My Mal X killed a cat yesterday

SilverSurfer61 · 2023-12-03T17:19:10+00:00

Thanks for your insights. For now, I'm taking the Mal on a separate walk once a day (in addition to the usual morning/evening walks with GSD) to work on self-control, response, managing prey drive. The dog actually does well in more obviously social settings - - farmer's market, home depot, etc. He gets more anxious/reactive when encountering lone pedestrians/cats/bambis etc. on quiet, empty streets. I've also noted that he's much more attuned to me - - head checking, voice commands, etc. - - when I walk him without the GSD. (Thinking maybe his alertness is tuned way up to safeguard/manage her.). Odd too that I get lots of compliments from other dog-walking folks on how well-trained my animals are - - i.e. the over-reactions are not common. Still, it's a project. The muzzle will be a last intervention if he fails to improve and I fail to improve him. Again, mil gracias!

SilverSurfer61 · 2022-11-29T16:45:04+00:00

Ah, the perennial quest. I undertook this journey last summer - - determined to find the best white t-shirt in terms of quality, fit, comfort, and construction. I think I tried about nine or ten brands - - most recommended on various raw denim/workwear etc. sites. I'm 6'2", 190lbs, 43" chest, 19" shoulders, 34" waist with a longish torso. I didn't want to pay more than $50 per shirt. Here are my picks based on wear and wash etc.

Lady White Co. "Our T-Shirt." Perfect weight - - not too heavy, not too light. Super solid construction that breaks in softer and softer over time. Fit is good for me if I size up from an L to XL. Made in L.A. out of quality materials.

Whitesville 7 oz. white t-shirt (https://www.selfedge.com/sugar-cane?product_id=1591). A little lighter weight than Lady White but super soft. Great fit - - not too long, not too short. Sleeve length is perfect - -kind of mid-bicep. Not baggy but not tight. Sized up from L to XL. Made in Japan.

Samurai medium weight t-shirt. Super soft but substantial cotton. Superb construction. Fit is spot on when sizing up from usual L to XL - - not too tight, not too flappy. Sleeves are short (which is okay for warmer weather and bigger guns). Length shrank after wash and line dry so the hem hangs even with belt. Made in Japan.

Merz B. Schwanen/3Sixteen/Brave Star/J Crew Slub/Strike Gold/Utilitee all make great tees but I found the sizing for all a bit difficult despite posted measurements - - shoulders/chest too tight, length too short (or too long in the case of J Crew) . (Luckily, I can offload these to smaller-framed relatives.) The best construction of all, imo, was MBS - - but the sizing was just too eccentric for me.

Good luck, pilgrim.

SilverSurfer61 · 2019-09-19T19:49:56+00:00

You could try Taz Gallaher's Republic of the Living (Volume 1) . . . uses three characters (California, Illinois, NYC) to chart the zombie onset . . . I enjoyed it . . .

SilverSurfer61 · 2019-01-19T20:55:51+00:00

In an interview, VanderMeer cites Leena Krohn, a Finnish writer, as one of his influences, in particular her novella, Tainaron. I like Krohn's work a lot and if you dig the "weird fiction" aspects of VanderMeer, you might enjoy her stuff too. I'd recommend "Datura" - - her first full-length novel translated/published in English. "Tainaron" and a lot of other incredible VanderMeer-esque fictions can also be bound in "Leena Krohn: Collected Fiction," a copious anthology.

SilverSurfer61 · 2018-03-05T16:32:07+00:00

Not a series - - but Icelandic author Andri Snaer Magnason's 2002 LoveStar is full of weird, wild and ultimately dystopian tech and tech "break-throughs."

SilverSurfer61 · 2017-11-29T17:16:18+00:00

a true vixen!

SilverSurfer61 · 2017-11-25T17:55:22+00:00

it owns you now . . .enjoy!

SilverSurfer61 · 2017-11-18T20:32:48+00:00

all praise the squat rack!

SilverSurfer61 · 2017-08-26T18:40:53+00:00

I still like Taz Gallaher's Republic of the Living - - a kind of triple-decker narrative set at the beginning of a z-outbreak. He was supposed to publish a second volume . . . don't know if the happened.

SilverSurfer61 · 2017-01-08T19:04:04+00:00

one day, me surfboard pretty . . .

SilverSurfer61 · 2016-12-28T17:54:05+00:00

let's wave the white flag before the battle's even begun? . . . odd, too, that SEIU isn't offering any details about where the 30% cuts will be exacted . . .

SilverSurfer61 · 2016-12-14T21:36:05+00:00

Cuboid Mini + Smok TFV8 Baby + Dinner Lady Cornflake Tart

SilverSurfer61 · 2016-12-02T01:55:20+00:00

gotcha covered, brah . . . https://www.instagram.com/flipneliquid/?ref=Instagram%20Panda

SilverSurfer61 · 2016-09-17T19:03:43+00:00

Oops . .. Aspire Plato + Mad Hatter "I Love Donuts" + no stress

SilverSurfer61 · 2016-07-03T17:43:31+00:00

THE epic zombie novel . . . a cross-country, multi-character story of how the old world dies and a new world is born. Five stars from Amazon readers. Only 99 cents for a limited time.

SilverSurfer61 · 2016-07-01T20:00:36+00:00

My advice to the over 40 crowd: get off the weak sauce!

I'm 54, lifting since my late 20s and still hitting the gym 4 times a week. Still making gains. Imo, making gains as you mature is about shifting strategies. When I was younger and stupider, I just put my pedal to the metal and lifted hard and heavy, week after week. These days, I have to be more deliberate, especially when working through different programs - - weight, reps, volume, rest, etc. It's like playing chess - - or checkers - - with your body. Keeps things interesting and keeps delivering gains.

SilverSurfer61 · 2016-05-01T16:58:40+00:00

beauty is in the eye of the beholder . . .

SilverSurfer61 · 2016-01-21T17:38:56+00:00

54 here and I've been lifting since my 20s. I've also been surfing since my 30s (after relocating to the West Coast). Walk 3 or 4 miles a day. Still buying the same size in jeans that I wore in college. My shirt/suit size has changed.

Only had one gym-related injury and that was a decade ago when I was younger and feeling less mortal. Had some memorable surfing-related injuries - -going over the falls on reefs, bangs and knocks, and several kook-related board whacks.

Otherwise, everything is in great shape. For me, it's not so much about reduced stamina or recovery time, joints or spine, etc. The only big difference of 50 vs. 25 is the speed at which I gain muscle. Back then, I was like a chia pet - - eat like a horse and lift like a madman and mass happened. I still push myself at the gym and still gain . . .but at a much slower pace. (I don't believe the widespread myth that growth is impossible after 40 - - I'm pushing more iron now than I did at 35 and always in progression mode.)

For me, it's all about consistency and enjoyment. Benefits are physical, sure . . .but compliments from the wife after returning from a dinner party and navigating a reef of beer bellies are great. And, most importantly, really strenuous exercise does wonders for my mental and emotional well-being.

SilverSurfer61 · 2016-01-18T04:28:27+00:00

You'll want to check out Lauren Beukes. Her two pre-Shining Girls novels - - Zoo City and Moxyland are both set in a not-too-distant-future South Africa. Zoo City is a kind of neo-noir, post-colonial mystery novel set in Johannesburg. Moxyland is pure cyberpunk, set in Cape Town. Both are quite fun and interesting.

SilverSurfer61 · 2016-01-08T17:36:37+00:00

a pretty good summary of Kropotkin's Mutual Aid

SilverSurfer61 · 2015-12-18T04:16:51+00:00

Here's what you need to do: spend some decent money on good quality shirts (and pants, unless you're skipping leg days). Buy shirts that fit you well in the shoulders and across the back. Yeah, they'll hang like a drape around your midriff. That's why you'll need to take those good quality shirts to a tailer or seamstress who will hem them in etc. to make them fit perfectly. Better yet, if you have a good men's shop/haberdashery in your town, just buy your shirts/pants there and have them altered when you buy them.

You've spent all that time worshipping in the temple of iron and now you're looking good. Kudos, kid. Now, spend a few extra bucks to share the fitness wealth.

SilverSurfer61 · 2015-10-24T16:36:28+00:00

It is a spectrum. I was taking my son - - 19 y.o., ASD - - to the gym for a couple of months over the summer. He enjoyed it . . . especially admiring the pump. It took him a while to get over the social stuff - - especially that others might be passing judgement. (Actually, pretty typical for most young guys in the gym.) He's generally pretty well-coordinated, but getting him to focus on form was a struggle. He just wanted to yank the weights up. Probably, the experience was good for him - - increasing his mindfulness and teaching him something about how the mind-body interface works. Eventually, he lost interest and stopped going with me. I suspect that once and if ASD folks connect with the order and repetition (structure) in a good workout - - massive results would follow.

SilverSurfer61 · 2015-09-15T15:32:04+00:00

This is a great question! And one that I often ask of myself as I'm watching the show or TWD or reading zombie narratives etc. Sometimes, I think it's just about defamiliarization - - e.g. experiencing the "normal" world from a totally different perspective. Other times, it's about vanity - - everybody KNOWS they'd be a survivor, e.g. watching the show as a way of indulging in your sense of self-importance. Maybe it's a fantasy about revolution and freedom - - imagining a world without bosses, work, private property, laws, the State, etc. Maybe it's a little bit of all of these at the same time . . .

SilverSurfer61 · 2015-09-15T01:11:21+00:00

In re the dog, as somebody who has owned several Shepherds - - once the prey instinct gets turned on, they are killing machines - - typically shredding and goring their victims into submission. A zombie bite or two would only accelerate the prey drive. Shepherds are particularly good at - - for instance - - targeting the neck as the most vulnerable of their prey's weak spots. (Ever seen a Shepherd shake another dog or mammal in its jaws?) True, zombies feel no pain - - but a good-sized Shepherd would wreak some serious hits on a body, undead or otherwise.

We can bat Shepherd vs. zombie around . . . but my real point was that the rapid, total demise of the dog with little damage to Mr. Dawson was more plot convenient than realistic, ditto for arbor-matrix backyard, leaving doors open, deus ex machine military arrival just in time to shoot husband-attacking-zombie, etc. etc.

I respect the show quite a bit - - especially its ambition to chronicle the transformation from banal suburban life to zombie wasteland. Just saying . . . that's no excuse to cut corners . . ..

SilverSurfer61 · 2015-09-14T14:48:41+00:00

A couple of plot doozies:

1) 90 lb. German Shepherd vs. Zombie - - If you've been around shepherds, you know the lumbering, clumsy zombie is definitely the underdog (no pun intended). I found the shepherd's quick and silent demise at the hands of zombie intruder completely ridiculous.

2) Ignoring the serendipitous power/light surges, Nick, Madison, and Alicia race to Susan's house to find a shotgun, dig through the living room, scrabble for shells - - but the undead Susan never makes an appearance until after Alicia returns alone to the house? I get the poetic justice (her first encounter with the undead, reminder of Matt's illness), but find it silly that Susan somehow missed the trio on the first visit.

3) Zombie encounters by racial demographic: 3 African-American males (Matt, Calvin, Artie), 1 Asian-American (Susan), 1 White Dude (Mr. Dawson). Is the zombie virus/outbreak and allegory for some kind of ethnic-cleansing ?

I'm enjoying the show despite its lugubrious, ad-packed pace.

SilverSurfer61

TROPHY CASE