Keeping Tabs on the Dog

Our dog, Brewster, has started wandering. He’s not a very bright dog, just curious as he can be. We have a pond (ironically called a lake) about 100 yards from our property. On occasion, it becomes the temporary home for ducks and geese. Of course, those creatures are not the quietest of birds, so they are easy for Brewster to hear. He just wants to go visit, I suppose. That means that we have to keep an eye on him at all times - and becomes more of a challenge as he gets older and his attitude becomes bolder. The joys of owning a male dog, I presume. Seeing as we simply adore him, we needed to find a way to keep him both in our yard and safe.

We had toyed with getting an invisible-style fence for a while, but not thinking it would actually keep a Golden Retriever in our yard. However, Sue did her research and we decided to go for it. Yesterday, the installation technician came out and installed the wire that surrounds our yard (including through the driveway), and the control panel in the garage. Other than the obvious mistake that he made by connecting it to the circuit that turns off with our garage lights (doh!), he did an excellent job.

We now have the month-long task of working with Brew to make him aware of the perimeter that has been established for him. The collar that he wears has a beeper (first warning) and a mild shock mechanism if he walks through the initial warning. Right now, the collar has a rubberized cover over the connections, so that he will just have the audible clues. In another week or two, we will remove that protection so that he can get the shock if he gets too close. There are flags that are inside of the wire now, also providing a visual cue as to where the safe zone is located. In about 3 weeks, we remove every other flag, then a week later, remove the flags altogether.

My biggest concern is that Brew gets it, and doesn’t freak out the first time he gets shocked. He has established some routines very well in the past (like walking beside someone on the stairs, not pushing past them), so I have hope of this working.

There you have it, puppy. Be safe and enjoy the yard!

Winter Has Settled In

After a week of spring like weather, it looks like winter has it’s firm grip on New England. We have been quite lucky this winter, only a few weeks of cold and only a few snowstorms. Thursday, I decided to work from home since I had to get my annual physical. The snow came that afternoon and made for a terrible commute from what my co-workers told me on Friday. Springfield, MA has a terrible reputation for managing their roads during the winter, so I was not expecting any changes this year. The Friday commute was very easy, right up to the point where I left I-91 and turned onto Springfield streets.

It was at that moment that my commute turned to more of an ice dance. While I have driven on many icy roads in my life, this was, by far, the worst. I settled in quickly, but continued to worry about someone else sliding into me. There was a full inch or more of ice over the entire road surface - clear indication that Springfield did nothing since the snow had started. Happily, I made it to work unscathed (both me and the car). Fortunately, the city workers had cleared the roads by the time I headed home. I’m certain that there were a few angry calls to the city that day, likely from accident victims.

There are times like this that I feel fortunate to live in a small town, where roads are cleared before I get out of bed, and continuously throughout an winter weather event. We made the right choice to move here - and this is just one more reason!

Finally, a smartphone

Later today, I will be ordering a new Motorola Droid from Verizon. My old phone is not a smartphone, although it has a descent camera and is a fine phone. It is 3+ years old, so I’m eligible to upgrade with a $100 credit. I waited until there was an actual device I wanted since I’m not thrilled with the BlackBerry devices. I have used a BlackBerry through work for almost five years. I’ve installed a few apps on them to test some items for work, but they are pretty crippled in function and not overly usable. When the Droid came out, it was finally the device I was looking for. Not wanting to be a first adopter, several months of use have occurred and several co-workers have used them. After listening to the co-workers thrilling reports, I was convinced.

I’ve ended up putting several apps on my iPod Touch lately, but they are pretty useless unless you have connectivity (and it’s Wi-Fi only). With my continued use of twitter and facebook to connect with the “Run Net” community, having a device that can utilize this full time is key. Our family is a Verizon one, and I have a pretty decent discount on the primary line (mine) which includes a discounted data plan. So, for under $100 up front, and under $30 per month, I’ll be officially connected.