he responds instantly.  He doesn’t get excited or fearful, he just gets alert and walks away.  It’s happened three times.  First, by accident, and the second time, late at night when he was 70% sleeping.  The third time was when I shot the video.  That’s the only time I noticed where he went.  Afterward, he seems disappointed or vexed.  Not at me, just at the situation.  It takes him about 15 minutes to cheer up. 

Schools do a fire drill every month, but only when kids are there.  If there was a fire alarm at school on a professional development day, we’d all evacuate like we should.  If the principal announced that it was a drill to keep us vigilant, we would have the same sullen demeanor that Sparky exhibits.

I’m tempted to experiment with words that sound similar, but Sparky’s response makes me reluctant to put him through that.  I don’t want to be a crank yanker.  Coincidentally, Crank Yankers was a TV show by Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Carolla where they’d prank call people.  Pursuing this with Sparky would feel like a series of mean-spirited pranks.

I’ll never know how or why Sparky triggers on “crank”.  I’m not going to avoid using the 9 four-letter words that end in “ank”, or the 17 five-letter words, but I will be attentive to any response.

Sparky was brainwashed.

July 24, 2024 / / 0 Comments

In movies, people can be brainwashed and  given a post-hypnotic suggestion that causes them to respond in a peculiar way when they hear the trigger word.  Sparky has that.

I discovered the word accidentally.  “Crank” isn’t a word that comes up too often.  I verified it late last night, when Sparky was 70% asleep.  He wasn’t eager to get up to go out, so I said “crank”, and he responded just like this.

Here is the slow motion analysis.

Watching the Congressional Secret Service Hearing

July 22, 2024 / / 0 Comments

I’m watching a portion of the Congressional hearings on the Secret Service and the Trump assassination attempt.

If the Secret Service Director, Kimberly Cheatle, was ever going to resign, I bet she wished she had resigned yesterday.  Every congressman is ripping into her.  For the most part, it isn’t possible to distinguish between a Democratic or Republican congressman.  They are all personally pissed off that people died and a presidential candidate was shot.  They all ask for her resignation.  It’s gratifying to see.

Surprisingly, Ocasio-Cortez did a good job.  She isn’t a quick thinker or smooth talker, but she was informed, had good questions and was impressively indignant.  A couple of congressmen tried to make some unrelated political points, but it was a soft-sell.  Several congressmen are grandstanding by demonstrating their personal knowledge, but that makes the hearings less repetitive.

Most congressmen imply that 20 year-olds are insipid morons and that makes the Secret Service look even worse.  Cheatle isn’t answering many questions, fewer questions than in the ABC interview, and that makes her look terrible. 

Cheatle should have resigned, she doesn’t have a friend on the Hill.  She won’t remain in that position.

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