"Still need to make a New Year's resolution? How about one that benefits your dog and is easier than losing 15 pounds?
Take your pick of these Fido friendly suggestions:
1. Mark your yearly calendar right now. Pick out 1 new location you will visit with your dog each month. The "new-ness" of each experience will make it fun for you and your dog. Plus, you will re-discover cool things to do and places to visit in your area.
2. Do some research on your dog's food. Are you feeding a quality diet? Is there something that might be a better health alternative for your furry friend? Check out this independent website for a comparison of what you currently feed and what is available. http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/
3. Teach your dog something new. It only take a few minutes per day to teach your dog a useful skill or cute trick. Each day as you wait for the coffee to brew or the shower to heat up, work with Fluffy to learn a new trick. It doesn't have to be fancy, something as simple as shake or sit pretty helps build a bond between you and your dog. The added bonus is that mental stimulation helps prevent boredom. A dog that has things to do stays out of mischief!
4. Resolve to give your dog a once over check up, one time per week. A thorough look at teeth, ears, eyes, coat and skin each week keeps your pet in good shape. Any signs of infection or illness will be caught early on, saving you a possible emergency room trip and saving your pet from undo pain or discomfort.
5. Walk the dog more. Alright this one might be a disguise for losing the 15 pounds...but seriously your dog will be so much more content and better behaved. A tired dog is a good dog!Woof!" From: That's My Dog!
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"How To Screw Up A Car Thief's Day
New Year's Day Is Most Active For Thieves
It takes less time for a professional thief to break into your car, start it up and drive away as it does for you to walk into 7-11, plunk down three bucks for a bagel and coffee and emerge to watch your ride recede into the distance. And don't presume your elderly clunker's immune; the most stolen vehicle of 2008, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, was the 1994 Honda Accord.
"We know that thieves never miss an opportunity to make a quick buck by stealing a car," says Joe Wehrle, president and CEO of NICB. "They work weekends, nights and holidays and ironically, they are particularly busy on New Year's Day and Labor Day."
While there isn't any way to stop a crook who really wants your ride and has the tools and know-how to make it happen, the following tips can help your car become a less inviting target and slow down, discourage or actually prevent car theft.
Holiday Car Thefts
Number of Thefts: New Year's Day = 3,017, Labor Day = 2,847, Halloween = 2,727, President's Day = 2,683, Memorial Day = 2,599. Independence Day = 2,584. Valentine's Day = 2,389. Christmas Eve = 1,841. Thanksgiving = 1,806. Christmas Day = 1,267. New Year's Eve = 916
The holidays ranked by number of thefts reported to the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) for 2008.
Park in plain sightOur natural inclination is to hide something we don't want anyone to steal, but for cars, visibility is the key to safety, say experts. Thieves prefer to work out of sight of people and electronic recording devices, so leave your car in a well-lit, populated area.
Take your keys---always.
If you think this tip falls into the "duh" section of car theft prevention, try Googling the phrase "keys in ignition" or similar and you'll see many trusting souls leave the equivalent of a sign reading "FREE CAR!" hanging from their ignition switches on a daily basis. Car theft is often a crime of opportunity, so shut yours off and pocket your keys even if you're only ducking into a convenience store.
Don't hide your keys anywhere within or outside the car. You know those magnetic key holders you can buy to store your spare key? Leave it in your house on the fridge, not under bumpers, in the glove compartment or anywhere in the car. Thieves know all the hiding places you do, and probably a few more.
Use a variety of methods to slow would-be thieves.
Car alarms are ubiquitous and often go ignored. When used in tandem with other theft prevention methods, though, they will make a thief naturally try to work faster, and if he comes across other security measures, he may give up altogether and move on. Apply the emergency brake, turn your wheels hard left or right and set the car in "park" or in gear, making it more difficult for you to be quickly towed, and consider using a vehicle recovery system like LoJack or an engine immobilizer device such as Ravelco.
Disable your battery if parking long-term
A thief won't spend time trying to diagnose an apparent engine problem. Consider yanking one of the cable wires to your battery if you're leaving your car parked at an airport or anywhere else where it will sit unattended for more than a few days.
Sign valuable parts
Take the time to embed your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) on the inside of your trunk, inside your doors, on your sound system components and any other pricey parts thieves like to chop. If you don't feel like doing it yourself, contact your local police precinct or even your insurance company, some of whom offer free VIN etchings.
Go east
California is the number one state for auto theft, according to the National Insurance Crime bureau, with the town of Modesto ranking #1 with 4,235 vehicles stolen in 2008.
The good news for all of us is that auto thefts were down almost 9% overall in 2008, according to the NICB, to less than one million a year in 2008. With foresight and preventive measures that don't take much time, you can help ensure you'll never have to experience that unique nausea familiar to anyone finding a grease spot where their car was parked."
From: http://cars2.knoxnews.com/2010/12/31/836/How_To_Screw_Up_A_Car_Thief_s_Day.html
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Watch the seasons fly by:
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Statistics come to life as Swedish academic superstar Hans Rosling
graphically illustrates global development over the last 200 years.
Today:
Ray vacuumed the cargo trailer floor thoroughly, while I drove down to get Jay.
Ray and Jay took a bath tub that I have for sale, to the 'wash rack', as someone is supposed to come to see it today. Ray was cleaning it, and getting some old caulk off it. It is the tub that we took out of the 1947 Westcraft Coronado travel trailer. The buyer wanted a shower in it.
Jay and I laid out the cut lino, (that's sheet vinyl in Brit), rolled half of it back, and started 'buttering' half the trailer floor with lino mastic. Then we smoothed out that half onto the troweled mastic. As it is such a small area, and as we didn't have a 75 lb
lino roller, we used my rolling pin to smooth it out, trying to apply 75 lb pressure. Then we folded back the other unstuck half, applied the mastic, and as soon as it was ready, we smoothed it over the mastic, and 'rolling pinned' it.
We knew that the remnant of lino wasn't quite the size we needed, and so I lined up the pattern for the end that will be covered by built-ins, and we glued it in place. This is the lino we cut out for the wheel wells.
Ray will put seam sealer on the seams once it is done. He is better at fiddly jobs that Jay.
We also knew that there wouldn't quite be enough lino, and that we would also have to fit some of the remnant of my house lino in other places, like under the water tank, which will be under the kitchen counter. It is the same color, but it is just that the color of the lines and squares is reversed.
I wanted the water tank there, as it will be on the tongue end to help with balance. Years ago when they put water tanks in the rear, it contributed to trailer sway and bent frames.
I like our normal TX winters, we have lovely days for outside work, so we can put up with some 'inside work' cold days.
As that is the best minimum temperature for the mastic, we checked that we were working in at least 65 deg., today.
5 comments:
I'm afraid I haven't gone back into your archives, so could you just tell me what this trailer you are working on is all about?
Hi Judy, thank you for your comment.
When my friend died, I had shown an interest in buying his cargo trailer from his relatives.
His sweet old poodle, Misty, who I used to groom for him, was supposed to have stayed with me while he was in the hospital. Unfortunately, when he unexpectedly died from a staph infection after sugery, she was at his relative's place. There she was abused, ungroomed, half-starved and never had the medical attention she needed.
Three and a half years later, they had gone through all proceeds from his estate, and were broke. They called me offering me the trailer. I said yes, but Misty had to come with the deal. Thankfully they agreed, and brought poor matted sick Misty to me, and gave me a receipt for the trailer.
I would have paid that just to get Misty. She had to have two surgeries right away. Now she is in good health, she has a spring in her step, and even though nearly blind, loves her life with me.
I am an SPCA foster mom, but she is not up for adoption. We will be together as long as the Lord allows.
I am making the cargo trailer into a stealth trailer like:
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/VanDwellers/?yguid=223768175
It is to be an RV that doesn't look like an RV. They can be parked in so many places and not be bothered by being told to move on.
So that is what the cargo trailer is all about.
"Woof" to Emma, from Misty.
Happy Tails and Trails. Penny, TX
Just found your blog via Gypsy's site, seeing you comment there. The Lake Conroe got my attention since I live fairly close to it. I have acreage in Cut & Shoot, so if you live near Lake Conroe, we are practically neighbors.
I liked your post. Dogs are better than people and should be treated as such. My wife cooks special food for ours. Must have done something right cause they all seem healthy and my old gal passed away a couple of months ago and she was either 17 or 18 years old and perky up until the last few days. I did post a memorial of her on my blog a while back.
Sonds like you are doing a wonderful service to all animals and fixing trailers and RV's keeps you busy. Check out my site when you get a chance.
I really liked the video of the changing seasons. The floor in the trailer looks good.
Thank you for your comments, Dizzy-Dick and Pidge.
Funny you should say that, Dizzy-Dick, as I had been reading yours just half an hour before. I think it was from Barney's blog.
But if you remember I commented on your post about Buttons passing, so I do read it from time to time.
So glad you liked the changing seasons, and the trailer floor, Pidge.
Happy Trails to y'all. Penny, TX
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