Timothy Callahan

It’s the end of the World and I feel fine

So, yesterday the world didn't end. Why am I not surprised. I think most people believed we would wake up the next day without any issues other than maybe a hangover or some other drinking related mishap. It was Saturday night after all. Judging by all the posts on Facebook no one I knew took it seriously. I think that maybe some people used it as a way to reflect on their religion, maybe reexamine their relationship with God. All it really did for me is reawaken a question I've had for a very long time, one that's been bothering me for about as long as I can remember. What are people fascinated with being on Earth when it finally ends? If you believe in heaven, if you believe there will be a rapture, why do you want to be here when it happens?

Maybe it all comes from the fact that we're the only animal on Earth who knows it's mortal. I could be wrong, bears could easily have a rapture myth just like we do, but I doubt it. We're the only animals that know we'll die someday. Other animals do what they can to survive but do you think many of them stay up and night going, 'I'm going to die. I'm going to die.' That could be why my dogs bark and kick in their sleep, but once again, I doubt it.

We are smart, we are clever, we've figured out things about ourselves and about the world we live in. We are also really dumb, prone to trying to see patterns where there are none, and irrational to the extreme. We are all those things and I believe that is why so many people want to see the world come to an end and why they want to be here when it happens.

I'm pretty sure end of world myths go back before the stories in the bible. I would bet one of the first stories ever told was about the end of the world. The story of the flood and Noah was around thousands of years before it was put into the bible and I'm sure it was just one of many such stories being told at that time. We're still telling them now and if we headed 500 years into the future we'll probably hear them then as well.

That's just the way our minds work, we like to tell stories, we like to listen to stories, we also like to think that our lives have meaning and maybe, for some, the only meaning is to be here when it ends. That's why I sort of feel bad for those who build themselves up for the end only to be disappointed the next day.

It's pretty obvious to me that most of those that predict the end of the world are charlatans trying to get money out of weak willed people. But, it's those people that I wonder about. Can a rational mind believe that the world will end? Does it take someone who is easily manipulated to believe it? Can you be a smart, educated person and still listen to an 85 year of man, someone who had predicted things that never happened, and believe him this time?

I think this is always going to puzzle me until I can find a cause, or a person, that I can get behind so fully that I believe everything that's said and do everything that's asked of me. I'm a very cynical person when it comes to causes and people so I may never know for sure.

One more thing, the only time the world will actually end is when the sun goes nova. . .or a stray black hole passes our solar system. . .or if another planet collides with us. . .or if we're hit with a gamma burst. . .or, you know what, never mind, I've got more than enough to think about tonight as I sleep.

Fightening night at the dog park

Scary night at the dog park last night. It was pretty normal until about five minutes before I planed on leaving. The park was packed (no pun. . well okay, it was a pun) with dogs, at one point we had about 7 running around playing cheerfully. Jeffery was his normal self, playing good with all the dogs and having a great time.

There was this little dog who was very playful and really wanted to mix it up with the bigger doggies. So, she runs up to Jeffery and they start to play. Now, I always try to stand close to Jeffery when he plays with a smaller dog, he's normally really good with them but sometimes he can get a bit rough so I watch him to be sure everything's okay.

Well, this little dog does something I can't stand. He grabbed Jeffery by his collar and started to pull. Right away I tried to get this dog off Jeffery, who at the time fell to the ground and started to roll, which he does when he plays, but this time it seemed different. I then noticed that the small dogs bottom teeth had somehow gotten tangled in Jeffery's collar, chocking Jeffery. By this time the owner had come over and she tried to pull her dog off, not realizing what had happened. To be honest I wasn't sure what was happening, I just knew the collar was too tight around Jeffery's neck and he was chocking. It was then that the owner noticed the teeth being tangled in the collar, it looked like the collar had actually twisted and tightened in the dogs mouth. The dog was trying to let go but couldn't and the collar was getting tighter.

I was really trying not to panic, my first thought was to cut the collar but I didn't have anything to cut it with. My second thought was to try and unbuckle it but it was too tight. While I'm thinking about this the dogs owner and myself are still trying to get the collar untangled from the dogs teeth.

Just then the other dogs owner managed to get it untangled and Jeffery bolted away as if he'd be shot. His tail shot between his legs and he somehow seemed smaller, his was looking around very scared, very wide eyed as if to say 'what the hell just happened?"

I ran up to him and checked him out. He was scared but otherwise okay. He gagged a bit, then laid on the ground for a few seconds, I guess to collect his thoughts. The dogs owner looked concerned and apologized. I said it was okay, no need, he was fine and it was an accident, no harm done.

I placed his leash on him and together we walked out, both a little shaken up by the ordeal.

By the end of the night he was back to his normal self, getting into things, playing rough with Kenseth, chewing his bones, so he's forgotten about the whole thing whereas I haven't.

On of my friends suggested I get a collar with a snappy thing (forget what they're called) so if that happens again all I need to do is unclick it. He had one of those at one point but I didn't like it too much, kind of hard to adjust and it always seems to get loose after a few days but, for our trips to the dog park I might just have to consider it. I never want something like that to happen again.

*****

Had my first improv show in a log time on Sunday. It was a good show and if I ever get a chance I'll post some clips. I want to upload them onto Youtube but youtube does some strange things to the files during compression and the quality of the video isn't that great to begin with. There's too much light in front, not enough in the back and everyone is kind of shinny. I'm still working on fixing that but it's kind of weird.

Anyway, the show was a blast. I haven't enjoyed working with a group of people like this since my first year with the Ninjas. We're talking about keeping it up, forming a real group, which is really kind of cool.

Doggie Daddy

Well, it took a while but I'm going to be a new doggie daddy! We found a dog that seems to fit well, one that didn't seem to bother Kenseth too much and one that, with a little training, should be a good addition to the family.

It's been a frustrating couple of weeks but I wasn't going to rush it, I knew we needed a dog that all three of us got along with. The most important being Kenseth, our other dog. Now, I do know that the way a dog behaves in a strange place is not the same as the way it'll behave at home but you can get a good indication on how he will react to another dog. The new dog, who we're going to name Jeffery (his name now is Boo Bear and I refuse to have a dog named Boo bear!) and liked Kenseth, kept sniffing him, kept wanting to play with him and was very interesting in what Kenseth was doing. Kenseth, for his part, pretty much ignored Jeffery. He let him do anything he wanted with the checking him out, Ken let Jeff sniff him all over, let him follow him around without a problem. There was an issue when Jeffery wanted to play, Kenseth didn't want anything to do with that and gave him a small nip, nothing aggressive, just a sort of "no, leave me alone" kind of thing. Hopefully any issues they have will be worked out quickly.

Out plan for integrating Jeffery into the house is a pretty simple one. When we're not home and when we're in bed he will be caged until I feel he can be let out without causing any damage. That could be in a few weeks, a few months, or never, I don't know yet, it's one of those gray areas we need to figure out. I don't think it'll be forever, I give it six to eight months at the most. With Kenseth is was more like 4 months before I let him have the run of the house but he wasn't a very active puppy and, except for some accidents and some chewing issues (mostly blankets) he was okay to leave out.

Also, lots of nice long walks with Kenseth in tow. I know dogs bond better when they walk together so that's a must. Both dogs will be leashed at all times! There is no getting around that. Kenseth's not much of bolter, he was when we first got him but now he's not, but Jeffery needs to learn the come command, and even then I probably won't let him off the leash unless we're in the doggie park.

Speaking of which, the doggie park. Might not be able to do that for a while, at least not until Jeffery is older. He's about a year old now so there will be plenty of time for him to learn how to play with other dogs, hopefully Kenseth will teach him that.

Appointment with the vet right away is a must! I'm afraid he might have Kennel Cough and worms, hopefully he doesn't and the SPCA said he probably doesn't but he might since a lot of the dogs they bring in have both and it's hard to get rid of. Don't really like that too much but it's just something I need to deal with.

Lets see, what else? Well, training of course, teaching him to go in the yard, teaching him to eat his own food and not to touch Kenseth's, teaching him not to jump on people when they come in, teaching him how to sit on command, teaching him how to walk properly (something Kenseth still needs to learn, he's a stubborn dog sometimes.) It's going to be a lot of work but in the end when I have a well trained, well behaved dog that I rescued it'll be worth it. I'm a new doggie daddy and that's something to be proud of!