The Hobbit Hole III - Journey to the Cross-roads!

[HairOfTheDog]

Welcome to The Hobbit Hole!

Journey to the Cross-roads
The Two Towers Edition

Come on! Come in! -if you would like to have some seedcakes and a pint and relax a while. (If it is a special occasion, we still have a few bottles of the old wineyards left!)

Our first thread ( New Zealander builds Hobbit hole ) reached 4,100 posts, and we thought that was big. Our second thread (The New Hobbit Hole ) held us for over 48,000 posts, and we loved it dearly. We talked about moving to a new thread for the last 38,000 posts, but we are really slow to muster! Finally, the time has come. Tomorrow (at 12:01 am, to be precise!) The Two Towers comes out, and we start a new chapter.

[Lil'freeper]

I hate powerpoint. HAAAAATE IT. It allows too many people with zero communication skills to stand up in conference rooms and command toooooo much of other people's time. Give me a dynamic speaker with an easel and a marker anytime.

It took an hour to tell people to: 1) put the card in the reader, 2) click these buttons on your computer screen, 3) input your pin, 4) don't give your card or pin to anyone else.

Hello? We needed over an hour for this? Why not send it out in an EMAIL?!!!

I'm going to go over to the corner and stomp my feet and growl for a while.

[300winmag]

I make a distinction between the historically protection and guard dogs like Dobermans, Rottis and GSDs, and the pit-fighting dogs, because it is a distinctly different skill-set to be a reliable guardian and protector than it is to be a pit fighter. The complex task of being a guardian was carefully bred and raised to be stable when done right. The task of being a pit fighter didn't require mental stability, only survival instinct and muscle. The job of the pit bull is abuse and betrayal by man, not a close working relationship, and there are valuable subtleties between the type of mind that can work FOR man, and lesser set of working for yourself.

First, I think any breed of dog can be seriously warped if you mistreat it and deny it socialization. Some, like put bulls, are so strong that they're a real danger if they're not strictly disciplined. Dope dealers and dog fighters aren't interested in that, they just want a mean bundle of muscles and teeth. They're often afraid of their own dogs, too.

Then again, I've met crazy toy dogs, too. They're a threat to my pantleg getting shredded. But I'd hate to be in a situation where I had to drop-kick a foo-foo dog in front of its owner, when the owner is the one who really deserves it. There's a wide range of breed personalities, and physical abilities. It's the owner's responsibility to pick the right one for his situation, and train the dog properly for that role.

It was interesting watching military dogs being trained. The sporting dogs used for sniffing duty are trained to see everything as a game, and have a lot of fun sniffing out for the item that gets them the greatest praise and reward. These are usually the hunting dog variety, where the personality sees praise from the human as even more valuable than finding the object of the hunt.

Military guard dogs are trained to be alert and suspicious while on duty, and look only to their handler for instruction and support. Off duty, they're more like pets, but always in a way that reinforces the bond with the handler.

Guard-type dogs as family pets need special training so they can be safe pets 99.9% of the time, yet still have their talents as guard dogs available if needed. But they're still sociable-type dogs, and seek human companionship. Pit-fighting dogs traditionally have minimal interaction with humans, and so need extra-special training and a lot of time to turn them into pets, especially the biggest and most powerful. Even then, a small child is much more at risk than an adult who has established that the human is always the top dog.

[Corin Stormhands]

Somebody in management decided we needed an hour+ training session on how to swipe an id card through a reader and punch in a pin.

Yes. But if your place is anything like mine, a week from now, one of those management types will have to have someone show him (or her) how to do it...

[Corin Stormhands]

Help me! This is a part of the leftover choosing of the path in Moria from Sunday.

I wish I could help. I'm sure there are those on the thread who can. Unfortunately, went through the wrong door and the orcs are holding our house hostage (12 more months and I can do something about it...12 more months...)

[Lil'freeper]

You feel my pain.

I gave a briefing not too long ago power-point free. Everyone got it except for the boss-gal. Now the only interaction I have with her are marathon gripe sessions about how 'this doesn't work, and that doesn't work, and I tried following your directions but...'. Of course, everything works fine when I'm standing at her elbow.

*sigh* I want to go home.

But as irritated as I am, I must remind myself how good I have it: I'm not teaching right now. The joy of that realization brings tears to my eyes. :)

[300winmag]

Ahhh, now that's one that I would definitely love to bring home with me! She looks like a fine partner!!! I think if I was to get my fence around here that's the look of what I might start checking the pound for. I know, I know, yours probably isn't a pound puppie. But, there's goodies like that to be found there all the time.

She's Marl's dog, not mine. Wyn has been bred a couple of times to a very nice male, and has produced nice pups in the rarer Dobie colors. They are right on the guard/pet boundary, and require extra training, but it seems to be worth it. If you're ever ready for one, if Marl doesn't have any Wyn puppies, she probably knows someone who has pups of equal quality. I swear, Marl knows about every horse and Dobie for sale in west Michigan, and the personality of both the owners and the animals.

[ksen]

This may seem like a dumb question, but what do you do to ensure that the dog knows you are the top dog?

[Corin Stormhands]

I never could understand the mindset of people who can't make coffee, can't clear a paper jam and who can't figure out how to cut and paste...

[Lil'freeper]

Minds are a prereq for a mindset.

[Corin Stormhands]

You have to mark the furniture.

Oh. Sorry. You weren't asking me.

[Wneighbor]

I'm laughing hard!!!! But only because I've been there!!!!

I share your disdain for powerpoint. I about had a cow week before last. I'm teaching Drafting using AutoCAD. So, the Advanced class did their little design projects to show me their design skills. All in AutoCAD. And then, 3 of the 6 in the class ask me ON THE SAME DAY, IN THE SAME CLASS, WITH ALL OF THEM PRESENT. How do you want this done up in Powerpoint!!! GRRRRRRR Each successive reply of "We are using the program AutoCAD in this class AND ONLY AUTOCAD" became more evil.

[carton253]

Smeagol is off to English, but before I go... I'm going for the precious...

[carton253]

Smeagol is off to English, but before I go... I'm going for the precious...

[carton253]

Smeagol is off to English, but before I go... I'm going for the precious...

[carton253]

Smeagol is off to English, but before I go... I'm going for the precious...

[carton253]

Smeagol is off to English, but before I go... I'm going for the precious...

[carton253]

Smeagol is off to English, but before I go... I'm going for the precious...

[carton253]

Precious...

[carton253]

Precious...

[carton253]

Precious...