Those prosthetics are wonderful on that Alsatian. The ones that abandoned him have a lot to answer for ...

Then My Grace was very lucky, She was abandoned in the high desert in Apple Valley CA, animal control or someone brought Her in and made sure She was healthy and then I went looking for a cat to adopt and She's been at My side ever since, My best friend in fact. And yeah they do great work with prosthetics these days, one of these days hopefully they'll have a breakthrough that will allow permanent attachment through the skin to the bone, making them true limb replacements... Some insurance companies regard prosthetics as cosmetic, truly disgusting, the insurance companies attitude, not the limbs... There must be a good amount of research going on permanent implants, as can be seen Here and Here, something that people like those in Boston MA could use.

This story out of Denver CO may be key, as they have a 'special metal' that both skin and bone can grow into preventing infection, so as to allow a permanent artificial leg.

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

Very true Vic. We've come a long way in that regard, just a shame that humans haven't progressed as well as those!

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I've looked into getting the blade feet prosthetics but unfortunately my back has curved too much and my balance is shot.

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Very true Vic. We've come a long way in that regard, just a shame that humans haven't progressed as well as those!

How true...

@ Blurf: Sorry to hear about that.

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

I remember the days we could smoke on plains and trains, in bars and restaurants... Still, the train station from Hasselt, where I work, still has a smoking section inside the building... Quite welcome in wintertime!

I remember the days when I would go to dinner, sit in the restaurant's "non-smoking" section[1], and still smell smoke on myself the next day... AFTER washing my hair and putting on clean clothes.

With all the taxes and everything, cigs are now either $11 or $12 a pack in the city of Chicago. This is supposed to discourage smoking and pay for health care costs for smokers who can't afford insurance.

[1] When I was in college, I took intro to journalism. We had to write a letter to the editor of the college paper. I wrote about the stupidity of the smoking section of the student cafeteria being between the non-smoking section and the exit, so non-smokers had to walk through the smoke to leave.

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David
Sitting on my butt while others boldly go,
Waiting for a message from a small furry creature from Alpha Centauri.

Blurf, Sorry to hear about your curved back preventing you being able to use blade prosthetics - no "Blurf the Blade" then :-(


(edited to make sense)

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

Don't panic!

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Don't panic!

LOL....
My kitties only do that if I've drawn a few inches of warm water into the tub to warm it up before a bath, and one of them hasn't noticed before jumping in.

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"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

Don't panic!

LOL OMG that is so danged funny, as much as I love house cats, house cats just really get moving when their pads get somewhere between damp and wet, I can flick water at Grace and She'll just sit there like a bump on a log, but start the shower while She's in or next to the tub and look out, She just turned on the warp drive to make a fast exit... :)

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

LOL....
My kitties only do that if I've drawn a few inches of warm water into the tub to warm it up before a bath, and one of them hasn't noticed before jumping in.

I guess that's when you've had a shower instead....

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

Our Eva is a water baby. She dips her little pink paws into tubs full of water on purpose! We think she is part tiger. Eva also drinks my bath water before I have used any soap or shampoo. When she does this, Eric says she is drinking "hot house-monkey soup". (Sadly, I am afraid that Eric's use of the term "hot" refers only to the temperature of the bath water...)

Our Eva is a water baby. She dips her little pink paws into tubs full of water on purpose! We think she is part tiger. Eva also drinks my bath water before I have used any soap or shampoo. When she does this, Eric says she is drinking "hot house-monkey soup". (Sadly, I am afraid that Eric's use of the term "hot" refers only to the temperature of the bath water...)

Remember Angela, you've married a "mad Scientist". ;)

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

Even with a fairly expensive fresh, cold water dispenser at his disposal, my new friend Fuzzy, seems to much prefer drinking from the large porcelain goblet in the bathroom. But I understand that a couple mishaps while standing on the rim and leaning in to drink left him a bit soggy. So inventive minds placed a small stool next to the... well... stool... so he can stand with his back feet on it and still lean in enough to drink without his center of gravity causing a problem. I'm tall enough that I don't need a stool.

Yesterday I was going over to Lori's to help her with some spring yard work. About a block from her house, I saw this kid gawking at something across the road. I looked, and saw something for a brief moment before a house blocked the view.
I told her it looked like a 6 foot tall kiwi bird...LOL! Best description I could give it. She said it was a sandhill crane, and there were a few of them hanging around in the plowed under cornfield across the street from her house. Coulda been, but it had to be the biggest fattest sandhill crane in the state!! I still say it looked like a monster kiwi bird.

Today, I went over again for a few hours to help de-thatch her lawn. We have had a very late start to spring here, but today was glorious. About 74f, nothing but sun, and a very mild breeze. I was driving the lawn tractor towing the de-thatcher and came around the back corner of the house. She was waving at me to stop the tractor. I thought something was amiss.... She said 'you have to come listen to this'. There are some huge pine trees on a berm surrounding her back yard. 20-30 of them. And they sounded just like a bowl of rice crispies. Only LOUDER. Just short of small firecrackers. We figured that with the first burst of warm weather, the sap was flowing like mad, and the pine cones on the trees were bursting open. They continued doing it all afternoon. Never heard anything like it before.

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"Freedom is just Chaos, with better lighting." Alan Dean Foster

(Sadly, I am afraid that Eric's use of the term "hot" refers only to the temperature of the bath water...)

Oh come on Angela - something has kept you guys together all these years. He picked a good one and he knows it :)

Got some more kitty GIFs that I feel I must share later :)

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Happy really hates water. Even a few drops are too much for her. When the kids were playing in the swimming pool, she stayed miles away...

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rOZZ
Music
Pictures

Today, I went over again for a few hours to help de-thatch her lawn. We have had a very late start to spring here, but today was glorious. About 74f, nothing but sun, and a very mild breeze. I was driving the lawn tractor towing the de-thatcher and came around the back corner of the house. She was waving at me to stop the tractor. I thought something was amiss.... She said 'you have to come listen to this'. There are some huge pine trees on a berm surrounding her back yard. 20-30 of them. And they sounded just like a bowl of rice crispies. Only LOUDER. Just short of small firecrackers. We figured that with the first burst of warm weather, the sap was flowing like mad, and the pine cones on the trees were bursting open. They continued doing it all afternoon. Never heard anything like it before.

My neighbor on the west side has 4 large pines along our fence, and I've heard the pine cones popping open a time or two. It is a bit noisy, even with only a few cones. Was 94F here today - kitties spent most of the time under the mulberry trees...

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Donald
Infernal Optimist / Submariner, retired

Today, I went over again for a few hours to help de-thatch her lawn. We have had a very late start to spring here, but today was glorious. About 74f, nothing but sun, and a very mild breeze. I was driving the lawn tractor towing the de-thatcher and came around the back corner of the house. She was waving at me to stop the tractor. I thought something was amiss.... She said 'you have to come listen to this'. There are some huge pine trees on a berm surrounding her back yard. 20-30 of them. And they sounded just like a bowl of rice crispies. Only LOUDER. Just short of small firecrackers. We figured that with the first burst of warm weather, the sap was flowing like mad, and the pine cones on the trees were bursting open. They continued doing it all afternoon. Never heard anything like it before.

My neighbor on the west side has 4 large pines along our fence, and I've heard the pine cones popping open a time or two. It is a bit noisy, even with only a few cones. Was 94F here today - kitties spent most of the time under the mulberry trees...

The maximum that the temp got to here was 96F, the predicted temp was 97F, which is also the predicted temp for Monday here in the Barstow CA area.

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The T1 Trust, PRR T1 Class 4-4-4-4 #5550, 1 of America's First HST's

(Sadly, I am afraid that Eric's use of the term "hot" refers only to the temperature of the bath water...)

Oh come on Angela - something has kept you guys together all these years. He picked a good one and he knows it :)

Got some more kitty GIFs that I feel I must share later :)

Even if we didn't still love eachother (and we do!!!) we would probably still stay together, for the raccoons...

we would probably still stay together, for the raccoons...

LOL


edit - isn't it the early hours there?!

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