The vet came out on Friday. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to be there because I had a physical scheduled at the time. (Ever look at the wait time for a physical? Six months. Sheesh.) Any way, my vet called me today at work with information on Isis. She said Isis does look like an EPM relapse case because of the uneven muscle atrophy (worse on one side than the other) and Isis is...
Continue reading...2011
Video comparisons of Isis
For most of the summer, I’ve watched Isis just not quite seem right. Whether it was the heat that bothered her or something else (EPM, most likely) that gave her more off days than good ones, one evening in early August she surprised me. My girl was back that evening. She started trotting like she normally does, kinda dragging her toes, not very enthusiastic. And then she stopped and looked at me. Pivoted....
Continue reading...EPM again? Or something else?
Since June, I’ve noticed little things about Isis that didn’t seem right: she was dragging the tips of her back hooves, she was reluctant to trot or move out, and her regular spirited playfulness was gone except for rare occasions. It’s easy to right off these symptoms to other items. Maybe it was too hot out and she wasn’t having a good day. Maybe the rain rot on her legs made her stiff...
Continue reading...Bella Ruse
A friend of mine is a DJ and has an amazing music collection. The latest song suggestion I was sent was by a group called Bella Ruse. Think nice female vocals, folky, and excellent lyrics. Here is a sample from one of their albums: Dark Horse by Bella Ruse Nice stuff to work to and have to listen to. Positive music. Good stuff. Related Images:
Continue reading...The Arab’s Farewell to his Steed
One of my favorite poems. The Arab’s Farewell to His Steed Caroline Norton (1808-1877) My beautiful! my beautiful! that standest meekly by. With thy proudly-arched and glossy neck, and dark and fiery eye! Fret not to roam the desert now with all they winged speed: I may not mount on thee again – thou’rt sold, my Arab steed! Fret not with that impatient hoof, snuff not the breezy wind, The farther that thou...
Continue reading...Music, Dad, and “Like Pictures”
This past week a dear friend’s father died. I went to his funeral on Monday. I’d never met him, but his daughter is a phenomenal person. Stepping into a funeral home was like being two places at once: at my own father’s funeral and present at my friend’s. The funeral home decor was almost identical: red velour cushions in the chapel pews, unobtrusive “comforting” music in the background, and boxes of tissue every...
Continue reading...Isis did not have a good day
Last night Isis had a bad day. The weather has been cool and milder, but she was still sweaty. She looked down and not perky when I brought her to the ring. She stumbled with her back legs on the walk from the barn to the ring. She was stiff, dragged her back hooves along the ground, and not moving well when I free lunged her. I put the saddle on her and...
Continue reading...Resources for the Entourage Pocket Edge
When I first got the Entourage Pocket Edge, there was a good learning curve about what the device can and can not do — and how to hack it to make it do more things. More is good, right? Here are some useful links that I found. From the XDA Developers forum: Entourage Pocket Edge Quick Reference – Rooting, Installing Gapps, etc. From the Mobile Read forum: Resources for new Edge and Pocket...
Continue reading...Stupid printers are stupid
A few months ago, I bought a spiffy new all-in-one printer/scanner/fax: a Lexmark X7675 Professional from the discount table at CompUSA. The model was being phased out, and it looked like a reasonable buy. Price was good (we love half off) and the model had reasonable reviews. For the first five months, the printer worked flawlessly. No problems with duplex printing, scanning, copying… everything was fine. Two nights ago, my cat and I...
Continue reading...New tablet and keyboard
About a month ago, Woot had a special deal on a neat dual-screen tablet, the Entourage Pocket Edge. The Pocket Edge has a 7 inch Android tablet and a 6 inch eInk/ebook reader. The screens are hinged and fold together to the size of a medium paperback book. Makes for an interesting device. Originally, the device retailed for $200-$300. Woot had the Edge for $119. The catch? Entourage has discontinued production of the...
Continue reading...Back to dance
Since I moved to North Carolina 3.5 years ago, I have not taken belly dance classes on a regular basis. I have taken maybe four series of 6-week classes, but not like I did in Tennessee (two classes per week plus troupe practice on the weekend). I’ve missed the dance classes a lot — and especially performing with the ladies in my troupe. Last week, World in Motion tweeted that their tribal belly...
Continue reading...Fantastic month of June
I have so much stuff to catch up on for June. Horse Masters Horse Camp was the weekend of June 16th and it was fantastic. Most of the month was spent getting ready for camp. Kasane and I were signed up for walk, trot, canter sessions — which meant she had to know how to canter before camp. Every available evening was spent at the barn working with Kasane and with Isis. Camp...
Continue reading...Zombie Brownies
Confession time: I was a Brownie, the younger version of the Girl Scouts. Daughter of a Girl Scout Leader. We learned all of the camp songs when we were little, including the Brownie Smile Song. Ah yes, childhood memories. Except I was also an afficiando of B movies and writing scary stories (involving monsters in the dark and dynamite and cartoon characters — ah yes, elementary school fan fiction). Today, a friend of mine talked...
Continue reading...Deep Purple, public domain, and copyright
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case of Golan vs. Holder, according to an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education: A Professor’s Fight Over Shostakovich Heads to the Supreme Court. When Congress changed the law on when a work enters the public domain in 1994, a lot of works that had been in the public domain suddenly were removed. Congress determined that an item entered the public domain 70 years...
Continue reading...Isis was better today
Insulin resistant horses like Isis have trouble with heat. Insulin resistance is similar to a pre-diabetic condition in people: the horses who have this metabolic issue do not process insulin (and sugars) normally. IR impacts everything else in one giant cascade: IR horses’ immune systems aren’t quite at 100%, heat affects them harder than other horses, etc. IR is a maintenance issue and you never know when you’ll discover some new aspect that...
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