Baumblog http://www.dragoniv.com/baumblog/ Baumblog EST 1968 - A blog for the Baumbachs who originated in Syracuse, NY en-us Sun, 04 Jan 2009 16:27:14 -0600 Sun, 04 Jan 2009 16:27:14 -0600 If it's not one thing.... Steve http://www.dragoniv.com/baumblog/2009/1/4/if-its-not-one-thing http://www.dragoniv.com/baumblog/2009/1/4/if-its-not-one-thing

Boy, Parsla's luck has to turn around at some point I hope.  Her Siberian Huskey Smokey started having problems just after I left for Christmas.  He was peeing on the carpet overnight, when he usually was good about waking you up or holding it all night.  When I got back here, in just the few hours we were at Parsla's house between NY and going up north, I noticed he was drinking a LOT more water than normal, and going to the bathroom a lot more than normal.  The condition continued like that while we were up north at her sister's cottage, so we decided to come back early and get him to the vet as soon as possible.  Yesterday Parsla was at the vet from 9:30 AM until about 2:00 PM.  Smokey has diabetes.  :-(  That's kinda what I figured based on his behaviors, but it could have been a few other things too.  I was surprised that it can show up that quickly, but I'm wondering if maybe he's been showing signs of it for a while, with it only turning bad just recently. 

So now the lucky guy gets insulin shots every day, and we have to buy some very expensive food for him (which Sam, the black Lab, will also eat, as you can't force one dog to eat one thing and another dog to eat another).  That dog food is $60 for 30 lbs, whereas the normal Purina dog food we normally bought cost $23 for 55 lbs.  So between the dog food change and the insulin, Smokey just got about $75 a month more expensive, plus a one time cost of $900 (exams Saturday and then they'll keep him Monday-Wednesday to slowly ramp up insulin injections to figure out how much he needs).

Oh well, at least we are all safe. 

]]> Sun, 04 Jan 2009 16:27:14 -0600 Merry Christmas! GJ well wishes http://www.dragoniv.com/baumblog/2008/12/24/merry-christmas-1230144578 http://www.dragoniv.com/baumblog/2008/12/24/merry-christmas-1230144578

Here it is, another Christmas almost upon us.  2008 is rapidly fading, 2009 is knocking on our doors.  This has been a tough year for much of the family, but the important thing is, we're all still here, we're all still healthy, and frankly, what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger.  One of my most favorite quotes (no idea who it's from):  "Greatest opportunity often finds you in times of crisis and angst."  I'd say we're in the midst of some great opportunities, wouldn't you?

On a slightly different note, don't forget about the less fortunate in these lousy financial times.  Food pantries are staggering under the weight of the volume of people who don't know where their next meal will come from--folks who are definitely worse off than any of us.  If you've got money to spare, great, but these charities are always more than happy to have a few extra volunteers especially during the winter months. 

 

If you want to arrange it

this world you can change it

if we could somehow make this

Christmas thing last.

By helpin' a neighbor

even a stranger

to know who needs help

you need only just ask.

 

Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Old City Bar

 

So, to all, Merry Christmas, have a happy, safe, and wonderful holiday season, and let's kick this economy back into shape next year!

]]> Wed, 24 Dec 2008 12:49:38 -0600 Food for thought in this Christmas Season GJ things that make you go hmmm http://www.dragoniv.com/baumblog/2008/12/19/food-for-thought-in-this-christmas-season http://www.dragoniv.com/baumblog/2008/12/19/food-for-thought-in-this-christmas-season Check out the results of this study.  If you have never studied morality outside of religion, it's a very interesting topic...one that will definitely make you view your fellow humans in an new light.

]]> Fri, 19 Dec 2008 09:53:45 -0600 Wild Weather on the Way Eric weather http://www.dragoniv.com/baumblog/2008/12/19/wild-weather-on-the-way http://www.dragoniv.com/baumblog/2008/12/19/wild-weather-on-the-way

Hey all you New Yorkers!

Be ready for a pounding.  Snow is on the way.  We got hit this morning starting around 4:00am and it's still going.  Took me over an hour and a half to get to work.  We have almost 10" already on the ground.

Get your snowblowers gased up and your shovels waxed!

]]> Fri, 19 Dec 2008 09:17:59 -0600 If only he reacted to other things the same way... Geoff political http://www.dragoniv.com/baumblog/2008/12/17/if-only-he-reacted-to-other-things-the-same-way http://www.dragoniv.com/baumblog/2008/12/17/if-only-he-reacted-to-other-things-the-same-way

]]> Wed, 17 Dec 2008 13:16:53 -0600 Mitch Albom's Rant on Auto Bailout Failure Eric politics political http://www.dragoniv.com/baumblog/2008/12/15/mitch-alboms-rant-on-auto-bailout-failure http://www.dragoniv.com/baumblog/2008/12/15/mitch-alboms-rant-on-auto-bailout-failure Hey, you senators: Thanks for nothingA few parting words for the senators who squashed the auto rescue
By MITCH ALBOM • FREE PRESS COLUMNIST • December 13, 2008
Do you want to watch us drown? Is that it? Do want to see the last gurgle of economic air spit from our lips? If so, senators, know this: You’ll go down with us. America isn’t America without an auto industry. You can argue whether $14 billion would have saved it, but you surely tried to kill it.We have grease on our hands. You have blood.Kill the car, kill the country. History will show that when America was on its knees, a handful of lawmakers tried to cut off its feet. And blame the workers. How suddenly did the workers — a small percentage of a car’s cost — become justification for crushing an industry? And when did Detroit become the symbol of economic dysfunction? Are you kidding? Have you looked in the mirror lately, Washington? In a world where banks hemorrhaged trillions in a high-priced gamble called credit derivative swaps that YOU failed to regulate, how on earth do WE need to be punished? In a bailout era where you shoveled billions, with no demands, to banks and financial firms, why do WE need to be schooled on how to run a business?Who is more dysfunctional in business than YOU? Who blows more money? Who wastes more trillions on favors, payback and pork? At least in the auto industry, if folks don’t like what you make, they don’t have to buy it. In government, even your worst mistakes, we have to live with.And now Detroit should die with this?In bed with the foreign automakersKill the car, kill the country. Sen. Richard Shelby, Sen. Bob Corker, Sen. Mitch McConnell, your names will not be forgotten. It’s amazing how you pretend to speak for America when you are only watching out for your political party, which would love to cripple unions, and your states, which house foreign auto plants. Corker, you’ve got Nissan there and Volkswagen coming. Shelby, you’ve got Hyundai, Honda, Mercedes-Benz and — like McConnell — Toyota. Oh, don’t kid yourself. They didn’t come because you earned their business, a subject on which you enjoy lecturing the Detroit Three. No, they came because you threw billions in state tax breaks to lure them.And now you want those foreign companies, which you lured, and which get help from their governments, to dictate to American workers how much they should be paid? Tell you what. You’re so fond of the foreign model, why don’t you do what Japanese ministers do when they screw up the country’s finances? They cut their salaries.Or they resign in shame. When was the last time a U.S. senator resigned over a failed policy? Yet you want to fire Rick Wagoner?Who are you people?More money for the lords of Wall StreetThere ought to be a law — against the hypocrisy our government has demonstrated. The speed with which wheelbarrows of money were dumped on Wall Street versus the slow noose hung on the auto companies’ necks is reprehensible. Some of those same banks we bailed out are now saying they won’t extend credit to auto dealers. Wasn’t that why we gave them the money? To loosen credit? Where’s your tight grip on those funds, senators? Where’s your micromanaging of the wages in banking? Or do you just enjoy having your hands around blue-collared throats? No matter what the president does, history will not forget this: At our nation’s most uncertain hour, you senators stood ready to plunge hundreds of thousands of American families into oblivion. Leave them unemployed, with no health care, on public assistance. And you were willing to put our nation’s security at risk — by squashing the manufacturing base we must have in times of war. And why? So you could stand on some phony principle? Crush a union? Play to your base? How is our nation better off today now that you kept $14 billion in the treasury? Are you going to balance the budget with that? Don’t make us laugh. Kill the car, kill the country. You tried to slam a stake into our chest; you don’t realize how close you are to the nation’s heart. Shame on your pettiness. Shame on your hypocrisy. This is how lawmakers behave two weeks before Christmas? Honestly. What has become of this country? Contact MITCH ALBOM at 313-223-4581 or malbom@freepress.com. Catch “The Mitch Albom Show” 5-7 p.m. weekdays on WJR-AM (760).

]]> Mon, 15 Dec 2008 08:41:04 -0600 Funny Kittens Marc video funny http://www.dragoniv.com/baumblog/2008/12/14/funny-kittens http://www.dragoniv.com/baumblog/2008/12/14/funny-kittens

]]> Sun, 14 Dec 2008 23:02:48 -0600 Now this is a superhero! GJ news http://www.dragoniv.com/baumblog/2008/12/13/now-this-is-a-superhero http://www.dragoniv.com/baumblog/2008/12/13/now-this-is-a-superhero It appears the folks in Sheffield, England have their very own Batman...

]]> Sat, 13 Dec 2008 10:29:17 -0600 Ice Storm (or...why that generator purchase just paid for itself) GJ weather http://www.dragoniv.com/baumblog/2008/12/12/ice-storm-or-why-that-generator-purchase-just-paid-for-itself http://www.dragoniv.com/baumblog/2008/12/12/ice-storm-or-why-that-generator-purchase-just-paid-for-itself

That snow storm that we were supposed to get turned into an ice storm, leaving us with about one inch of ice on everything.  Not surpisingly, power outages are rampant and we lost power around 2am.  Ahhh, but with the generator, I still have Internet, Dish Network, and heat!  Heat is good--it's supposed to be c-c-c-cold tomorrow night and the power is likely to be out till Sunday at least.

Don't want to see my gas bill next month, though.  Here's to hoping none of my trees decide to create new entryways in the house! 

How is everyone else doing?  Since we're borrowing National Grid folks from Syracuse, I'm guessing CNY is doing better than we are.  How is Rochester?

]]> Fri, 12 Dec 2008 03:39:52 -0600 Scary video? GJ video http://www.dragoniv.com/baumblog/2008/12/9/scary-video http://www.dragoniv.com/baumblog/2008/12/9/scary-video

]]> Tue, 09 Dec 2008 15:26:08 -0600