Recent Comments

1. about 9 hours ago on For Better or For Worse

   Too bad this occurred before Cesar Millan. It seems like every episode of his show has the pet parent talking “human” to their dog and getting frustrated when they don’t understand. So Cesar has to teach them to speak “dog”, which is mostly energy and body language. I’m not a pet parent, but I do speak a bit of “pigeon dog”, and have never had any trouble getting visiting dogs to understand me and do what I need them to, without resorting to human speech.

2. 1 day ago on Wizard of Id

   My mom’s assisted living place has a big tank of gold and assorted fish. I stop by them every week and say “Hi, Fishies!” and they come up to the glass and we make faces at each other. They’re cute … but boring. For real blood pressure lowering, I watch “Too Cute” (Discovery Family, 1-2 PM daily), which follows litters of puppies and kittens from birth to adoption. That’s so relaxing that, in spite of my best efforts to not miss a moment of that cuteness, I generally fall asleep while watching.

3. 4 days ago on Rose is Rose

   Sorry. This story hour is for Mimi. You’ll just have to wait until the next time I read to her.

4. 5 days ago on Doonesbury

   No, no, Mike! That’s the way we tech nerds function! For years I had to work a standard shift—it was like living with permanent jet-lag! It wasn’t until I got onto swing shift (4 pm – midnight) that I started feeling comfortable. Graveyard (midnight-8 am) was good too, although I tended to bottom out around 5 am … so I’d go for an hour-long walk to wake up (on a Naval base with security patrols, so, safe enough.) The best shift for me was 9 pm to 5 am—the other “Nine to Five”! Of course, I missed out on a lot of TV … until I got a VCR (this was the 80s and 90s).

5. 5 days ago on Dick Tracy

   Don’t waste your time holding off (like I did, for nearly a year—stupid move!) Make a list of all the activities you’ve had to give up because of joint pain, then ask yourself how much longer you want to do without them, with the certain knowledge that your pain will only get worse and you will have to give up even more activities. If you scrupulously follow all the pre-op prep instructions (Kaiser gave me a fat info & instruction-laden brochure, and even required an orientation class, where they gave us special soap to prevent infection) and post-op recovery meds and procedures, particularly the PT exercises, you’ll be partially mobile within hours of your surgery and fully mobile within 6 weeks. Pain levels for me were never more than I could handle—I never even opened the bottle of Oxycodone I was prescribed, relying only on Ibuprofen.

6. 6 days ago on Adam@Home

   Probably lying in a pile on the floor next to the treadmill … to be picked up and dumped back on the treadmill when Adam decides that he’s not going to do that (i.e. exercise) again.

7. 6 days ago on Peanuts Begins

   Charlie Brown needs to learn to NOT swivel away from Snoopy—that only invites him to chase his “prey”. Stand firm, or even step towards the dog, and say “No you don’t! This is mine!” Done right, the dog will respect your space and back off. I know this works, because I’ve used this technique on dogs who were guests in my house, or when I was a guest in their house, and they were unfamiliar with me.

8. 7 days ago on Dick Tracy

   I just had my hip replaced on Feb. 9, 2024 (anterior approach—from the front) and Kaiser insurance paid for everything! Surgery was on Friday afternoon, and I was up and walking with a walker to the bathroom Sat. afternoon It would have been sooner, but I had a reaction to anesthesia and had vertigo which didn’t wear off until then. I stayed Fri. and Sat. night in the hospital because I live alone and didn’t have a helper to stay with me, otherwise they would have sent me home a few hours after surgery. Sun. morning the PT had me walking up and down 3 stairs and said I was good to go home. I had prepped my house for my convalescence—plenty of pre-made meals in the freezer and food in the fridge, walker and commode lift purchased and practiced with—I had ride volunteers lined up and all my friends informed about my surgery. PT came 3 times a week for 2 1/2 weeks and I followed their instruction to the letter. By the end of PT I had graduated to a cane outside and was walking 3 houses down and back (still using the walker inside the house). About a week later, I had my first post-op checkup and was cleared to drive. Over the next 2 weeks I graduated to cane inside, and longer walks until at about 3 1/2-4 weeks I was able to walk 1 mile with the cane. About a week later, I abandoned the cane. Pain level was never very much higher than it was pre-op (I was hurting a LOT before the surgery), and it kept getting steadily less. I gradually added back in regular activities, some of which I hadn’t done for a whole year. Now I dig in my garden for 2 hours 4 days a week, mow my lawn or walk a mile 2 days a week, and rest on Sunday, after singing in the church choir and visiting my Mom. P.S. I’m 80 years old.

9. 7 days ago on For Better or For Worse

   Antiques Roadshow here we come!

10. 8 days ago on Moderately Confused

    Ah, but all that air acts as a cushion to lessen the risk of crushing the contents.