Four years ago I adopted this little dude:

and he has given me joy every day since. Well, except for that time he jumped on the bed and pissed on it while staring at me. He was mad. We had a “talk.”

Sometimes I get grumbly when I am out messing around on the bike or want to go take a trip. It’s hard having three “kids” at home, especially since I have to crate Pearl and feel guilty about leaving her caged up for long periods of time.

But none of that matters when I am having a bad day and Porter jumps on the couch and sits next to me. He sits right next to me, like another person, sighs, and leans on me.

I love you, buddy.

I wrote a post about Sergeant’s SentryPro XFC topical flea and tick product almost a year and a half ago. The treatment threw Porter and Rosie into an allergic reaction that consisted of trembling, panting, scratching, and “air licking.” I made the post because I was upset. I was upset at Sergeant’s for putting the product out. I followed the directions and BOTH of my dogs has an adverse reaction. I was also upset at myself for not using my usual Frontline (which I’ve never had a problem with before or since the SentryPro incident).

So, I made the post in May of 2007. I had no idea that thousands of people would read the post, hundreds would comment, dozens would email me personally, and the post would be the number one Google search result for “SentryPro XFC.” I got mentioned on The Consumerist. Some of my readers started a class action lawsuit.

It took all of that an sixteen months, but Sergeant’s finally responded.

People who have posted a comment in the past are automatically emailed when someone makes a new comment, so hundreds of people got an email tonight with Sergeant’s reply. A few people have already started to reply …. I have a feeling this isn’t over by a long shot.

My best four-legged friend turned four on Monday. Actually, I have no idea when he turns four exactly, just sometime around now. Here are some important snapshots from Porter’s life. Warning! Lots of pictures :)
Read the rest of this entry »

Every good horror film (and most bad ones) gets a sequel. Less than a year after the first installment, my dogs are somehow killing birds in the yard again.
Read the rest of this entry »

Last of my ongoing photographic and gibber-acular tribute to my home office, now that I’m moving back into a cube farm.
Read the rest of this entry »

I’m up in NYC on business for the day, so no real updates. Here’s a nice shot of Porter and Pearl cuddling up on the couch:

I buy a lot of stuff, and sometimes my highest hopes turn out to be the biggest disappointments. I’ve evaluated the things I’ve purchased last year, with an eye to what I use on a regular basis that Gibberish readers may use often as well. Sure, I “use” my Keltec PF-9 every day when I carry it, but most of you don’t have carry permits and its appeal is not as universal as this year’s winner. Here’s a look back at the best and worst gadgets covered on Gibberish in 2007.
Read the rest of this entry »

I’m going to take a job that puts me back in the Washington, D.C. area. I’m not 100% sure I’ll be moving, but chances are very high. Having three dogs makes searching for a place to live more difficult, especially when most of the places nearest to where I’ll be working are high-rise apartments. I searched properties for about two hours and walked downstairs to find this:

No matter how big of a pain in the ass it is to find a rental that will allow three dogs, or to find a home with a fenced in yard, damn they are worth it.

Sometimes I’ll buy something and will have to wait for the right time to review it. The Bissel Little Green Portable Deep Cleaner is a good example. I started thinking about buying a portable steam cleaner after I got Pearl. She had the shits off and on for her first month here, and after watching Lady Jaye spend nearly an hour get poo-spew out of the carpet I was like, “fuck this, I’m buying a steamer.” And then Pearl got better. Heh. I’ve used it a few times before I started this review, but I was waiting for some gnarly incident to happen. Luckily, Porter was willing to oblige by barfing up a nice present on my cream-colored carpet.
Read the rest of this entry »

Last Saturday we hosted the second annual reunion for Rosie and her litter mates. Last year the reunion was at a public dog park, and it was way too hot for everyone. This year we had the benefit of shady oak trees, a doggie pool, and air conditioning. As a big improvement over the year before, there was dog cake. More on that in a second.
Read the rest of this entry »