Category Archives: Winston

And in non-computing news..

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A couple of years ago at a post-race F1 interview one of the drivers was asked what they thought of the Ferrari backend as that is all they had seen all race. It’s like that with Winston – I am as familiar with how his backend looks because I’m always following and he’s a big dog (90kg?). So yesterday I can’t miss the fact that his nuts were swollen and very red. A long walk in the cold failed to change things so today we go to the vet. Winston never stands still at the vet but he needed them examining. She’s a very attractive vet and he didn’t move a muscle. He just stood there letting her have her way. As you would :) Before we went, J looked it up on the net just to see what could be up. I asked her if she’d found anything. “You should go to the vet if the bog’s testicles are swollen or broken”. I crossed my legs when I heard that last word. As you would…

Not a soggy dog.

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Does anyone else own a dog who can see it pouring with rain out in the back garden, who has seen it like this all day and who does not want to go out in it, yet it quite obviously believes that at the front of the house it is sunny and warm? It must think this because it repeatedly asks to go out the front for a walk.
In the end I got all togged up, put his lead on and we headed out. We got halfway down the drive before he stopped, looked me with a “Why have you brought me out in this?” expression and headed back in.
Cats rule.

Winston slides

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Winston had his first ‘Bambi’ moment as he trotted onto was has been up until now a stream.
He also saw his first rabbit and took off without any hesitation. A full speed 180lb dog is a sight to behold – and of course the rabbit got away.
We went out earlier. We came back a couple of hours later to no water pressure. After checking various things I went to go to the garage. A pipe 8ft from the floor had burst at a joint and we had mains pressure water cascading all over the place. Stopcock couldn’t be shifted. Landlord called. 2 hours later help arrived and the pipe is now sealed. The stopcock will be dealt with at a later date. So….. insurance will cover us, many pictures are wanted and tonight it’s going to freeze. So I’ll be the one skating around my garage tomorrow doing my best to point and click :) Damage? Looks close to £1000 at least.

Over a bump and away

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8:30pm. Me, P and Winston go out for his evening walk. We take him off the lead where the blue dot is at the bottom. It’s a path/cyclepath with grasses and bushes/trees either side. As it’s dark we play hide and seek with the dog to help wear him out a bit. All this happens on the orange part on the left. We are on/off and over that path constantly and it’s only 7 feet wide. We can see everything that might pass. Nothing did. We played for about 20 minutes.

As is normal we then headed over the roundabout. There are no houses here, no buses, it’s just a series of road intersections and crossings. We get to the other side and about where the orange line stops are some barriers we pass through.This is a daily walk and I always let Winston off the lead. So I did. Me and P started walking and I get to the point where I can see round that slight curve (it’s where I saw a stoat a few weeks ago). I’m looking downhill. I see a person where the red dot is. You can tell when someone is walking to you or away can’t you? This person was coming toward. Winston was ahead of me and I wanted hom closer and on the lead so I turned and told P to hide. She ducked behind a huge rock that is there (there are several to prevent “travellers”) and I called to Winston that P was gone. I’d looked away for a matter of a few seconds. And the person had gone.
To get from where they were out of my sight they would have had to run. Or hopped straight into the undergrowth. They were not moving away from me, of that I am absolutely certain. We always walk down to the bottom curve – there’s a gate there – and tonight we did the same. Both me and P had seen this person, we both thought they were coming at us and we both knew there was no way they could realistically have got out of our sight. But we didn’t see them. It was one of those “Someone is watching me” moments. I talked loudly. I kept a good grip on the dog lead and worked out the arc of my swing. I walked confidently. I wished I’d remembered my mobile. I watched every move Winston made – but then Great Danes aren’t known for their sleuthing noses. And I constantly looked behind us on the way back. Really odd. Spooky.

Webs in the mist

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Went for a slow long plod with Winston this morning. Don’t they say something along the lines of “There are hundreds of spiders per sq foot”? Well on a misty morning walking next to the fields it’s amazing just how many webs I must otherwise miss in good weather. Nature’s chandeliers they are. Best part about a sunday morning walk though is that Winston gets off the lead much sooner – even if he does go hide from me.

And getting back I find that I’ve got around 1500 images online now with several more to add. Zenphoto – which I really like – seems to put all the album cache files into one directory and when that gets big …. I wanted to change some files this morning but with over 2000 cached files I had to erase a few to find what I wanted so I could delete it to get a new thumb. So waiting in the wings – again – is Gallery. It’s just so damn ugleeee. All the bells and whistles I can ignore but ugleee….. shame zenphoto won’t cache per album. Does gallery? No idea. I suppose I should look….. job for the week then.. move it all into Gallery.

Gym was great today – 4 others there. I could do what I wanted without waiting. And I am starting to really like the cross-trainer again. The other day was 20 minutes Hill Plus level 15 and today it was Cascade same time/level. One day I’ll try Kilimanjaro.

A face and some stone

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My philosophy of ‘take dozens of pictures and hope like hell for 1 good one’ failed drastically today. Photographing buttercups in the sunshine is a lot harder than it looks if you want more than a bright yellow blob. Toward the end of that walk Winston started rubbing his face. When we got back his cheeks were red. Within 20 minutes his face had doubled in size – and on a Great Dane that’s a lot of face. More piriton given, vets called – they remain sure it’s a food thing. Hmm….. needs ruling out though. Have I mentioned that a couple of months ago we saw a white boxer dog? Very odd.

Work continues apace, as does plotting new things at FreshlyPressed and I really really want some stone for my lobes – 19mm / 22mm …. but I want too many. Crazy Lace Agate, Greenstone Tunnels, Grey Quartz plugs, Howlite, Obsidian, Petrified Coral ….and that’s only in the one section …

The crumpling dog

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Winston needed the vet today as the investigations into his skin problems continue. Today was a delightfully termed ‘skin scrape’. (Did I mention we have to take him vet last Saturday? £80 JUST to be seen, Another 50% on top for treatment that day. Insurance. Wise move – and yes we have). So in we go. He likes it there as it’s a social event more than anything else. It appeared they had geared a significant amount of their day around Winston because – as the vet put it – he’s too big for the kennels. Vet gets the sedative prepared. He decides to go for a vein shot rather than into muscle. He gives the jab and easily within 30 seconds Winston just folds to the floor. More than 11st of strong young dog is rendered insensible in an astonishingly small amount of time. (If only I’d had access to similar options as a nurse when someone was freaking at me……). It’s now some 6 hours later and he still looks zonked. The food / allergy diet starts again soon ……..

Blisterfish

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FeedDemon just went off after finding all the TongCasts :) (and thanks to Simon and Claire for responding after my last post). So that's some rowing sounds booked in. I thought I'd got Moyles on the Zen when I got there today ….. I used random play instead so I got bored after 31 minutes which was 6000m. I will do 6000 in 30 minutes – it's the next goal. Faster not further. And despite the fact I wear gloves (because my hands get sweaty and the grip goes and then I have to move my hands about and that means I start to realise just how long I've been on it even though the time is right in front of me) I've blistered my fingers. Bad form. What with that and a blister on my right foot …. if I was Seb Coe I'd be given the summer off. (Whatever happened to Steve Ovett? I assume he's gone on to a decent life instead of joining a lying bunch of politicians)

Fish. Beast is on a fish/rice diet for 6 weeks. Suspected allergies. He's already cost a stack and this just adds to that. Big dog, big bills…

Must be thunder nearby – flickering electrics. I love thunderstorms, lightning and everything like that. It's at times like this I wish was near someone I really disliked. I'd give them a metal coathanger and make them go stand in a field :)

Back to being busy …… it's only 18:30 ……….

WW

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Winston weighs……….. 70kg. That’s 11st 2lbs in real money.
This is a note for the future.
When he’s bigger – his first birthday is in June :)