DreamWvr

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Syd and Mala had an epic round of closely supervised wrestling last night. Nothing unusual there, except that it appears Syd has been reading my Sun Tsu. The Fierce Little Bulldog(tm) was using all manner of tactics and strategy against an opponent twice her size.

She repeatedly charged full tilt, jumped and body-checked Mala, causing Mala to spin and present her flanks, which she couldn’t defend as well.

She wedged herself into the space between the elliptical and the stool, where Mala couldn’t fit more than her head, letting Syd then go after the neck.

She repeatedly ran off the carpet and onto the tile, where Mala’s greater height and weight meant she was slower and less maneuverable due to the lower traction.

My favorite, she flipped onto the back in apparent surrender then snapped over, hit Mala a good nip and bounded away.

I think it was the first time Mala didn’t have to humor Syd to keep her in the game, letting her score a few hits so it stayed fun. The big dog was seriously having to work to stay ahead, and Syd pressed every advantage.

The little shit never fails to amuse, but it is rare that she surprises me. She may be too stubborn to learn to shake hands, but dumb she is not.

Despite my love of Irish history and having a degree of pride in my heritage, I don't celebrate SPD.

First of all, I'm not Irish. I'm of Irish lineage. I'm also of French and German lineage, but I don't celebrate Bastille Day or the anniversary of the Reichstag Fire.

That said, I've supported Irish Unification ever since I first learned about the various struggles for Irish independence. Part of this stems from my longtime loathing of the U.K. and part of it stems from my sympathies with the historical struggles of the Irish people.

While I could never support the last incarnation of the IRA as an organization - Marxists are bad even when they're on your side - I did support their goals of harrying the Brits into bankruptcy under the victims of crime and terrorism reparations act. While it never got a lot of press over here, that was the reason for the bombing campaigns of the 80s. Britain passed a law that mandated people and businesses who suffered economic losses due to terrorist actions would have their losses covered by the government.

That's why the IRA and other organizations called in warnings well in advance. They usually weren't interested in killing people; they wanted to cost the government large amounts of cash and make it economically impractical to maintain the occupation. The fact that the good folks in the UK leadership on several occasions failed to act on the warnings, since killing people would harden animosity toward the independence movement, pretty clearly showed me who was the worse side in the Brit gov vs. Irish independence fighters.

That said, it's not a fight I have a dog in. It's just interesting to me. The fact that the peace accords were adopted and both the Republic and the Counties enjoyed a decent term of prosperity under the Celtic Tiger era was also interesting, in that long term conflicts invariably have ebbs and flows in their intensities. I predict, particularly with the current downturn in Irish fortunes, the fight will heat back up in my lifetime, but I don't think it'll ever be resolved.

I spew out all this background to give context to my standard answer when someone asks, "Hey, Murph, what do you do for St. Patrick's Day?" I answer, "I don't do anything for St. Patrick's Day. It's a bullshit holiday. However, when Ireland is a free and united country, then I'll drink a green fucking beer."

Happy Ninth Birthday to Zaney, our beloved Empress of the Known Universe.

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I got tired of being chubby and winded; so I've been hitting the elliptical and I ordered a bike out of my income tax refund. Just a basic mountain bike, nothing fancy. My friend David came over last week and helped me assemble it.

I took it out for a quick tour of the neighborhood Thursday and discovered he and I hadn't tightened down the handlebars. We'd left some slack in the securing screw in case we needed to adjust them any and had forgotten to wrench that puppy back down. I walked the bike back home six blocks. No biggie.

Today is a nice day. Windier than I would like, but nice. I just took a ride down to Albertson's and back for a couple things I needed to make dinner.

I can't feel my quads. Seriously. They're numb. Later, when I can feel them again, they're going to hurt like fire.

At least I've gotten started, and the pain won't last more than a few days.

I'm trying to take comfort in that, but I have a shitload left to do this afternoon, and all I really want to do is slide into a nice hot bath for six or seven hours.

It will get better, and I will see 180 again.

I watched the sneak peak for Robert Rodriguez's new take on Predator. It looks interesting, but I'm guarded. I've only seen 2 RR movies that didn't suck, and he has a remarkable talent for taking what would have been a good movie in just about anyone else's hands and turning it into a steaming pile.

Seriously, don't.

Story here.

I knew Ford was planning to scrap the Crown Vic next year. I wasn't aware it was sidelining the entire platform, thus negating Mercury Grand Marquis and Lincoln Towncars as well. Piss.

Second, the re-worked Taurus Interceptor they're introducing as their new cop car? Front wheel drive.

Seriously, guys?

Fuck.

This week's questions are brought to you courtesy of enyd, the letter F, and the number 5...

BFFs!

1. Who is your best friend?
   
2. What is one really special thing this friend has done for you?
   
3. What have you given up for him/her (that he/she may or may not know about)?
   
4. What was the last thing you two fought about?
   
5. Why is he/she your best friend?
   (sic)

Copy and paste to your own journal, then reply to this post with a link to your answers.

If you'd like to suggest questions for a future Friday Five, then do so here: http://www.livejournal.com/community/thefridayfive/1466.html

Old sets that were used have been deleted, so please feel free to suggest some more! Remember that we rely on you, our members, to help keep the community going.

Wow. Just. Wow.

There's a move afoot to level about 25 percent of Detroit and return it to fields and green space, moving residents from blighted areas into stronger neighborhoods to consolidate.

I've been saying for years that The City of No Hope(TM) just needs to be torn down and rebooted, but I never thought I'd see anyone seriously advocating it.

We had the cast and crew Nat's new play over to house to eat between shows on Sunday. The stage manager brought her boyfriend, a very charming Bosnian gent.

We were talking about the dogs and he chuckled when we told him Mala's name. Nat asked what was up and he said, "She's a big dog, but in Bosnian her name means, 'Little One.'"

Now, those of you who know the origins of the late and lamented Bitz the Wondermutt, know her original name was Little Bit, which then got corrupted to Bitz over time.

Without even knowing it, we continued the tradition of our big dog having the same name. I'm going to pretend I knew that from the start and gave Mala a Bosnian name on purpose.

Send my new bike in a box marked, "To be sold to the consumer in an assembled and adjusted state only," and then don't include any assembly instructions whatsoever.

Look, I'm not pissed off at Sports Authority for sending the bike in contrast to the manufacturer's instructions. I knew the thing would come "dealer assembled," but no directions, no instructions, not even a freaking hint? Come the fuck on.

The bus company in this story is the very definition of 'fucked.'.

Good thing too. Assholes. If the allegations about illegal interstate operation and no insurance are true, I hope the owners can be found complicit in the inevitable negligent homicide cases.

Co-worker one (attractive female): I had a great time skiing, but on the way back to the cabin fell and bruised my tailbone. I went down on the ice.

Co-worker two (middle-aged guy): Didn't that freeze your mouth?

Co-worker one: O_O

Look, if you're going to pay a psychic for investment advice, you deserve what you get.

The SEC shouldn't charge this guy; Obama should appoint him to the Fed.

My bicycle was delivered. Tonight's goal is to finish housecleaning for Nat's and my opening weekend between show get together Sunday, plan my shopping list for tomorrow and put the bike together.