Arcane Stuff

The Operator. That special person that is silent, swift and deadly. The one who Operates in any theatre under any situation. The Operator uses a vast array of deadly weapons to complete the mission, from razor sharp knives to silenced weapons and sniper rifles to high explosives. And finally, The Operator's arsenal is now complete with this year's sure-to-be-a-runaway-hit in The Tactical type of useful gifts.  read more »

There are nearly 1 million Miatas floating around this big old world of ours. With that many in existence there is a huge market for making them more our own. Going back to the days of the Hot Rods and souped up racers, the culture of car modification has progressed to this day to a point where there is something for everyone.  read more »

Once we found out what was wrong with our little boy, we made the decision to euthanize him on Saturday. I sent this to bc-l on Thursday Sept 27, after finally making arrangements with Dr. Adriano Betton, the best Vet Jack ever had:

The date is set for Saturday afternoon. That gives us one last full
day with Jack. I am hoping to make it a day of sun and grass, steak
and fries. I don't know that he'll really notice, but he may. He
still wags his tail at the sound of my voice, even though he can't see
me.

I did finally cry a little, but just a little. I can't let it go.  read more »

This was the fist post on what became the final thread about my little Black Jack. I posted this on Sept 25:

Jack looks worse, and even more pathetic today...

He had his biopsy on Friday and they removed samples from several
places to send off to the labs at NC State. No word yet, but we are
hoping to hear from them by the end of the week.

He's currently on Cipro and that doesn't seem to be doing much, though
he is becomming very mucosy now... maybe that's a sign that he is
finally fighting whatever it is that is infecting him.

His face is very puffy now, and that is most likely a side effect of
the pain meds that they put him on for a few days after the surgery.

He was done Friday afternoon, but we left him there overnight because
the Vet said he was sleeping soundly due to the anasthetic (he hasn't
slept soundly in weeks) so we left him for the night to get some much
deserved rest. Then we brought him home.

We even put one of those plastic cones on his head. He looks so
pathetic staring out from his little alien helmet, but at least it's
keeping him from scratching his sores open with his paw. He was
catching the growth with his dewclaw and that was ripping it open
causing him to bleed all over the place.

He still wags at me, though I can tell he's feeling miserable just by
his ack of enthusiasm. Last night though, as I sat on the couch
watching the season premier of Heroes, he put his head on my lab for
some ear scratches, then crawled half way up, laying across my lap
with his front legs, head resting on my thigh while standing with his
back legs so I could rub his back and scratch his head at the same
time. That is my Jack. The one who just loves to sit in your lap and
be doted on. The one who shivers and sighs just a little bit when you
scratch behind his ears, and near his tail. That's the Jack I want to
see again.  read more »