If you have been watching a lot of the recent Kyle videos, you will notice that there are a couple videos of Kyle being assisted as he slides down the slide. Well, I am happy to tell he has figured it out, and absolutely loves it! I walked into his Day Care room today and all of the kids were on the so called Structure, which has steps and a slide. They were all taking turns sliding down the slide…unassited. I saw him go down at least twice before I got video of it, and he wouldn’t stop going down it even after I stopped filming. Hope you enjoy the video as much as he enjoyed performing.

 

 Kyle on the Slide [0:51m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Normally, we would leave Kymba inside during the day, but with the new dog around, we are not quite certain we can trust him just yet. So, that meant poor Kymba and Sam-Turo have been relegated to hanging outside. Granted, it was a high of about 65 degrees today, and there was plenty of shade, but I’m sure Kymba was non too pleased. Here’s a picture of what they looked like when I got home this afternoon.

By the way, if you are wondering why his name is now Sam-Turo, it is b/c we should not rename him until we finally decide to keep him, but we are highly considering the name Sam. So, but putting Sam in front of Turo (instead of Arturo), the dog understands Turo, and will slowly learn Sam also.

We’ve been contemplating for a while whether or not we wanted a second dog or not. We went to the pound/kennel a few months ago, but didn’t really find a dog we liked. Then we went through www.savegsd.org to see about getting another German Shepherd. This organization actually finds foster homes for all the German Shepherds that end up in the pound, and then has a weekly meeting where pre-approved people can go and see if they want to adopt one of their GSDs. So, someone had to come to our house, check us out, check Kymba out, etc., and then we got approved. After that, we went to see the dog “Night Star,” which if you go to the link you will see is an absolutely gorgeous dog. Unfortunately, someone beat us to the punch, and we also found out that he has a heart condition, so it wouldn’t have been ideal since I like to go for runs with the dog(s).

After that, we decided to give it a rest on a second dog, but I guess Barbie kept checking the website and found the following description for a new GSD named Arturo.

Arturo is 12-14 mos old. He is fun, happy, outgoing, confidant, very intelligent and still an active puppy! Arturo was a stray at the shelter, and was very thin and in poor condition. He has been in foster care for about 1 mo., and now his coat shines and he is gaining much needed weight. His hip x-rays are good. “Turo” loves to play ball and is always ready for a run or play time! He is crate trained (sleeps quietly all night), and pretty well housebroken (still a pup that needs watchfulness). He does not jump fences, nor is he destructive. He appears to be exceptionally good with children he has met, good with all other dogs, and OK with cats. Arturo is NOT a lazy dog, but rather he is an active, young , healthy male that needs a family that will take him for a long run/walk and will put more training in to this boy. He knows basic commands, and is great on walks on public trails. “Turo” could easily do competition obedience, as he has flashy movement and he LOVES to work for a toy or treat reward. He has a generally soft temperament and will work best with an owner that uses “reward” based training methods (rather than correction based training). He gives you great eye contact during training and is sooooooo much fun to train and to handle. He would also be ideal for an owner that does lots of hiking/running/walking and wants a GSD for companionship. Arturo should have an owner that has owned a GSD before. He is in Walnut Creek in a foster home (you can contact them directly at dezmurray@comcast.net –you must have an application placed with our program first and a home visit done , please).

Well, he sounded really good, and if you look at his pictures you can see he is a good looking dog. He is a little on the thin side right now b/c he was a stray for a bit, but he is going to be a big dog. He apparently weighs about 75lbs. now, but should add about 10 lbs. to be his normal weight. Only problem is that he is still a growing puppy. If you look at Kymba’s pictures when she was the same age, she was a lot smaller.

Anyways, he is an absolutely great dog, with a great personality and aims to please…unlike Kymba who is princess and wants to be treated accordingly. The question for us now is if we want two big dogs roaming the house, especially with Kyle. Kyle gets along great with both of them, but we have to be careful if they start playing as Kyle could get ran over. So, we are spending the next week with the two dogs, who absolutely love each other thus far and want to play a ton, then we will make our decision next week. Wish us luck.

Sure, it’s a few weeks ago, but that is what happens sometimes with video. Heck, I haven’t even gotten up Easter video from 2007, so technically I am way ahead. This Easter was actually great as Kyle seemed to “get it,” or at least understand the premise that he grabs the eggs and put them in his basket. The best part is that his basket is actually a little basketball hoop! Thanks to Barbie and Kathie for find that. Anyways, the video is like 15 minutes, so don’t feel obligated to watch the whole thing, but I figured for those who want to watch it all, then at least you have the opportunity to spend Easter with the Gravers.

p.s. The one file is better quality, but very large. The other is not as great quality, but a lot smaller. You get to choose!

 

 Easter 2008 (High Quality, but very large!) [15:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Easter 2008 (Low Quality, but smaller file size) [8:19m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Ever wondered what my office looks like? Well, here is a picture of it. And yes, if you are wondering…that is the Masters playing on the right screen in full HD. It’s good to work in the video department

This past weekend Kyle got his 2nd official haircut. We went to one of these places that specializes in kids cuts, so it was decked out with toys, cars for haircut seats, and I think the Lion King playing on a big TV in the back. Apparently, the first place Kyle went to for a haircut actually had the poor guy get nicked, so he started crying, but Barbie thought it was b/c of the haircut, not actually being cut. Not until she got home did she realize poor Kyle had gotten nicked in the process.

Anyways, Barbie fully prepared me for a screaming child, and when I walked in and saw other kids his age crying uncontrollably while some Lady tried to maneuver around, I was prepared for the worst. This is pretty much the reason while the video doesn’t start until a few minutes into the haircut…basically once I realized my kid is the cool kid and doesn’t cry just b/c someone is chopping off his golden locks. Enjoy!

 

 Kyle's 2nd Haircut [8:40m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Every time my parents fly out to visit me, it always starts off with me picking them up and taking them straight to Palo Alto so they can get some Rug shopping done. I guess Palo Alto is better than Miami, so that is what we do. This last time we were there, I parked in one of the 2 hour parking lots. About 90 minutes later I went to move the car so we wouldn’t get a ticket. As I pulled out of the parking lot, a spot just happened to open up right on the street, so I quickly pulled in. Painless and easy…so I thought.

When we came back to our car about 90 more minutes later, there was a ticket on my car for exceeding two hours, which didn’t make any sense to me since I had definitely moved the car. I thought maybe the guy had “chalked” my tire, and I just happened to park where it looked like my tires hadn’t moved, so I was going to fight it. Anyways, since we went to Miami, had our kitchen redone, and are always late checking mail, I kind of forgot about it until I opened mail this week. I decided to call and see if it was too late to argue (sure enough it was), but I really wanted to find out if I was in the wrong.

Apparently, in Palo Alto there are 4 color zones, and you can only park in a color zone for 2 hours per day! So, even if I moved my car to a new color zone, then tried to move it back a couple hours later, I would still get a ticket. Their systems don’t talk to each other, so even though the meter person may enter your License plate as being in the Purple zone, it doesn’t clear you from having parked in the Blue zone. So, when you go back to the Blue zone to park, it will think you have been there for 4 hours or however long it was since you first parked there. Of all the people I know who visit Palo Alto, I bet you none of them know about the Color Zones, especially since it is only written in the small text under the “2 hour only” parking warning. Needless to say, this is just a shady attempt to get money from the visitors of the city. Here is the website that explains it all…too bad they aren’t out passing these around town when you park.

From: Parking in Palo Alto

Color Zone Parking
The core business district of downtown Palo Alto is divided into four color-coded parking zones:

* Purple, Coral, Lime and Blue.
* Parking enforcement in effect Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
* Once the time limit expires in a given color zone you must move your vehicle out of that zone.
* Vehicles will be ticketed if they are reparked in the same color zone within the same enforcement day.

Example: You park in a 2-hour space on the street in the Lime Zone at noon. (You may repark within the Lime Zone only during your initial two hours should you need to.) However, if you leave before the 2 hours are up, you cannot repark later that same day. Your car must leave the Lime Zone by 2 p.m. You may park in any other Color Zone except the Lime Zone, which you are now leaving.

So, I monitor the site digg.com mainly for technology news. It used to be only Tech news, but now has expanded into news of all sorts. Anyways, one of the top stories there was the top 10 Linux commercials of all time, and the following one is something that hit home. It basically is a commercial that says one thing…don’t listen to others and pursue your goal or interest, and if it is good, people will eventually realize it and embrace it. Enjoy!