to the dogs...

my brother called today to tell me that my sister's family dog, luna, is suffering from a brain tumor. she's been going downhill very fast, and they are going to euthanize her on friday (possibly sooner if she declines more quickly).

my dog, perry, died of the same thing--and luna's symptoms sound very much like what perry experienced during his last few days. it must be an affliction of very large dogs or something. big dogs just die younger than small dogs; not all from brain tumors, of course, but i still wonder if the incidence of brain tumor is higher for large breeds.... luna is a purebred white german shepherd, and i'd estimate her weight at ~100lbs, give or take. perry was a chesapeake bay retriever mix (his dam was a purebred chessie, sire might have been part/all great dane) who weighed around 115 lbs. luna just turned 8 in august. perry lived only 2 months past his 8th birthday.

i called my sister as soon as i got off the phone with my brother. i just finished talking to her. she, her husband, and their 2 kids are all broken up about it, of course.

it's so sad. pets will break your heart. it's what you sign up for when you adopt one, and it's totally worth it, but it still hurts.

crash calls it a "bounce"

i just had a "bounce." i'm sitting in a coffee shop, working, and the #5 bus just pulled up to the curb right in front of the window. i glanced up and noticed an older east asian woman in a fishing hat looking right at me. she was sitting toward the back of the bus. our eyes met through two layers of window. we both smiled. the bus pulled away and we kept smiling until i couldn't see her anymore. i'm still smiling. perhaps she is too.

crash66 once described this phenomenon to me...and he gave it a name: "bounce."

i love it when little things like this happen. it keeps me from tumbling headlong into misanthropic cynicism.

wow, just had another kind of "bounce." when i walked into this coffee shop, i noticed the knitwear on a woman sitting a couple of tables away from me. just now she and her boyfriend got up to leave, and apparently she noticed my knitwear too because she came over to me and asked me about it. turns out she's a knitter, newly transplanted to seattle from san diego. we talked, introduced ourselves, and traded a couple of quick online knitting resources.

knitting funny

thanks to alice_at_night for sending me this link.

knitted condom, anyone?

i particularly love the warning notice:
Warning: People who use the knitted condom have a much higher risk of pregnancy and STDs. The knitted condom may also cause burning, chaffing, vaginal dryness, loss of errection, and extreme pain. People who want to enjoy sex should not use the knitted condom.

(i think they mean "chafing.")