I identify with this comic WAAAYYY too much!
I just learned, that contrary to widespread beliefs, that Lincoln was really not a religious man. Shocking, I know, since many think the "God" talk indicated his love of religion. Not necessarily so. His writings indicate otherwise. He thought that to be a "believer" lead one to being an infidel, which to me points to his conviction that to be religious necessarily meant that one cannot be just, or patriotic, two things that he was vehemently an advocate for.
Here are some of my favorite quotes. There are many more, but these are the ones that stood out at me. They're not all about religion, those can be found here: http://www.positiveatheism.org/hist/quotes/lincoln.htm
If I care to listen to every criticism, let alone act on them, then this shop may as well be closed for all other businesses. I have learned to do my best, and if the end result is good then I do not care for any criticism, but if the end result is not good, then even the praise of ten angels would not make the difference.That last quote left me speechless. It's amazing how far this country has moved from his ideals. It's very sad.
The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.
The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.
I am a slow walker, but I never walk backwards.
The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.
Seriously, I do not think I fit for the presidency.
To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men.
The Bible is not my book nor Christianity my profession.
The only person who is a worse liar than a faith healer is his patient. (BRILLIANT!)
When the Know-Nothings get control, it [the Declaration of Independence] will read: "All men are created equal except negroes, foreigners and Catholics." When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretense of loving liberty -- to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocrisy.
Allow the President to invade a neighboring nation whenever he shall deem it necessary to repel an invasion and you allow him to do so whenever he may choose to say he deems it necessary for such purpose, and you allow him to make war at pleasure....
If today he should choose to say he thinks it necessary to invade Canada to prevent the British from invading us, how could you stop him? You may say to him, "I see no probability of the British invading us," but he will say to you, "Be silent; I see it, if you don't."
This weekend, I decided to board Tycho with a pet-sitter, who specializes in small animals, especially birds. I asked her if she would be willing to sit a lizard, and after some discussion and assurance that I would give her detailed instructions, she agreed.
I took him there on Wednesday evening, and spent about an hour with the woman telling her all that she needs to do to keep him happy. This included the usual things like bathing, feeding, handling, and caring for.
Today, I went over there, and she said that she really really wants one. She said that he had been very active since Wednesday, and has been running around like crazy. He got a lot of baths, and lots of attention. She said she kept him on her the entire time she was just hanging out watching TV, or reading. He seemed to love it. He also went to the bathroom once for her. He had gone two days ago, so that was an excellent sign!
Today, I brought him home, and on the way, I decided to get him some food and see if he would try some other things than greens. I bought him some crickets and waxworms. He usually tends to not like crickets, and would prefer mealworms or superworms. I got rid of all the other worms that I had since I think that they impacted him once before. So, I bought a small tub of crickets for him, thinking that they would last for at least a few feedings. There were about twenty in there (there should have been thirty). I put them in one by one, and he just devoured them! He even ran after a couple of them. Before I knew it, he had completely eaten all of them. Then I put in some waxworms, and lo and behold, he ate ten of those! And, when he was finished, he even had some greens to boot.
I just gave him a bath, and he even drank a whole bunch. He still cannot recognize water, even when he's sitting in it. So, I have to drip some on his nose, and he drinks it that way.
Today is the 26th of November, which is almost a week after his supposed impending death by that evil veterinarian. I can't believe how much of a recovery he has made. He's better than he's been in a very long time, and seemed to have gotten over whatever he was going through.
Tomorrow, we set up his new cage for him, and I will need to spend some time setting him up with lights and decorations. I'm so glad that he's back to his old self!
He also just had six more waxworms as a nightcap before turning in for the night.
I'm going to see FINALLY, after twenty five years of waiting, Marcel Khalife in concert. To say I'm excited would be a severe understatement.
My car rental for the day is a PT Cruiser. It's the epitome of a "gay car", as my friend calls small cars.
Maids "held prisoners" in Lebanon: http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1811802007
From the AP: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iGN8ExJy3jOW_buqFT0JVL1PMghQD8SU0AL00
And from the Daily Star: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&categ_id=1&article_id=86782
The situation is really bad there. I hope these women will get some help and hope to leave their fate there.
What a difference a good doctor makes! I am still in shock! I drove the 30+ miles to get to the Littleton Animal Hospital. I saw the doctor, who literally fawned over Tycho the entire time. She said that he is indeed, a little dehydrated, but since he looks so alert and aware, there's no reason for concern. She gave him a full exam, and she said that she felt something "tubular" in his gut, which might be just constipation. She did not seem worried at all. She even complimented me on having such a good looking lizard! He was such a trooper as she prodded and poked and felt him up.
The doctor was gentle, sweet, and knew exactly how to handle him, and how to calm him down. She even wrapped him up at one point, and cradled him, and he just looked so content. He didn't puff himself up once, his beard didn't turn black or anything. He just let her do what she needed to do, and when he got antsy, he would take off, and she would gently calm him down.
Since he hadn't had blood work in the past, she thought it would be best to do it, just to be on the safe side. His breathing hard didn't really bother her. She gave him a lot of fluids, which resulted in two "bumps" on his back, which she said he would gradually absorb.
Today I gave him a bath, and boy was he psyched! He splashed around, and kept splashing water on his back (is that normal??). He even dipped his entire beard under water, and drank a whole bunch. That was after I had given him a lot of water.
What the doc thinks, however, since we moved from a very hot weather to a colder one, that he might start brumating. He's never really done it in the past, but it might just be normal for him.
So... the next course of action is this. The blood test result should come back by Monday, and she will call and tell me what's up. I have to get him a fecal sample, so she can rule out any worm/parasite problems (indicated by the "bad smell", maybe). But, if everything turns out okay, then it's time for me to just let him be. He's going through a very normal process!
I have to get him a little "log that he can sleep under in case that's what he's doing.
Again, all seems okay with him for right now. Monday, I'll learn more.
BUT.... all that said... HE IS NOT ON DEATH'S DOOR like that other evil vet told us! His weight was fine, and no reason for concern! He didn't look like he's starving to death. That evil vet scared the living daylights out of us! We were so scared, we even thought to put him outside at night, and euthanise him, because there was no hope. I'm so glad we decided against it!
Man oh man. Depending on what the doc says on Monday, we might report the unethical and inhumane treatment we got at that stupid clinic.
That's probably one of the most overused drawings, and the twist on it is brilliant!
I might just have to get me one for New Year.
Tycho today looks great, and almost back to normal. He's very altert and active. He ate almost a half a bowl full of food today. His breathing is still a little disconcerning. I called over to the vet's office, and they refuse to see him or prescribe antibiotics, because the vet is convinced that he needs radiation, and blood test, etc. etc. I asked if I can get some meds for him, while I wait and see what's going on, and they refused. The next available appointment they have is not until after thanksgiving. But, they still refuse to make one for me, because "you can't wait another week, because you might not have a beardie by then". Right. Thanks for the concern.
Somehow, I wonder if this is ethical.
So, tomorrow I made another appointment at another clinic that's 30+ miles away to go see another vet, and hopefully get another opinion.
If he confirms that Tycho is in fact severely ill, and needs hospitalization ASAP (which is what the vet here said), then it's probably something along those lines, and I'll have to consider what the best course of action. I just hope he's much nicer than the one here. I really really didn't like her.
But, I know why she seemed like a complete bitch. She's the only doctor in that entire clinic, and they have an appointment booked solid every fifteen minutes. It's been like that for a few weeks. The other vet is on maternity leave. I would totaly lose my bedside manners if the entire clinic was riding on my attention. It's very easy to miss a lot of things.
Tycho the lizzard seems to have bounced back like the trooper he is. The first day he came back from the doc's, he was miserable, and looked like he was on death's door. The follow day, I got him some supplements, and started (force) feeding him. He hated them! The smell was repulsive, but I don't know if it had any effect or not. Two days later of that regimen, he looked like he was bouncing back. In fact, two days ago, he actually ate almost three plates of greens! And I've been supplementing with vitamins and everything.
I got home tonight, and he had been laying there on top of his "house" that I built him. He looked like he was fighting sleep. I took him out to give him his calcium supplement. And as soon as I put him back, he perked right up! And started scratching like mad to get out of the cage. Took him out, and put him on the bed, on which he ran around for a while. We thought he was hungry, and B went to get him some food. BUT.... he wasn't hungry!
And all that scratching wasn't just because he wanted to come out. He had to go to the bathroom! He was doing the "i gotta go potty really really bad" dance. So, we rushed him back to his cage... and...well... I had to leave the room. He definitely has an upper respiratory infection. I can tell that. And, he definitely is not dehydrated! So, after two baths, and some cleanup, he went back in there. He looks so much lighter.
So why is this significant? Because, a) he will not go in his cage no matter what, unless he is absolutely desperate, and b) he has to be on a soft thing when he goes! It's the strangest thing. I had put a little towel with him in the cage to make him comfortable two days ago, and well, I had to throw that out. The day before he went to the doc, same thing happened. I put him on a small towel, under a heat lamp, and sure enough... it didn't take any time for him to soil that. I gotta buy him a bunch of towels to keep with him, because he's going through them like crazy.
This is insane behavior for a lizard. I've never heard of such a thing! I'm very puzzled.
I woke up this morning to find Tycho has completely perked up! His eyes are wide open, and while he seems to still be relatively low key, he looks tons better. And, the area surrounding his eye has started peeling, indicating that he's going through another shed! As the morning has progressed, he seems wide awake/alert, and while he's still not really eating, he's back to scratching on the glass wanting to come out! He's also made full use of the small towel that I put in his cage yesterday. He has his arms around it (when he's laying still), and has decided that it makes a very comfortable seat for him.
I really hope he pulls through. He's about 300% better than he was yesterday! He scared the bejeesus out of us last night. Today, he seems about 70% back to his old rambunctious self. I need to get him some greens, and a new UV light, and a thermometer to keep track of the temperature in his cage. We'll just be waiting and seeing how he does in the next few days.