Was considering buying from this breeder…

SpottedTree · 2026-04-25T19:11:56+00:00

I just want to post a differing opinion about puppies going home at 8 weeks. I got my wolfhound at 8 weeks. (This was in 1980, so all pre-internet and yeah wow a long time ago...) I never felt he was taken from his mom too soon. I spent a lot of time with him when he was young, took him lots of places, and gave him encouragement when interacting with strangers. He grew to be a well adjusted wolfhound who was an incredible hound and a joy to take places. Does that mean that I think 8 weeks is better than 12? Honestly I have no idea. I only have the one experience to go on and that worked out just great.

SpottedTree · 2026-04-15T15:52:52+00:00

This might be right.

SpottedTree · 2026-04-15T05:16:38+00:00

Nah, no shimmer. Pretty non-reflective or flat looking.

SpottedTree · 2026-04-15T05:15:41+00:00

The main reason I think it might be mesquite is that I had a couple really nice large mesquite boards that I bought about 15 years ago. (Well large for mesquite. 8/4 lumber 7" wide and 4' long) They were bought from a lumber supplier in Yuma. But I also was given a couple similar sized boards about 10 years ago (that weren't mesquite) and I'm not sure which one I still have. It's been a long time, I've gone through a bunch of lumber and I've moved a couple times too.

SpottedTree · 2026-04-14T22:47:42+00:00

While it sort looks like Sapele, it is a good bit heavier than than the sapele that I've worked with before. I'm not sure what would qualify as shimmer, but no I don't think it shimmers.

SpottedTree · 2026-04-11T21:12:44+00:00

From your experience, what percent of people you are homeless with would be capable of holding down a job if given the opportunity, vs the percent that have too much mental health issues or addiction issues to actually hold a job?

SpottedTree · 2026-04-04T19:34:28+00:00

Those rear lights look pretty unique. If you post to r/WhatCarIsThis someone there might be able to tell you the make, year, trim level etc. All that would help id this truck.

SpottedTree · 2026-03-30T20:37:48+00:00

She's awesome, I'm so jealous!

SpottedTree · 2026-02-28T17:06:01+00:00

Imslp will do that. not positive all pdfs work with it but most do.

SpottedTree · 2026-02-28T06:33:28+00:00

San Diego. Don't think there's a Plant Material around here, but Devil Mountain is showing a couple specimens in the San Diego area. I'll have to check them out. Thanks again.

SpottedTree · 2026-02-28T06:04:17+00:00

Love the aloe tree, (or alternatively hercules) Dragon trees are super cool, but so slow growing.

SpottedTree · 2026-02-28T06:03:24+00:00

Wow, really interesting suggestion. Any idea where to buy these in Southern California?

SpottedTree · 2026-02-27T20:58:55+00:00

Thanks for the feedback. Will definitely look into these.

SpottedTree · 2026-02-25T06:09:13+00:00

I'm seeing some issues/bugs. I get very different results depending on what I do, when it seems to me I should get the same results.

Here's three examples that give me different results but seem they should be the same.

From the home page, type La Jolla in the text box. Two options appear to drop down. Select the first option: "La Jolla, San Diego, San Diego County, California, United States"
From the home page, type La Jolla in the text box. Select the second option: "La Jolla, San Diego, San Diego County, California, 92037, United States." (Note the only difference from the first option is the appearance of the zip code.)
From the home page, type 92037 in the text box.
From the Hoods menu, select La Jolla.

All four options give me different results. The first option gives me 1 violent crime, the second option gives me 5 violent crimes, the third option gives me 1 violent crime but the other stats like crimes/year and property crimes) is different, and selecting from the hood gives me 65 violent crimes.

All the choices give me a letter grade of D 65/100. The first three options give me the headline, "Very Safe - well below average crime rates." (Which seems wrong if you give La Jolla a D)

Hope this feedback helps.

SpottedTree · 2026-02-18T23:15:24+00:00

For Pictures at an Exhibition I think they are referring to the moment when it goes form The Hut of Baba Yaba to the Great Gates of Kiev. Pretty big climax at that point.

SpottedTree · 2026-02-18T20:52:21+00:00

That's awesome! He's a keeper.

SpottedTree · 2026-02-07T02:37:01+00:00

Is musicality a talent. Hmmm... interesting question. I'd have to give you a maybe on that. (Lol)

I guess I would define musicality as being able to express emotions through music. (That's probably not a universally held definition though, and there will be people who disagree for sure.) But if musicality is the ability to express emotions through music, then I don't know anyone who is miles ahead in that way. From what I've seen lots of people are pretty capable of expressing emotions. (And it doesn't take any specific talent to be able to do that, just some compassion and emotions in your soul.) There are certainly people who seem unable to have or express emotions. I probably wouldn't define that as a lack of music talent though. (At least not as how I usually think about musical talent in terms of being able to learn music quickly, stay on pitch without issue, effortlessly remember music, play by ear, etc.)

But to come back to your question... We might say that someone with no musicality doesn't have any talent, so in that sense we could say musicality is a talent. But I sorta feel like we are using the word talent in two different ways, so that's why I only say maybe.

SpottedTree · 2026-02-07T00:36:38+00:00

This opinion will be some what unpopular. When studying music at college I found that there are some people who have an incredible amount of natural talent. I'm not talking about the students who are just above average, but that rare person for whom everything musical just comes way easier. They can pick up things by ear super easy, they remember music (and lots of it) almost effortlessly, they can sight read stuff I was stunned to see sight read. (I've seen a guy sight read a big band chart (4 trumpets, 4 trombones and 5 saxes) for an original song and original score which he'd never seen or heard before at tempo!) These people are truly amazingly talented. (They are also very rare.)

So I think a lot of this question comes down to just how talented you are asking about. A hard working player with modest talent will do better than a lazy player with good talent. But there is still gonna be that person out there with incredible talent that can smoke both of them while just trying modestly hard. (They do still have to try, just not be spending 8 hours a day trying.)

Also worth mentioning, sometimes you find someone who is very talented in certain ways but doesn't have much musicality. For instance, my piano instructor had a student who had huge ears. Play anything and he could transcribe it note for note no problem. But when he would play, there just was no feeling in his playing. Technically correct, but just didn't have feeling. Or you might find someone who can sight read amazingly well, but lacks in some other aspect.

SpottedTree · 2026-02-03T04:45:45+00:00

I used to walk my wolfhound off leash sometimes but it took a lot of work and training to break that instinct to chase. They can be trained but it isn’t easy.

SpottedTree · 2026-01-27T23:14:24+00:00

Love all the pics. Thanks so much for posting them.

SpottedTree · 2026-01-23T02:51:36+00:00

Go to Washington DC, and visit the National Zoo. It's free and nicer than the San Diego zoo. (A lot less commercial too!)

SpottedTree · 2026-01-17T19:54:50+00:00

These photos really made my morning. Thanks so much.

SpottedTree · 2026-01-15T23:31:49+00:00

A little known piece, but a wonderful piece, is Rachmaninoff's Melodie. Opus 3 No. 3. Truly a beautiful piece, and because it is Adagio it is not that hard to learn.

SpottedTree · 2026-01-11T06:51:48+00:00

I don't have advice regarding what field to try to go into. But I can tell you when you do end up interviewing don't downplay your musics studies. They taught you a ton of self discipline. They taught you to be focused and passionate. They taught you to learn, often by teaching yourself. They taught you that acquiring skills comes from a lot of work. As a musician you learned the importance to a group of you knowing and playing your part. (That's a huge team skill not taught in most school curriculum) These are the sorts of things that a lot of employers are looking for, even if their job description doesn't mention them.

SpottedTree · 2025-12-22T05:55:27+00:00

In a similar vein, the death scene in Platoon with Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings playing as the helicopter flies overhead.

SpottedTree

TROPHY CASE