Article the First: On Dogs and Their Care - an Overview If you're an ordinary person who loves dogs and has one or would like to have one, you may be overwhelmed by the amount of information on dog ownership, training and nutrition available to you online and elsewhere. A well trained and healthy dog is one of life's great pleasures. In fact, after family and friends, dogs are the most important creatures in our lives In fact, dogs are our best friends! My family always had dogs when I was a kid; I remember them all well. One of my childhood's saddest memories was when our corgi Taffy, a pretty fiery little fellow, got run over on Guy Fawke's Nite. My father and I tended to his injuries, but he died from them. The point is that dogs may not be human, but they may as well be, for the emotions they arouse and the love and devotion they give us if they are well treated. Don't they deserve the best we can give them? Some of the things I believe everyone who has a dog should understand are very simple to apply to ensure you have a healthy, well-trained dog who loves you and will be your best friend for life: #1. Treat your dog as you would treat any other member of your family; dogs respond to love, care and attention just like the rest of us. Our Marty is a Shitszu-Fox terrier cross, absolutely adorable, and the poor little bloke gets hugs and kisses all day long. He sleeps on our bed! #2. Be sure your dog knows who's boss: be firm but not physical. Dogs are like children - they need to know limits but they do not respond well to physical violence. In fact, Marty as a puppy received (unknown to us at the time) some very rough treatment from a dog groomer we took him to. He still reacts if we try to trim his feet. #3. Feed your dog food that it likes to eat but is also good for it. There are plenty of dog foods available but make sure the one you choose for your dog is as natural as possible and not full of preservatives or additives that can and do cause ailments such as cancer. We have recently carried out an exercise in comparing dog foods, and the results were pretty bad. Good food is more expensive, but generally you need less of it, and its certainly better for the dog. #4. Exercise your dog according to its needs. A big dog requires big exercise, a smaller one not so much. Exercise will enable your dog to burn off the energy they will otherwise spend on things they shouldn't. We find with Marty that, if we can't get him out for a walk, throwing and getting him to return a tennis ball gives him plenty of exercise. (He also tends to hoon around when the mood takes him ,which cracks us up!) #5. Do not leave your dog at home all day alone. Dogs are social animals and need your company. On their own they get frustrated and bored (just as humans do). We take Marty where we can. Be very careful, though, that you don't leave your dog in a car for long in summer - they get heat-stressed very easily and can really suffer. Some easy things I recommend you do for your dog (and you!): (a) Start training and good eating habits early! Take your puppy to a training school for basic tips and socialisation with other dogs and humans. Basic commands such as "sit" "stay" "heel" etc are very important and not difficult to implant if done properly; (b) Pick a pecking order of command givers in your family and stick to it. Dogs are pack animals and look to the alpha male; (c) Get a good vet and stick with him or her if you can. They will give you good advice on nutrition, vaccinations etc and will get to know your dog's history. This is really important if special treatment is needed at any time; (d) Unless you plan to breed, have your dog neutered at about 6 months; he will not wander and will generally lose any aggressiveness he might have. If your dog is a female and un-neutered, you will have to lock her in when she's on heat!; (e) Make sure your dog has plenty of company and appropriate exercise. In fact, I don't recommend people on their own get dogs unless they can take them into work with them or get a sitter. At one stage in my life I had a large dog whom I loved, but she was home all day on her own. It drove her crazy. I ended up giving her away to a retired lady who loved her too. Nessie (the dog) was in heaven; (f) Start off and continue to feed your dog the best food. It may be a bit more expensive, but quality counts and is worth it; (g) Check out online sites if you need help. Lots of people will have the same issues you do, and it helps to share. To find out some more, or to share your views, check out my website http://doghealthandtrainingissues.wordpress.com/ Posted 20 April 2009
Article the Second: On Renewable Energy - Here at Last, Thank God Almighty, Here at Last Next question: ever think about the resources all those people are using and will continue to use in increasing amounts each day, month and year? Best not too really, especially if you want to sleep well. Here’s the basic fact or people v resources: people numbers are increasing, resources are dwindling, at least the ones we love to use, like oil and carbon fuels such as coal. Most experts also accept that these fossil fuels are heating the atmosphere, creating global warming. So, although these resources are getting scarcer, either actually or economically, they’re doing more and more damage on the way out! Doesn’t seem fair, really. All of this raises a pretty obvious question: why on earth (pun intended) don’t we use fuels and resources that are renewable, such as the sun, water and wind. Now, you might say that we are, and to an extent I’d have to agree with you. After all, we’ve had hydro-electric energy for decades. But the downside of this is that we’re running out of rivers to put dams on, plus the fact that by damming rivers we often create huge environmental problems, such as flooding of towns, destruction of natural habitats and so on. (Not to mention that many countries don’t have rivers to dam anyway!). Nuclear energy is good, efficient and kind on resources, but it does have its own set of issues which are fundamental, such as where to put spent fuel rods. Not in my backyard, thanks. There are also wind farms and solar heating sites, but they do not contribute hugely to energy supplies. So, is it all doom and gloom? I don’t think so. It seems to me that the answer is to stop thinking big, and instead think small. Renewable energy sources, such as the sun and the wind, can be used in small scale as well as large scale operations. (In fact, there is large scale resistance to large scale wind farms, because of their perceived ugliness and adverse environmental impact.) Small scale ie home or community sun and wind power schemes, however, do not impact on the environment in nearly the same way, and therefore are, or certainly ought to be, much more acceptable. There are renewable home energy systems available, and some countries subsidise homeowners to install them. However, it’s more than fair to say that there is no huge uptake of such systems, as any of us can see from simply driving around our neighbourhoods. I think this is partly inertia on most of our parts, and partly because the upfront cost is unaffordable to many of us. Let’s address some of the ways in which such systems might gain more public acceptance: · More funding allied with public education campaigns (“Think Small!” “Save on Energy Costs!” etc) would likely have a very positive effect. · More subsidies for those households who use renewable energy would be attractive, perhaps in the form of reduced local body taxes. · Tax breaks and assistance for the companies supplying the systems would attract innovators and entrepreneurs into the market, resulting in smaller, more efficient renewable energy systems. · Make the installation of renewable energy systems compulsory in new homes. Increased home costs? Yes, but look at the huge saving on energy operating costs. It is a mantra to many that there are no problems in life, only solutions. I’m not sure that’s always true, but with respect to energy we all have to make the current problem an opportunity, because we have no choice. The energy sources we have taken for granted all our lives are running out and/or are environmentally unacceptable. Unless we address the issue in a meaningful way, lack of energy could be a real issue for succeeding generations. I applaud all the work going on to develop new energy sources (such as battery or hydrogen powered vehicles) but to a very large extent the ability to turn our energy problems into solutions already exists: sun, wind and, to a lesser extent, water. Imagine a future where every household has its own renewable energy source. Sounds great to me! You can visit my blog on this at http://shoxy314.wordpress.com/renewable-low-cost-energy-for-homes/
Article the Third: On the Art of Being Confused – Is Affiliate Marketing a Solution? Let’s imagine you’re a cook, a doctor, an electrician, a teacher, a plumber or, god forgive, a lawyer (I’m one of those!). Or something else. Are you someone who has worked steadily at a job or career for years, and either wake up one morning or, worse, slowly realise over a long long time, that you’re thoroughly fed up with what you do? That’s me. The problem though, and I suspect I share this with a lot of people, is that it’s really tough to find something else that: (a) I want to do; and (b) I actually can do; and (c) that will earn me huge amounts of money without really having to work for it. I looked. I turned over rocks. I searched my mind (a short investigation). I examined my conscience. I looked at businesses for sale, at new ventures, at a complete change of lifestyle. None of the things I considered met all 3 of the above criteria, and therefore I consigned them to file A13 (pronounced “waste-paper bin”). All of which led, inexorably, to the web. When it comes to the net, I admit to being a SWCBAE, (pronounced “sickbay”) or, for the uninitiated, Someone Who’s Confused By Almost Everything. Sound familiar? I read, years ago, that the amount of new information hitting the web each day was equivalent to all the information in the Encyclopaedia Britannica. This was long before Facebook, You Tube or even Google. Meaning that the web is, actually, an out of control monster with so much information on it that it’s better to read tealeaves than try and make sense of the overload of (largely useless) information we’re faced with. But, the thing is, the web is full of get-rich-without-having-to-lift-a-finger-schemes. Or so we’re told. Data entry, writing, editing, affiliate marketing etc etc. But, again, none of this stuff is easy. Or is that just me? And most of it costs, only a bit, but they all add up. And so many seem to be scams (let’s face it, in terms of human behaviour the web is only reflecting the behaviour of people at large). So it’s not easy at all; what most of us are looking for, I suspect, is something we can do that is ethical, fun and earns big bucks. (I saw a job advertised recently for writing female erotica, and was briefly tempted before I re-checked my appendages and found them either wanting or inappropriate. I suppose I could’ve adopted a female nom de plume, but would that have been ethical?). And, so, the route I have taken is, ta daaa! affiliate marketing, at which I am a newbie and have yet to make a cent. It sort of makes sense though, because one of the ways of “optimising my posts”, I’m told by the experts, is to do article marketing ie writing. Now, I have always suspected that somewhere in me is the world’s great novel, but I am either (pick one) too lazy or too grossly untalented to begin. However, it is fun to sit at my laptop and just begin to write (a slow process, given that keyboards are made for 10 fingers, not just 2). In fact, it is quite gratifying to put some thoughts to paper. To date, I’ve sent in just 2 articles, one on dog care and one on renewable energy, which I’m actually quite proud of. Pulitzer prize material? No, but that doesn’t matter, it really is a bit of fun. So, getting back to (a), (b) and (c) above, I just about cover (a) and (b). (c), however, eludes me. Therefore, I continue to peruse the web for tools that will lead me straight to Go and, actually, I do believe I’ve found a couple. The problem is that they are software based and although I’m reasonable able to use a computer, a software wiz I’m not. Which means, right now, that I’m not much further ahead. But I’m confident that will change. I know I will have moments of sheer brilliance in which all the new web terminology and protocols will appear before and make themselves understood. Now, there’s a thought. Maybe I can find a product that actually makes the web understandable, and affiliate market the living daylights out of that! I better start looking. If anyone else finds it first, please remember me and cut me in. Given the lack of web-based income so far, all donations gratefully accepted!! I am shamelessly suggesting you have a look at my blog on affiliate marketing: http:/shoxy314.wordpress.com/2009/04/20/affiliate-marketing-101/ It works apparently; I just have to work out how it works. Maybe I’ll do that tomorrow. Posted 20 April 2009
Article the Fourth: On Working Working at a job, whatever it is, is a social obligation as much as an economic one. Don’t believe me? How often as a child did you hear someone refer to someone else as a “layabout”; how often were you told of the benefits of hard work; how often have you yourselves done the same thing? Yes, most of us need to work to stay alive (food, shelter, providing for family, a few pleasures); indeed only the very fortunate do not. And, apropos of that lot, aren’t they the “idle rich”? Sure, we envy them, because not many of us actually want to work hard all the time or for too long or at all. But we also despise them for the fact that they haven’t earned their good fortune, but married into or inherited it (lucky buggers!). The only people we don’t call idlers are those few lucky enough to have won Lotto, which we’re all working hard to do, too. Here’s the point though – how many of us, being rich through means not of our own, would have the social temerity not to do something? To just, well, do nothing, at least nothing productive. Great wealth means not only that the possessors of it don’t actually work as in earning a living, but they don’t do any other work as well which they not only used to do but often enjoyed doing: their own gardens (“Jack’s so good, and cheap too!”), washing their cars (“The carwash at the BP is great and so cheap!”), doing their own housework (Trudi’s very thorough, and so cheap!”) etc. Do you see the common thread here? Yes, in my experience the very well off not only do less and less other than leisure, which they work hard at, but they become very mindful of the cost of everything. I have a rule of thumb – the richer they get, the meaner (Bill Gates and myriads of others excepted). However, I digress. It takes a certain courage to thumb your nose at society’s expectations, work-wise. It’s all very well to be rich as Croesus, but it’s not all very well to flaunt the fact. All of which leads to certain moral ponderings on my part. What would I be like, if I were rich (I wish hard that I was)? And the answer is simple. Poor? Tough. No job? Tough. No new car every year? Tough. (Well, not exactly, I do give and have always given, to charity, and my wife have agreed that when the Lotto fairy touched us on the shoulder, 10% will go to charities). But, regarding everyone else, too bad. The main problem I have with wealth is that I don’t have it. After almost 4 decades of hard work, mostly what I have is an aversion to more of the same! So, I’m working hard to find something I don’t have to work hard at. And, even with the great and glorious web, it is damned hard work to find something that produces sufficient income to keep me and my wife in the style to which I would like to become accustomed. You will have heard the expression, “there’s no such thing as a free lunch”. As a person who has paid for far too many lunches in his life, I agree while still trying hard to disprove it. The internet is full of get rich schemes, none of which require any capital, experience, education, knowhow or, in some cases, a pulse. I, like many of you, have checked this stuff out, and most of them do require capital, experience, education and knowhow. I have recently become a fledgling affiliate marketer, and I have had to learn a tremendous amount of things and devote a whole lot of time to even get started. I’m really working hard. Trouble is, because there are millions and millions of internet pages, it is incredibly difficult to sort the wheat from the chaff, the men from the boys, the wine form the water. I believe I have got a couple of good things now, and have started a Clickbank account (I have not earned enough to pay for a lunch, so I’m going to free ones) and I’m hoping and, in new age parlance, expecting to do real good. After all, if I didn’t shouldn’t I buy a lawn-mowing round? At least that is outdoor work, healthy and good for you. But, wouldn’t it also be such...hard work? I invite you to have a look at what seems to be a pretty good site: http://www.imbuzzaffiliates.com/?vip=2256.
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 This is our dog Marty, for whom the site is named after. He's a shitszu-fox terrier cross, hence Shoxzy. He is an absolute character and much loved!    |
