Mojo (aka advanced automatic security system) loves riding in the car

I took Mojo with me on my errands, today. He *loves* riding in the car.

A pit bull makes a great auto security system, too!

Some reasons why:

1) It automatically turns itself on and off so you can't forget to set it.
2) It doesn't require a warning sticker or a blinking red LED to warn off potential thieves.
3) Not to mention, if the thief is dumb enough to actually try and break in, the "system" automatically engages the secret "active defense" mode.
4) Even if the car battery goes dead, the "system" remains active
5) It can only be disabled by the owner.
6) It has built-in face recognition to automatically identify the proper owner. As such, there's no need to remember a complicated security code, and no need to carry a special key

Gotta love it!

New video of Mojo "Whispering"

I just uploaded the definitive pit bull "whispering" video. I've been working on teaching him to "whisper" instead of the standard "speak" where the dog barks. His whisper is a long, low growl. It's really funny, and I was lucky enough to catch him in a "mood" yesterday when I caught it on video (I was going to say I filmed it, but, no film was involved).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGJXSDw8aqY

A nice chilly night by the fire

It's a clear and chilly night here in southern NJ so I went out to the backyard and got a toasty fire going in the pit. I have one of those fire pits that looks sort of like a giant wok. It's simple, easy to move around as necessary, and it does the job.

Speaker Stands made from old lamps

Here's a quick shot of some speaker stands I made out of the bases of two old halogen pole lamps. The tops are made of wood, rounded and painted with a gloss black. Overall, they look great and they improve the sound of the system much more than I could have imagined. I know placing them on the floor isn't a great plan, but, raising them up to ear level (home theater setup 101) made a huge difference in the sound field.

Pleo in Guatemala

Here's where I discovered my Pleo robotic dinosaur. He was four wandering around the Tikal National Park in Peten, Guatemala.

Another lazy Sunday

Here's my pit bull, Mojo, laying out on the back deck on a warm Sunday morning. He doesn't do very well in cold weather, and he's loving the warm sun on the deck.

A Quick lunch break

I took my lunch break today by driving home to eat-except today I got to do it in a Porsche Carrera 4 Cabriolet. I have a *very* trusting friend that lends me her 911 from time to time and today was one of those times. It was a gorgeous day out, too, and tooling around town with the top down made for a great lunch break.

I took this photo while idling at a stoplight as some obviously jealous guy passed by on the intersecting road giving me the finger. I can feel
the love.

It seemed like a good idea at the time

Here's my attempt at a photo of the moon with my iPhone, taken with the camera lens pointed through one side of my Bauch & Lomb 10x50 binoculars. It was a shaky arrangement. It'll have to do until I can afford a rockin' 10" Meade Schmidt-Caasegrain telescope with an adapter for my Canon DSLR. Well, I can wish, right!?

A new level of *Lazy* for a Sunday

Today, my daughter and my pit bull, Mojo went out to play ball. He ran over, caught the ball, and when he came back, he laid down his head, closed his eyes and sort of napped. Weird.

Two of my favorites

Here's a two for one picture. I was trying to get a shot of Mojo snuggled up on a Sunday morning. Well, I got that, plus, in the same shot, my favorite watch (that I own, anyway), my Omega Seamaster Chronograph. I've had it for at least 7 years and I still haven't put in a new battery (and I never will, it's automatic). I love the history behind the Omega brand. It's long, and in many ways similar to that of Rolex, but, has gone largely unnoticed. I'll pass this watch down to my grandkids. My pit bull, well, I'll keep him for myself.

Bigger than a hummer!

Here's a pickup truck I saw at the local shopping center this morning. I'm pretty tuned into the world of all things with engines, but, somehow this one slipped past me. I didn't even know there was such a thing, yet, there it is- a Ford F750 Super Duty pickup. This thing makes a Hummer look like a Tonka toy. It's downright huge. I didn't get he chance to talk with the owner, but it probably would have gone like this: "Wow. That's a huge truck. Why'd you get such a monster truck?". "Because I can".

Can you be here in 10 minutes?

I called to see about getting my hair cut. She said, "can you be here in 10 minutes?". "Sure, I live right nearby". So, I go out to the car and this is what I see. Dammit, Murphy. I'm going to find you, and when I do, you're going to be sorry.

Me buying "Infected", the Horror novel by Scott Sigler

This is a pic of me buying a hardback version of the horror (SciFi if you ask me) novel, Infected by Scott Sigler at the Borders in Mays Landing, NJ. Normally, I'd never do such a thing (post about a book), but to me, this case is a little different. For several years now, I've been listening to Scott Sigler's work, delivered as weekly podcasts. He's already given away this entire book as a podcast (and a PDF file for that matter), and it was great. I've listened to it several times already and I'll still probably read the book. I've also listened to his books Ancestor, Earthcore and I'm into Nocturnal, too (except that one's in progress now, so, I can't actually say I read or heard it).

Posting about his work is the very least I can do for a guy that's already given away his best work for free. Definitely check out this guy's stuff - he's seriously sick, and seriously talented (www.scottsigler.net).

Just relaxing in front of the TV

My daughter loves to snuggle up and watch TV with Mojo. At times like this, in a whimsical, sing-song voice, she calls him her "vicious killer pit bull". Clearly, she has a good grasp of irony. Now, if you say anything bad about pit bulls in front of her, you'd better be prepared for a lecture about the bad people that raise their dogs wrong, and give pit bulls a bad reputation. She does this with a stern tone-making it clear how disgusted she is with you for buying into the hype.

The cutest Puppy Pit Bull

Here's a female pit bull puppy. She's about 8 weeks old and hasn't been named yet. She's a definite lover. We saw her with her owners at PetSmart. She climbed onto my daughter's lap and didn't want to get off. The owners have the right idea - she's being raised right. She already loves kids. They had a pit bull before her, but, sadly, it was run over and killed. This one is definitely ready to step in and snuggle them to death. I hope I find out her name, someday.

Heaven's Lights

When my daughter first saw sunbeams, she said, hey Daddy, that's heaven's lights. I thought it was a great way to describe it. She pointed these out and asked me to take this photograph for her.