Between a rock and a hard place..

and I've put my own chocolate behind there. I've been poppin' off on so many other blogs that it seems only fair to give everyone else something to read when they check the link to see what sort of fool is spouting nonsense in their house.

Just for the record, this ain't it. Meaning that this ain't the "something to read." If you're just linking to my comments on your blog, and want to know who this dog is, I really suggest doubling back to my initial post . I just really got irritated one day and started barking. I was serious, it was serious. Then I got really into the ego-feed of blogging and having responses. I really liked having my ears scratched like 18, 20 times a day.

But now, all these months later (and y'all, please understand that dog-time isn't the same as human-time) I'm more interested in those mornings on the patio with Alpha and his coffee, and with Ankle-Biter sniffing random spots on the concrete.

And I enjoy the daily races back-and-forth with Sweetness on the other side of the fence, both of us barking at the wind and the shadow that is the other. And that damned cat that strolls so high-and-mighty-leisurely just the other side of the fence is about all I get stirred up about anymore. Well, that and the squirrel. I have to quit putting marks on the tree that let him know my reach. Gotta learn patience. Patience. Make him a patient...

Alpha? He gets all stirred up about things like paying for the same road twice . I have a hard time getting excited about asphalt. If you wanna know what I get excited about, check my Good News link. And my Shopping link.

And yes. Thanks for dropping by. Like most dogs, ( except those in Thorndale ),I like company.

Yeah, I know...

There's tons of interesting stuff in the news and in the blogosphere today, but there's weird stuff going on in my little corner of Texas:

Alpha and I got up this morning and went outside after he grabbed Ankle-Biter out of his cage. It's our routine - AB and I check out the yard while Alpha sets up the coffee, then he comes outside and joins us for a while. We eventually all come together on the patio to relish the smells and sounds of a new day.

So what was weird this morning was that the dogs across the back fence (Sweetness and Luke and Barney, for those of y'all who haven't yet been introduced) were remarkably quiet, except for Barney, who was more crying than anything else.

Alpha hopped up on the fort (maybe I can get him to put up some pictures so you can see what I mean) to take a look, and sure enough, Barney was digging away at the bottom of the fence again. Same as he did last Monday. Keep in mind that apparently "Thanksgiving" means "leave your dogs alone for a long time" to the people that usually stay in that house.

Well, at that time of day, Alpha doesn't have his shoes on or his hair combed - he just rolls out of bed and pulls on a pair of pants - so he wasn't enthused about carrying any more rocks over there to slow Barney's progress.

So he didn't. He went back in the house, logged on, read the papers and stuff, and by the time he went back out, S, W, and B were under the fence and roaming the street.

None of that is weird.

Here's what's weird:

Those three dogs did the EXACT SAME THING EXACTLY A WEEK AGO TODAY. Not the rest of the days of the week. Only on Monday. That's what's weird.

I honestly never thought this would happen.

Period.

But it did.

I owe Anna Quindlen a thank you. It's borderline sappy, but she gets it.

Thanks to Coach Brown for the link.

Edit 11/28/05: Folkbum elaborates better than I would have.

In more serious news...

Judge Declares Child Groom a Delinquent


Thursday November 24, 2005 12:31 AM

GAINESVILLE, Ga. (AP) - A judge on Wednesday declared a 15-year-old boy a delinquent for violating his probation by skipping school to marry a 37-year-old woman who is pregnant with the boy's child.

The boy, identified only by his initials ``A.S.G.,'' admitted in a juvenile court hearing to violating his probation on a previous burglary conviction by missing school and leaving home Nov. 8 to marry Lisa Lynnette Clark of Gainesville.

Clark has been charged with child molestation and cannot come within 100 feet of the boy.

Juvenile Court Judge Mary Carden ordered the boy not to have contact with Clark in person, by letters, phone calls, or through others. The judge also ordered him to enter into an alcohol and drug treatment program and to have counseling.

Carden said the boy would remain on probation and was prohibited from returning home with his grandmother, Judy Hayles, who was his guardian. He will be allowed to leave county custody as soon as another relative is selected as his guardian and can pick him up.

Hayles filed a police report Oct. 6 when she learned from a friend that Clark was pregnant. Georgia law allows children of any age to marry - without parental consent - if the bride-to-be is pregnant. The law dates back to the early 1960s and was written to prevent out-of-wedlock births.



I'm gonna go eat some grass... and then go read something else altogether. The phone book, maybe...

I know - I'll go over to Brian's place ; he always has good stuff to read.

NCLB doesn't have to be funded?

The Minneapolis Star/Tribune reports that "a judge threw out a lawsuit Wednesday that sought to block the No Child Left Behind law, President Bush's signature education policy. The National Education Association said it would appeal.

"The NEA and school districts in three states had argued that schools should not have to comply with requirements that were not paid for by the federal government.

"Chief U.S. District Judge Bernard A. Friedman, based in eastern Michigan, said, "Congress has appropriated significant funding'' and has the power to require states to set educational standards in exchange for federal money."

You can read their complete story here. I haven't found the complete decision yet, but it looks as if he failed to accept the "unfunded mandate" argument, at least not in its entirety. And I'm not going to go off half-cocked until I find his reasoning in more detail. I will admit to a certain amount of scepticism about the ramifications, however.

Update: DetNews has more (and I'm still reading). OF course, things like this: "In an eight-page opinion, Judge XXXXX said xxxxx" are part of the story. It's early yet.