Bucky the new pup - 2 weeks in

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Bucky the giant Schnauzer came home with me on Friday afternoon of May 8.
The critter was born on Jan. 28, 2015 as part of a 9 pup litter to Lance (dad) and Eva (if memory serves), through breeder/dog groomer Richard Lalonde in the Donovan.

I chose Bucky from the 3 available pups. He seemed the most lively, and was a little more independent and less clingy than his brothers.

In the intervening 2 weeks we have had quite a time together.
Here are some reflexions about that time.

I knew going in this would be a lifestyle changer.
And it has been.
I have given over a very big chunk of time and mental energy to this mutt.
In part I consider it an investment of my time that will return dividends over time.
We'll see, but early indications are positive.

Relatively speaking I'm satisfied Buckminster is a clever canine.
He responds well to treats.
He remembers places and patterns (B.'s pattern recognition is strong for a dog).
He'll retrieve a disc or a ball on most occasions, but after a dozen times, he begins to lose interest.
I'm so happy that he has a natural off switch, unlike some born retrievers.

He is mostly toilet trained.
Of course this requires that I accommodate his schedule.
Which means I am almost fully trained.
Is there something wrong with this picture?

I am constantly trying to peer into that brain of his.
I am eager to understand what he's thinking, and why he does what he does.
His behaviour is for the most part uncomplicated.
His behaviour of course is a window into his head.

It is not a human brain - to say what is obvious.
But there are many similarities.
He seeks to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. How human is that?

Bucky gets pleasure from food.
It seems he is on a constant search for food.
He will inhale a bowl of deluxe kibble in seconds, but is not sated.
It seems he is never sated.
He will sniff out possible food sources during every waking moment - save for when he is otherwise distracted. And heaven forbid that I should eat within his view. That is an open invitation to harass and bug me for some.
Perhaps I am not feeding him enough, though I think I am following the food suppliers guidelines.
About 3 cups of kibble a day.

Limbs - marionette like...
They flop about, not always fully controlled.
It seems as if the development of limb control is a little delayed, but I'm assured it is normal.

Sleeep - in cage - good
2x on bed - good but not good.

 No pushback when I heave him, sliding, 10 feet, out of the kitchen - where he does not belong.

On occasion, Mischievous , or curious, partly to search for food, partly perhaps?  to explore his territory?
And he is fairly persistent when he's got a scent. He don't let go easy, and sometimes he (chooses to) forget where he is allowed and where not.

And then there's his puppy clumsiness - but the B-minster improves every day (scratching ear or collar - a hilarious development.) Clumsy as in slip slidin' on the hardwood floors, and smashing ino stuff without apparent injury.

And most hilarious for me is the struggle he undertakes in retrieving a disc. About half the time (it seems) he'll get the edge of the disc in his teeth, have one foot sitting flat on the disc, and he can't lift the darn thing up. Cuz he's standing on it. And so he'll try and wrestle it out from under his foot, all the while applying more pressure with his foot. Inside I'm screaming .

And I call to mind his plaintiff whines - sometimes from his cage, sometimes at my feet...
They seem to be almost a language, however primitive.

How profound the ol saying that " even a dog knows the difference between a kick and a stumble."
I'm always wondering if B knows when i am deliberate or random ish.

i hold No brief for the canine species.
If there is to be a competition, i'm pulling for humans.
I'd rather eat a dog than have a dog eat me.
I wonder if we could reach a consensus on that.

I realize I gotta stay patient.
And that ain't so easy.
I do better after I have exercise.
But once I get in the wind down stage of the day,
attending to the circadian patterns worn deep,
food prep, eat, drink, clean, dessert, pee, smoke,
then Bucky seems more restless, while getting less attention,
and the stand-offs begin, and will occasionally result
in a bit of a raised voice cussing spree.

Bucky does not understand what was said.
(Mindful he is a German breed and I only know English)
but he sure understands how it was said.
It is but a crude way of asserting my alpha male dominance,
but it suits me for the time being.

more as developments occur and the inclination to report arises.

McClaughin Bev., CJ SCC on Differences

I say
certain differences on a debate or discussion between individuals
qualifies as a 'difference' in The McC context
and her framework and options and suggestions
resonates easily and comfortably.

Here's her formal speech for the Event.
Lafontaine Balwin Lecture series 2013 McLachlin

You may say:
wait a sec, there's a distinction between the difference she had in mind, and
the differences I have in mind.
 You are likely correct.
But as a veteran judicial wag once offered:
"Tis a distiction without a difference."

J'accuse. My Abusers Outed !

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It's not easy setting out to write a piece that reveals one has been abused, physically and mentally.
But that's what I now do. And more, I will name the abusers and their complicit agencies.
All this it seems, is in keeping with the spirit of the age.

A good chunk of my reticence in posting this revelation has been the rather long gap, in human terms, between then and now. Then was half century ago and more. Again though, this seems to be in keeping with the spirit of the age, that is a big gap in time between the abuse and the report.

'Report' I observe tends to be the immediate precursor of 'claim'. As in a monetary claim against the abuser and their complicit agencies. For me, this is still a delicate issue, still unresolved, though I do not want in any fashion to close the door to a substantial claim as a victim.

The institutional abuse began was I was a tender 5 years old. Still I remember it clearly. It was a grade school environment. I was only in Grade 1ne. Our woman teacher named Moynihan called me aside, but within the view of my class mates so they might know what might await them should they ever be called aside. She brandished a significant and heavy leather strap, designed specifically for imparting a beating. She ordered me to hold out my hand. There followed a sharp deliberate blow.  I yanked back my hand on the sting, in complete shock. She order me to hold out my hand again. I hesitated and she then grabbed my hand, palm up, and delivered another blow. And then a third.

Tears flowed. With attendant crying. It seemed like a very long while before the pain subsided.

I came to understand that Moynihan was no rogue teacher with this teaching method. Her principal approved and indeed required this approach to discipline. Her principal was a nun. From the order Sisters of St. Joseph. They wore full length black habits, and head gear that left only the front of their face exposed, a veil extending at the back of their head past their shoulders. A white starched forehead band and a crisp white starched bib completed the outfit that never changed. In later years I would have further run ins with these sisters of corporal discipline.

It came to pass that I understood my parents both approved of 'the strap' as a reliable way to encourage compliance, and conformity. Interestingly my father had known Moynihan as she had taught him in Grade 1ne at the same school round the early 1930s. I also came to learn that in his early school days my father was no stranger to 'the strap'.

And now to backtrack some for completeness, because some might think that the conduct leading to the strapping might offer just cause. Well, .....


There will be some who would press to ask what consequences can we confidently say flowed from this approach to discipline. Others would be quick to say it is not a relevant question. Again for the sake of completeness I can offer a few summary elements.

Places and Choices

We all make choices about our places.
Some choices are big.
The consequences of some of the big choices are huge.

This, then, is about some ideas related to making choices,
with, inevitably I suppose, some prescriptive tips.

Most of us have many degrees of freedom
in our choices of where we call ' my place'.

Here, I am thinking of place as a certain (in the colloquial sense) space.
Space as in 3 dimensions. Time in the background a fourth.

And at a part of the scale that represents geography.
And a related concept of 'home' or homes.

Make no mistake. These places are the result of our choices.

How should me make our choices?
What process should we follow?
What factors should be counted and how?

more later

Exercise & Mood

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The verdict I now confirm.
Exercise improves mood.

And it improves productivity, meaning,
there is more energy available,
and more inclination,
to be productive,
(even as simple as getting to create this post.)

And I am confident that there are other benefits,
meaning results that are worth pursuing.
Like improved sleep.
Which in turn makes for improved wakefulness.

And life is just better,
and one imagines that it facilitates more of a good life.
Less sickness, less pain, less discomfort, more energy.

But I am also alert that one may be easily sidetracked from exercise.
Other things frequently push for priority, and often win.

Part of the solution I think to reconcile these competing interests is
to find ways to mix exercise with things that you might be doing otherwise.

Tasks like dishes, or brushing one's teeth,
might just as well be accomplished
standing on one foot, with tiptoes every once in a while.
That's exercise.

And while there are surely better approaches,
the key is not to seek perfection,
rather just to get the exercise 'in', get 'er done.

And so that's my plan....

M

Paradox - All Right & All Wrong

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It seems I am sometimes motivated to resolve conflict.
Not infrequently the conflict is within my own head.
There, competing notions do battle.
And the background meta guideline is that the preferred path is a logical and rational one.
And logic and rationality do not take easily, or sometimes at all,
to mutually exclusive notions simultaneously holding sway.

Consider this example.

It occurs to me that everything is All Right.
It occurs to me that everything is All Wrong.

And it further occurs to me there is a case to be made out for each.
More or less at the same time.

ALL RIGHT

As a proportion, or ratio,
how
do the number of properly working subsystems compare
to the number of all such sub systems
in order for me to command, as quickly as I do,
my fingers to tap out on this keyboard,
(think human body/mind electro-chemical subsystems, for openers)
the precise movements that allow me to communicate with you
through these images of words?
And the answer is !
a huge proportion; Gy-normous; 99.999999+ percent.
Virtually everyone of those sub-sytems has to be 'working'
for me to do what I have just done.

Now, mind, it could all come to a screeching halt if,
that is if, just one of those sub systems started messing up.

I'll save examples of some of those good working subsystems till later on.

ALL WRONG

Today it seemed as if I had about a dozen conversation connections
with a dozen folks
all doing separate  tasks
and more often than not
when I was paying the freight (as customer or employer).

And in virtually each of those encounters
I felt like ranting
near to the point of raving.

There had been some flaw, or goof up, or unmet expectation
in each situation.
At my expense.
And the flaw typically was at some core or fundamental level,
hardly trivial in many plausible imaginings.

And I came to thinking: dang,
the snafus are simply too numerous, too frequent, and involving too deep a gouge,
to allow the whole system to cope.

It can not hold, I surmised.

Again examples will have to be deferred.

RECONCILIATION

That is now I reflect on
how to resolve these apparently competing and
dare I say, mutually exclusive notions,
into a sensible whole.

 But alas the clock nears its irrelevant time.
And that resolution will have to await another post.

Learning (active voice) Computer (a subject area)

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The dot just gives me a little space - leastwise as it shows on my screen.

Sat.Nite.Blues cbc in back, at wood counter at 277.

Tomorrow I head out for a week golfing in Myrtle Beach with Jay Paul Tony Dave & JimMac.
And I got a lot of packing and other stuff to do before departure.

But still I make this feeble effort at a few words about
Computer and the struggle to learn it and keepup.

Geez it takes some effort and patience.
Plenty of both.

The most recent challenge
getting music for my iphone (which spelling was rejected by this apple spell checker.
And more specifically, without using iTunes service/software/maniacal patience challenger.

After a few hours browsing the Web, as we used to say,
I'm thinkin' you juz can't get there from here.
Leastwise not sensibly.
Got t'hand it to the genius Steve Jobs
he wasn't letting go once he had you in his grip.

But what's harder to understand
is the seeming lack of a easily retrievable common sense explanation
of the straight goods
on how Apple ties you up when it comes to listening to music,
and what the sensible workarounds are.

And then I thinks to myself,
I got better things to do.

And probably the same for you.

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