I Keep Forgetting Things That I Keep Forgetting.

     I have a few things that I keep forgetting to mention, and now that remembering that I have these things, I can't remember what all of them are. I do remember one of them however, so I guess I can start with that.

     I haven't mentioned looking for anyone to date lately, and that is because I have had no desire to do so, but that doesn't mean I won't seize an opportunity when one arises. One such opportunity arose on Friday. Ok, I didn't really seize it as much as stumble to failure amongst it. I'm not sure if you remember my bank teller, and how I mentioned that she would let me know places that she would be from time to time. Rather attractive, seems interesting from the short conversations that we have had. Well, she was in the window next to the teller that I was going to be at. She was counting her drawer, so her day was done. The teller I was going to was finishing up with a costumer, and he was asking about how many branches they had. She told him and said that as long as he had an account, he could go to any one of them. He didn't have an account so he asked what he would have to do to get one. My bank teller said that he had to buy them lunch. He said that was a stiff price, and walked off chuckling. I walked up and said that that was a good idea, and they should see how many lunches they could get out of people. Here is where the stumbling begins.

     My teller asked me why I hadn't bought them lunch when I opened my account. I said, "I got my account long before you were here." not in a flippant way, but in a way that was trying to sound funny. As I look back now, that was the first trip into the stumble. It was the truth, but when you are trying to be witty, the truth doesn't necessarily work. I then quickly remounted that horse and said, "But I would gladly buy you lunch any time you want." Slick right? I'm going to go with no. As is always the case when it comes to me and women, she got real quiet and slowly walked away. The teller I was at laughed, so at least I made someone to have a laugh out of my awkwardness. Such is my life. It should be real comfortable to walk into the bank this Friday. The best would be if I ended up at her window, then it could get real awkward.

     Oh, I just remembered the other thing I've been wanting to tell you. I have yet to get my ear repierced. I just haven't found the time to do it, but it has me thinking. It seems pointless to just go in and get my ear done, so, I've been thinking about getting my nose pierced as well. Right nostril to be exact. See, I always like to change up my look from time to time, and that would be a change. That is pretty much the main reason I got rid of the beard. I had had it too long. I don't deal well being stuck looking the same way, it has never been my thing. One year in high school, I changed my hairstyle every week for the first semester. I did it through styling and cutting it. Eventually my hair was  too short to really change it up anymore, so I had to let it grow out again. Oh, those were the days. When I had hair and it was so simple to change my look. Now I actually have to put a lot of thought into it. It's not easy to change your look when you have a blank canvas that nothing will stick to.

    Anyway, that is my thought process right now, so, soon I'll be heading to that tattoo shop near my house to get holes put in my head. On another note. I am saving up for a few things that will help out with the motovlogs. I want to get a handheld camera for when I am off the bike and filming places and things, and I also want to get a drone. Unfortunately I can't get both at the same time, so I have to do them one at a time. I haven't decided which one to get first. The handheld would help out with the Adventure Time Series, in that I could use that for filming footage at the places, and it would have a good external mic, so that I could add commentary. Using my phone isn't working out as well as I would hope its would. I'm not sure if it's the case on my phone interfering, or the mic just isn't that good for the audio. On videos that I've added footage from the camera, I have to bust the audio 4 times what the starting point is, and the audio is still low. A new camera would make a big difference in that. The drone, on the other hand, would add some really cool aerial footage of places that I was going to, and would allow me to venture out into some places I probably wouldn't go to without it. I know that I want to save the ride to Blowing Rock until I have a drone, because I think the drone footage would be phenomenal. I need your help with this decision. Which would you rather see in the videos right away? And When I say "right away" I mean in a few months or so. Neither one of these is cheap. The handheld camera is the cheaper of the two, and would be available pricewise long before the drone, but that doesn't mean that I can't just keep saving past the price of the camera and get the drone first.

     I am leaning one way now, and it could surprise you which way I am leaning, but I'll save that answer until after I've heard from you. It might even surprise you which way I am leaning. Once again, I'm saving that until you get back to me, sl leave a comment about which one you would rather see footage from in my videos.

     This is that spot where I post Favorite Song of the Week, and I'm not going to let you down. Normally I would give you a few details and save the artist and song until the very last moment before the video, but I'm not going to do that today. I even think I may have posted this song before, but that was before I knew a little background about it. The artist is the one and only Miley Cyrus, and the song is "Malibu". Last week, Miley came on The Howard Stern Show, and basically played a concert for him. She did a total of 5 songs including Wildfowers in tribute to Tom Petty. It was fantastic, but we aren't here for that, we are here for Malibu. She told the background story about this song, and now when I hear it, it is a much different song to me. It is about a love lost and then refound. It just so happens to be about her fiancé Liam Hemsworth. As you may know, they broke up for a period of time. When they did, he bought a house in Malibu. That house just so happens to have been the house that Miley stayed in when she made her first solo album out of the realms of Hannah Montana. The realtor went around the house stashing all the plaques with her name on it in the garage so that he wouldn't see them, and buy the house. It worked, and he bought it, but when he moved in, all the plaques were back up. She didn't really say if those plaques helped them get back together, but when they did get back together, she moved back into that house with him. Listen to the lyrics of the song and you can hear that very story in them. It's not in all the detail of what's above, but it's there.

     She was fantastic on the show with Howard. His interviews are more of intimate conversations that you get to eaves drop on, instead of an actual interview. That leads to the person being interviewed to relax and feel more comfortable to talk about things they wouldn't normally talk about. If you haven't heard any of his interview lately, go find some and listen to them, they are fantastic, He is truly the greatest interviewer of all time. Back to Miley though. I have been a fan of her since the Party In The USA days, and I do its without shame, I won't go into my "there are no such things as guilty pleasures" speech. Take a listen to the song, give her a chance, and you will see just how talented she is, and how good yet unorthodox her voice is. Here is Miley Cyrus with "Malibu".



     Yes, I am listening to it right now as I type this final little paragraph. About tonight, I got to witness something I knew was coming, but really didn't want to see happen. That would be, how Morty reacts when The Truff has one of her seizures. This was a real bad one tonight. He screamed which is something that she has never done before. It went form a scream to a howl to a bark, before it was all over. After, she got up and did her walk around. Whenever she has a seizure she has to walk around aimlessly for a good long time. It can range from an half hour to an hour. This one is more like the hour long session. When she started her screaming, Morty came running in from the couch. He was concerned about her and wanted to help, but I had to keep him away, because I didn't want him to stress her out anymore that she already was. I'm not sure if he really would have stressed her out, but I didn't want to take the chance with a seizure that was so bad. He listened and backed off, but when she began walking around he followed her for a bit to check up on her. I didi't know how he would react and once again he reacted in the best way possible. If there was any doubt that Morty was the right dog, then that should quell any of those doubts. I didn't have any, but someone might. Peace in and goodnight.

Full List of Vegas Victims And A Whole Lot Of Morty.

Hannah Ahlers

Heather Alvarado

Dorene Anderson

Carrie Barnette

Jack Beaton

Steve Berger

Candice Bowers

Denise Burditus

Sandy Casey

Andrea Castilla

Denise Cohen

Austin Davis

Thomas Day, Jr.

Christiana Duarte

Stacee Etcheber

Brian Fraser

Keri Galvan

Dana Gardner

Angela Gomez

Rocio Guillen Rocha

Charleston Hartfield

Chris Hazencomb

Jennifer Topaz Irvine

Teresa Nicol Kimura

Jessica Klymchuk

Carly Kreibaum

Rhonda LeRocque

Victor Link

Jordan McIldoon

Kelsey Meadows

Calla-Marie Medig

James "Sonny" Melton

Patricia Mestas

Austin Meyer

Adrian Murfitt

Rachael Parker

Jenny Parks

Carrie Parsons

Lisa Patterson

John Phippen

Melissa Ramirez

Jordyn Rivera

Quinton Robbins

Cameron Robinson

Tara Roe

Lisa Romero-Muniz

Chris Roybal

Brett Schwanbeck

Bailey Schweitzer

Laura Shipp

Erick Silva

Susan Smith

Brennan Stewart

Derrick “Bo” Taylor

Neysa Tonks

Michelle Vo

Kurt von Tillow

Bill Wolfe

     That is the full list of the names of the fallen in Las Vegas. I highly recommend that you look up their stories if you get a chance. They were some pretty incredible people. Please take the time to read each one of their names. I know that the tendency is to just skim through them, but their names deserve to be read and known.

     It was a Morty weekend, with a little bit of getting things done on the side. Morty is truly making it through the night now, but he still insists that I get up around 6:30 each morning. I would really like to sleep in but Morty simply won't have it. I could close the door to my bedroom, but then that could lead to an accident that I don't want to have to clean up, so, it's up at 6:30 for me.

     I've been working on Morty's training, and getting him to do things a little more orderly. Feeding is a challenge, but he knows that he has to wait until I put the bowl down. I get him to sit by his food mat, and I won't put it down until he stays relatively still. It's is more like a sit and shimmy, but it's a start. I've gotten him to get close to me with the ball when we play fetch, but he still tries to fake me out a bit. I have to get a hold of his collar and grab the ball. He doesn't let it go easily, but he will let it go. It's just a matter of time before he starts to give me the ball so that we can keep the fetch game rolling. 

     Walking is a whole other story. He is getting better, but it's a slow process with this one. I did order something today that should help with that, but I'll get to that in a little bit. When we first go out, he is so excited that he will pull on the leash until he chokes himself to a cough. I've tried some stop training with him, so that he knows I won't move until he lets slack on the leash, but he goes right back to pulling as soon as we start moving. When he finally gets tired of hanging himself, he relaxes and the walk is a pleasure. I shot a little short video of our walk today when he was behaving. He has the potential, it's just going to take some work.

     Now for what I ordered to help with the walking. I was watching a show last night on Animal Planet. I can't remember the name, but it is about overweight pets, and getting them in shape. I love the Animal Planet shows. You learn so much, in this case, it was a dog that pulled on the leash. Part of his program to lose weight was to take multiple walks a day, so pulling wasn't going to be very fun for the owners. The host put a harness on the dog that had a front loop for the leash. With the leash attached to the front of the chest, it lends to less of a feeling of a need to pull, so I found one on Amazon Smile today and ordered it. It will be here this week some time. I'll let you know how it all goes. I don't expect it to be an easy fix, but anything that helps him from hanging himself is a good thing. We will get there, it's just going to take a little time.

     In the middle of all this Morty time, I managed to get out and finally get the b-roll footage I've been hoping for. This is all for the helmet review video that I'm going to make. I got the angle I wanted and some solid footage for the video. I shot much more than I needed. I have a good 20 minutes of footage, but I think I'm only going to need about a minute of it. I made a quick little video for a sneak peak to send to Elie Wolf. I think that is all I'll need for the video. I'd share that video with you, but that would defeat the purpose of only making it for Elie, so sorry, you'll have to wait until I make and post the video. I should get the rest of the footage some time this week. I don't think it's going to be a very long video, I'm going to try to keep it around 5 to 10 minutes.

     Speaking of Elie Wolf, she sent me a little video today of her walking for the first time. She is using a walker, but that by no means makes it easier for her. Remember she pretty much completely shattered her pelvis in that accident, for her to be already walking only 2 months after the accident is rather incredible. She didn't look like she is going to have any trouble relearning to walk either. It looked like her normal stride to me. This accident may have slowed her down, but it did not stop her. She is up for this challenge and she is going to beat it.

     I almost forgot. I have one last Morty moment. The other day, I was watching a video that had a squeaky toy sound in it, and Morty was going crazy. I looked around when I was on my errands for a good squeak toy for him. I was somewhat dreading this, because if he decided to play with it at night, there was no way I was going to get any sleep at all. I found the perfect squeak toy. It is a noiseless squeak toy. It supposedly only emits a sound that dogs can hear, and it seems to be true. I did it for Morty and he got all high energy on me. I did it around The Truff and she looked up and around for where the sound was coming from, but couldn't really care less otherwise. Morty loves it. Since Morty is a Florida dog, then he needed a Florida gator toy, and that is what he got. One little squeakless gator for Morty.

     There he is on his new bed with his new gator. He is a happy pup, and I am a happy Pitbull Daddy. Peace in and goodnight.

Morty Gets A New Bed.

Melissa Ramirez

Kelsey Meadows

Calia Media

Christiana Duarte

Stacee Etcheber

Tara Roe Smith

Cameron Robinson

    These are the names of the fallen I was able to find tonight. It is getting harder to find a comprehensive list of the names, and that is terrible. These names should be all over the place and easy to find. I will keep searching until I have all the names. I've seen that the number of the fallen has increased to 60 now. With those 7 names above, 36 fallen have been made available to the public.

     Morty has been sleeping through the night the last few nights. I'm not ready to turn the 2:30 alarm off yet. I wake up when it goes off, and do a little check on him to see if he is ok. If there is no movement from him, I just let him sleep. If he goes a few more nights like that, I will turn that alarm off, and get some uninterrupted sleep for a change.

     I got Morty a proper bed, and he likes it, but the couch is still his night time sleep spot. Here is a picture of Morty on the new bed when it arrived yesterday.

     At first, I didn't think the bed was going to be big enough. It came packed really tight in a small box. Once I got it out, it opened up a bit, but it still didn't look big enough. After about 15 minutes, it filled out into it's true size, and you can see that it is just the right size for Morty. I got it form Woot.com for a third of the price that those beds normally go for. I looked all over for a good bed and they were crazy expensive, so I was happy to find one that is just perfect for him at a really good price.

     Morty is also getting more relaxed around the house. He no longer feels the need to be around or on top of me at every moment when I am home. He is still pretty clingy though, but he will go and lay down instead of resting his head on my leg, or trying to get in my lap. Yes, Morty thinks he is a lap dog. At least once a day, he climbs up into the recliner with me and lays across my lap, usually propping his head up right in front of the TV. His paperwork said that he was 50 lbs. but I think he weighs a bit more. I will have to find some way to weigh him, or maybe when I take him in for his wellness check, they will weigh him there. Either way, I'm curious to see just how much he weighs now. I don't over feed him and he gets plenty of exercise by either going for a walk or playing pseudo fetch in the backyard. I say pseudo because it is more like, I throw the ball, he gets it, then he runs up to me, and turns at the last minute. It is really more of, I throw and then chase him around trying to get the ball from him. If I took some treats out with me, he would drop the ball in a second for a treat, but I don't want to have to rely on treats all the time, plus he doesn't need to eat a bunch of treats. Believe me, he would eat non-stop if he could. 

     My guitar teacher was ready for me today. When I walked in he asked,"So, are we going to do some Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers today?". I of course said yes, and then threw him a curveball. He was all ready with the most well known hits, and I asked for that song that I said was the first one I'd heard from Tom Petty. Refugee it was. That song is really fun and rather easy to play. WE even got some of the cool guitar riffs in there, so I can get almost the entire song in, from rhythm to lead. Once we got that one down, He busted out a little Free Fallin. It was even easier. Only 3 chords and you have the whole song G,D,A that is all it takes. You do have to put a capo on the third fret of the guitar to get the right sound, but that is the whole song right there. It really all comes down to varying the strum patterns to make it sound a little more difficult. You can either play a strum per chord, or you can jazz it up a bit with multiple strums per chord.

     Due to all the rain this week, I have not gotten out to get that footage for the helmet review, but I'm hoping for a little clear sky time this weekend. If I don't get any, I will have to postpone the next video for a week. I do know the forecast is calling for less rain next week, so we will see. That's all I have for tonight. Look up the stories of the people above, and the ones I listed on Tuesday night. They are all interesting and deserve to be read. Peace in and goodnight.

Viva Las Vegas.

Sonny Melton

Lisa Romero-Muniz

Jordan McIldoon

Jessica Klymchuk

Quinton Robbins

Sandy Casey

Rachael Parker

Adrian Murfitt

Dorene Anderson

Charleston "Chuck" Hartfield

Angela "Angie" Gomez

Susan Smith

Bailey Schweitzer

Rhonda LeRocque

Denis Burditus

John Phippen

Jack Beaten

Chris Roybal

Thomas Day Jr.

Hannah Ahlers

Dana Gardner

Jennifer Topaz Irvine

Jenny Parks

Neysa Tonks

Carrie Barnette

Kurt Von Tillow

Victor Link

Bill Wolfe Jr.

Michelle Vo

     I can't believe that I am having to write a list of names again so soon, and those aren't all the names of the fallen. Those are only the names that have been released as of my writing this. People are trying their best to find out why this happened. Why the vile shot all those people. We don't need to know why. They why doesn't matter, it never matters. They why is something that we can live with out. those names above, and the ones that will be released later, for their friends and family, those are the things that they can't live without. There is never any sense to be made of a senseless act.

     The media is reacting the only way they know how, and plastering the name of this vile all over the place. That is also something we can live without. That vile made themselves inconsequential when they fired the first shot. They don't matter. Those people above, they matter. 29 names above that matter far more than the vile who is having his name everywhere today, and more than likely for the next week or more. 30 names still to come. 30 names that I will find and post here, so that they will not go unnamed. They will not go unknown. Their names need to be seen and spoken. They are the ones to be remembered. The vile that did this, his name needs to be forgotten as soon as it's spoken.

     It was only 16 months ago that I was writing the names of the last "worst shooting massacre" in this country. The Pulse nightclub shooting. It was in my backyard, in a city that I go to quite often. Because of that, I felt the pain of that city. I also felt the love in it as well. Orlando stood up and came together. Those club goers died that night, but they have no been forgotten around here, and they won't be forgotten in Las Vegas either. Very early on, before much was known about what had happened, and how many were lost and wounded, the mayor of Orlando sent out a message to Las Vegas, that Orlando stands with Las Vegas. Mayor Buddy Dyer was the first prominent figure to send out a message that I saw, and I was proud that it came form someone in my state. If anyone knows what Las Vegas is going through right now, it is him and the city of Orlando. 

     If you find a charity that you believe to be worthy, that is directed toward helping the victims of Las Vegas, do not hesitate to donate anything that you can. Last number I saw for the wounded was 527. They will need all the help that they can get. I know that there have been a lot of things going on recently that need help. Harvey, Irma, Maria, and now Las Vegas. Do what you can and only if you can. There is no need to put yourself in a hole if you can't afford it.

     The last thing I want to talk about on this matter tonight, is the multiple stories of people that helped out. The people that risked their lives, and even some who gave their lives to save others. I heard a story of a man that protected his wife from being shot and took the bullet that would have surely killed her. He died so that she could live. I saw another story of a young man that helped 30 people get out of the area. He kept going back into the shooting zone until he was shot himself. He survived. I heard other stories of people that were driving by, and stopped to load up their cars with as many of the wounded as they could to take them to hospitals. This is only a few of the stories that I heard. There was sone vile unSunday night, but there were dozens  and possible hundreds of heroes that stood up when it mattered most and saved lives. So when you hear someone say that there isn't any good in this world anymore, just look at those stories and realize that there is a lot of good left.

     On October 20th 1950 in Gainesville, Florida, one of the greatest singer songwriter to ever live was born. Here in Florida we knew him as the Gainesville Gator. Tom Petty was a beloved son of this state, and of millions around the world. The first song I ever herd from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers was Refugee. It had this smooth but searing guitar to open it up, and then Tom with his lazy wonderful voice began singing. It is one of those great driving songs. I even heard someone today mention that if you ever went on a long road trip, just put in the greatest hits of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and you can't go wrong. I have to agree. Anyway, once I heard that song, I was hooked. If you have had any conversation with me about music at any time, you would know that Tom Petty is one of my absolute favorites. His career spanned decades, and he is one of those rare rockers that produced hits in all of them. Refugee was in the late 70's. the 80's came and he exploded even bigger. In 1985 the album Southern Accents came out, and had the song that everyone remembered from the video. Tom was dressed as the Mad Hatter in an Alice in Wonderland themed video for Don't Come Around Here No More. I don't know if there will ever be a more recognizable video to a song. it was iconic. It wasn't just the video that was good, the song was great as well.

     In the late 80's Tom went off on a little side project and helped form the Traveling Wilburys. That little band included George Harrison of The Beatles, Roy Orbison, Bob Dylan, and Jeff Lynne of Electric Light Orchestra. Also in 89 Tom released what was known as his first solo album, Full Moon Fever. That was a big one, with  I Won't Back Down, which was co wrote with George Harrison, Free Fallin, and Runnin' Down A Dream. Remember those? The album was produced by Tom and fellow Wilbury Jeff Lynne. In the early 90's The Heartbreakers reformed, and put out Into The Great Wide Open. That album included the title track Into the Great Wide Open, and Learning To Fly. Later that year they put out a live album with another one of those iconic songs as an add on, Last Dance with Mary Jane. That was another weird video, but still not as gripping as Don't Come Around Here No More. In 2002 Tom Petty and then Heartbreakers released  The Last DJ that railed on the music industry. The title track was about famed radio dj Jim Ladd, who was one of the last dj's that got to choose his own music, and didn't play from a list that the program director made up for him. If you get a chance listen to that song. It's a goody.

     I would normally have Favorite Song of the Week right here, but instead of that, I'm going to implore you to look up Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and listen to some of their songs. If you've never heard them before, well we need to have a talk about hate, but if you haven't heard them before, you are in for a treat, and if you have heard them, I guarantee that they will take you back in time when you listen to them again. Tom Petty may have died but he left us with some damn great songs to listen to, and hell, if you feel so inclined, go for a ride while listening, It's a good way to hear them. Peace in and goodnight.

I'm Really Tired.

     It has been a very long weekend. Morty has settled in, but he is now taking liberties with everything. He needs a ton of attention, and I think that is because of living in the shelter. I'm not sure how long he was in there, but I don't get a moments rest with him around. He has awoken me every morning that I've had off at 6:30, and that is after the fact that I have an alarm set for 2:30 to take him out in the middle of the night. I'm sure this is probably from being in the shelter and he feels like he might lose the attention. I wouldn't change a thing, except maybe the letting me sleep in an hour or so. It's going to take some adjusting from both of us.

     The Truff is adjusting just fine. If you follow me on Instagram, you would have seen this picture. This is during their morning feeding. I keep the separated so that Morty won't eat The Truff's food, but she followed us out to the other room and watched him eat for a while. She is no longer nervous around him at all. She still keeps her distance if he initiates any contact, but she gets really close to him now. At one point I let them out tighter, and when I went to the back door to let them in, they were both standing side by side staring up at me, waiting for me to open the door.

     I didn't get around to taking Morty to the little downtown area that I wanted to go to. There weather has been hit and miss all weekend, and I needed to find some time to ride and get a video together, since I hadn't done one in a few weeks now. The picture to the right is how Morty and I spent most of our time. He would occasionally chase lizards around the yard, still never catching any. I put a little clip of it in the video that I will add on her a little later. I also have a photo of what happened when I tested Morty out with the skateboard. Morty is definitely not a skateboard dog, yet. I explain it a little in the video. Here is the full story. I got on the board and Morty began his usual pulling on the leash. With the skateboard, that is a good thing, but then he realized that there was little resistance, and he just went for it. We were going pretty fast, and then he started running back and forth across the front of the board, and since we were going so fast, his distance each time across was less and less. He was slowing down to make the turns, but the board was maintaining speed. Hooray 121c Skateboard. Good for the board, but bad for Morty. I could see the future playing out right in front of me. He began to cut across again, and the angle was going to bring him right into the front of the board. I quickly stepped my foot down, and pushed the board back to stop it. This of course sent me flying. Morty was still pulling as I was trying to bail, and I got yanked forward with him and the momentum of movement. I tucked as best I could and slid across the sidewalk. Morty stopped when he felt dead weight on the leash. I have a pretty good raspberry patch on my leg and knee, but I would rather have that, than see him hurt.

     The picture I have in the video really doesn't do it justice. I took that when it was pretty fresh, so it didn't have much time to get the blood to the surface. Now that it's scabbed over, it looks really tasty. Oh, and it hurt like hell when I tried to sleep last night. Just one more thing to keep my from precious sleep. I am so tired.

     Joke is on Morty tomorrow. I'll be back to my work schedule, so I will wake him up at 5 in the morning tomorrow. I think I'll jump on him again, like I did on Tuesday morning. Sweet revenge. When I say, jump on him, I don't really mean jump and land on him. I just mean to jump on the couch near him and cuddle him until he gets up. It's still revenge I say.

     I guess it's about time I let you see the latest video. I got in a quick one yesterday, did an edit and got it posted by 11 o'clock last night. I kept it pretty short, and most of it is a little montage of ride footage with music accompaniment. I like the way it came out, but I need to work on the edits a little more. I could have taken more time with it, but I didn't have a variety of different footage to take from, so I just slapped it together and got it up, so you could have something to watch in your spare time.



     Something I didn't mention in the video, is that I had to change the mount a bit t on my helmet again. I finally got some extension arms in for the mount, since I had one that was cracked, and it was compromising the whole mount. I don't think I would have lost the camera, but it wasn't very stable anymore. I could move it rather easily, and that was no bueno. I might need to play with the angle a little more, so that I can get it just right. I don't know about you, but when I watch motovlogs, it bugs the crap out of me, when the person has a poor angle for their footage. I think that my angle has just a little too much of Saki in the frame, so I need to tilt it up a little to get more of the forward view. I want you to believe that you are riding Saki and that is what you would see. I want a true first person point of view in it. That is the main reason that I haven't showed my face in the videos. If I did that, it no longer becomes your view, it is you looking through my view. Yes, I know that is what it actually is, but it's all about the theater of mind. Yes, I know theater of mind is more commonly a phase used with radio stories, but I think it still applies to this. Really, I haven't lost my mind, there is a true method to my madness.

     Oh, I feel like I need to explain the "close call". I like to take that particular corner pretty fast, and I never saw a car enter that turn, so the guy had been sitting there for some time, not to mention, he was sitting in a very bad spot. If you notice once he gets going, he has a lot of lane still left before he has to yield to other traffic. When I came around that corner, you can hear me accelerating. As I got near the apex of the turn, I noticed him and had to hammer on the breaks. The video doesn't show it, but the rear tire lost traction briefly. Thank you ABS, you kept the tire from completely locking up on me. Fortunately I grabbed a hand full of clutch as well, so when the tires caught traction again, they didn't have that springboard affect that would have caused me to high side. A high side is when the big starts to skid and then abruptly regains traction throwing the rider up and over the bike. High sides are some of the worst ways to crash. It is much better to low side, skidding and the bike falling over and the rider generally following behind the bike, than to high side. Lots of road rash with a low side, but far fewer broken bones. Either way, both of us, the driver and me, were wrong. No harm no foul and from now on, I will look deeper into the turn to see if there is anyone sitting there from now on.

     I'm really tired, I think I said that before, and I still have to finish washing my clothes, and watch Fear the Walking Dead, so I'm up until 10 regardless. I can see by the clock in the corner of the screen, that I have 9 minutes to deadline for a Sunday Night Post, so I'm going to wrap this up right here and now. Peace in and goodnight.

The Things You Learn When You Open Your Heart.

     The Truff is no longer showing even the slightest bit of fear around Morty. In fact, I saw her chase him once. Not in any aggressive sort of way, but it was playful. She still doesn't want much to do with him, but when he sniffs at her, she only takes a step and then turns around to face him. For the most part, she has been following him around, and he is being somewhat protective of her when they are outside. That is of course unless he is playing fetch with a tennis ball. He barrels through the yard at high speed, while skillfully avoiding her if she is in his path. She just looks at him like he's crazy.


     I mentioned that Morty likes sleeping on the couch now, and that is his spot. Here is a picture of what he looks like sprawled out on the couch.
Ok, so he only lays like that when he sees me coming to pet him. That is his spot though, and he is there as I type this. I learned a few more things since Tuesday about Morty. I have had to set an alarm for 2:30 in the morning, so that I can let him out. He did have an accident one night because I didn't wake up to take him out. I don't want to do that clean up job again, so I will gladly wake up for 15 minutes or so, emphasis on the or so, to avoid that natural disaster.

     The other thing I learned was on our walk last night. There were several times that we came across other dogs. The first was two large dogs in a backyard, that just barked and barked and barked. Morty paid them no attention what so ever. He just went about his business walking and sniffing. I was so proud of him for that. The other occasion was a gentleman walking his small dog in the street. Morty and I had to walk in the street as well because there was no sidewalk on our side, and the gentleman was crossing to the other side of the street at the time. Morty did take some interest in the small dog. It wasn't anything more than a desire to go over and meet this new dog. It didn't take much to redirect him either. He was better on the leash and didn't pull as much, so when I gave him a slight tug and told him to, "come on", he did with only a little hesitation. Once again, I was a proud pitbull daddy.

     I may take him to this little downtown area tomorrow and walk along the river with him. It will give me a chance to see how he interacts with other people. I don't see him having any problems, but I'm going to keep a good grip on his leash when we go there.

     As you may have guessed by the fact that I will be taking Morty for a walk in that little downtown area, I am off tomorrow. Yep, another short week in the books, but I was kind of hoping for this one. Since my nights have been disturbed by waking up in the middle of the night to let Morty go outside, I am exhausted. I've been a walking zombie all day today, and was only picked up briefly for my guitar lesson. I learned Little Red Corvette by Prince today. I don't know that I've put as much emphasis on my Prince fandom on here as I did the 365, but if you have been following along since those days, you know very well, that I am giant fan of The Purple One. I have the Love Symbol tattooed on my left rib cage, and it was worth every bite of pain. This is a poor representation of the Love Symbol Ƭ̵̬̊ but that will give you a small idea of what it looks like. I could probably dig up a picture for you. I think I will.

     There you have the real deal McGraw right there. Form my experience, it hurt like hell to get my ribs done, and I thought I would never do it again after that, but then went with the Bowie tattoo on the other side. I'm truly happy with both of them, and glad the I got them, and also glad that I don't have to do my ribs ever again. That is, unless I complete lose my mind and decide to get a body suit done. Not going to happen. 

     That's it for tonight. I plan on spending the weekend getting to know the in's and out's of Morty, so I'm not going anywhere. I did want to leave you with one last picture, just to show you that I'm not neglecting The Truff. I took this yesterday when she was out following Morty around. I tried to get them both in the picture but Morty took off to do his own thing. So, here is The Truff wishing you peace in and goodnight.

Morty, Myself, And A Live Wire.

     The Truff is coming around. She doesn't shy away from Morty so much anymore. It's only been a few days, and I can see the difference. She still gives Morty a wide birth, but she doesn't run, she just stands there and stares at him. There was even a moment yesterday when I was letting them both out, and Morty was taking his time, so The Truff just ran underneath him between his legs. That doesn't sound much like a tiny dog that is afraid of a large dog. I forgot to tell you about Morty's size, you can't really tell in the photos I posted on Sunday night. He weighs in at around 50 lbs. He stands at the shoulder about 30 inches high, maybe a couple less, not real exact on the height, but if he stands on his hind legs, he can look me in the eye.

     I took Morty on his first walk around the neighborhood today. He did fantastic. I brought treats with me, just in case I needed to redirect him, but they were really unnecessary, so I used them for training purposes. I want him to heel, he is a bit of a puller on the leash, not too much, but I'd prefer that he walks by my side, not only for the reason that I can control him better, but because he has to get exhausted pulling the whole time. There was proof of his exhaustion while on our walk. That one ear that always stays up, well, it kind of flopped over halfway through our walk. That is also a lesson for me. I will cut our walking distance in half for now. It could have been too hot for him today, or he could just not be in as good a shape as he looks. He was pretty tired when we got back to the house, and we only walked a mile round trip.

     I have to tell you about the first night. The plan was too have Morty sleep on a makeshift bed. It was a large fleece blanket that I have, folded to a good size for him to have some padding. This is until I can get a good sized bed for him. He did like the little makeshift bed, but only when I was in the TV room with him.

     Adorable right? Anyway, when I said my goodnights to both pups, Morty got up and wouldn't take no for an answer. he followed me in my room and was going to sleep in my bed whether I liked it or not. It had it's endearing moments, but it was a very restless night for me. He did rustle me up around 2:30 after I had finally gotten to sleep, so that he could go outside. That, was actually a good thing. It let me know that he has no intention of going to the bathroom in the house, and will do everything he can to get outside. I think they said that he was an owner surrender, but I can't see how anyone would give him up. He really is a great dog.

     I didn't get much sleep that night, and I was prepared for it to happen all over again the next night, but Morty outsmarted me. He found out, that he really likes the couch. I put a blanker over it and there is already a pillow on it, so he was really comfortable for the night. I even woke up around 3:30 because I was worried that he wouldn't know how to get to me so that he could go out. When I walked into the living room so get him and take him out, he was still sacked out on the couch. He woke up though and I let him out anyway. He was happy to go and even The Truff made it outside. 

     Today was had another breakthrough moment. The Truff tends to eat very slow. She's lost most of her teeth, so the has to position the food just right in her mouth to chew it with her remaining teeth. Morty doesn't eat slow, at all. I had to grab his collar the first couple of days and physically pull him away from The Truff's bowl, so that he wouldn't eat all of it. When I fed them today, I put The Truff's food in the TV room where she stays, and put Morty's food in the dining room. I want to keep them a part and close off the TV room from Morty so that he gets the idea, that he eats in one place, and The Truff eats in another. It's going to take some time to get it to set in, but it will eventually set in. Tonight though, I had to put The Truff's food away for a while, because she just didn't want to eat when I gave it to her. This was going to create a giant dilemma. I had to figure out how to keep Morty from getting to The Truff's food. I had a plan I just needed to execute it. I had Morty walk with me as I got the bowl of food. I then grabbed Morty's collar, so that I could keep him away from the bowl as I set it down. I then directed Morty to a chair with me so that The Truff could eat. As soon as he saw that she was eating, he relaxed and sat down. I didn't need to hold his collar, I only had to pet him. He stayed away until she finished eating. He didn't even lean in her direction until she was down. I was shocked. When food is present, Morty goes into a feeding frenzy. He would eat an entire 60 lbs bag of food if he could. I'm sure he would get an upset stomach from it, but he would try to do it, so when he just sat there and let her eat, it was incredible. He is such a good dog.

     Another thing I learned on his walk, and I meant to write this above when I was talking about redirecting him. I wanted those treats in case we came across other dogs, and he tried to go after them. The ladies at the shelter told me that he gets along with all other dogs, but you never really know how true that is until you see it for yourself. We came across 3 dogs while we were out. I did keep Morty to the opposite side of the street, but he made no real movement to go over to the other dogs. There was one brief moment when he saw two of the dogs with their owner, and he just looked at them, but with a light tug on the leash and a "come on", and he turned and walked away. This is really good news, because it shows me that he won't be distracted by other dogs or even people for that matter if we go anywhere. This is going to work out well, because at some point, I want to take him to meet Elie and her dog Gandi. I think it will go well, but I want to take another week to just really see that today wasn't a fluke and is his true personality. If it is, this is fantastic news, and opens all kinds of possibilities for things that we can do in the future.

     Ok, this can't all be about Morty and The Truff, but I could easily do it. I watched a new show today. It was one that I recorded last night. It's called Me, Myself and I. Oh, it really bugs me that they don't use the Oxford comma in the title. I'm a big fan of comma's and the Oxford comma in general. Let's put that aside though. Here is the concept for the show. You are following one man's life through childhood, adulthood, and older adulthood. As each episode plays out, you see every perspective as to how it relates throughout his life. The first episode is about a lost love. As a teenager, his mom remarries and moves to L.A. where he starts a new school. He meets a pretty girl and his new step brother is trying to help him with his high school persona. It's all about that first impression. Then step brothers goal, is for him to kiss this girl at the back to school dance. Step brother is pressing it too hard, gives the kid a mint, and when the moment comes, because the girl is wanting to kiss the boy, he begins to choke on the breath mint. The brother gives him the Heimlich and he spits the mint out and it goes in the girls mouth. His high school persona is "Chokey". In the middle age part of his life, he is fighting through being a failure at his job, which is that he is an inventor, but he is at a mental block on creativity. His step dad, who turns out to be a really great guy, told him as a child after the chance to just keep shooting. It's a basketball reference. He is a huge Michael Jordan fan. The step dad mentions that as great as MJ was, he missed a lot of shots, but it was because he kept shooting that he was successful. When He goes to step dad for a pep talk, step dad tells him that he has to look to the past and get out of the future for a little while. He of course thinks step dad has gone crazy, so step dad knocks a spoon off the table and asks him to pick it up. He does and sees an old invention that he made as a kid. He took that invention and sold it to start his business.

      We now look in on older adult version of him. He is just recovering from a heart attack, his daughter is the GM for the Chicago Bulls, and he pretty much has everything except that first love. He is at a diner with his daughter, she left to meet the team in Sacramento, and he pays the check. When the woman gives him a mint with his receipt, he says,"You can keep the mint. A mint cost me my true love once." The woman cashing him out says,"Alhe ex?" He looks at her perplexed and says, "Yes, (reading her name tag) Eleanor?", and then it hits him. His first love was called Nori, which just so happens to be short for Eleanor. They sit and catch up for a while, and then he starts to leave. He walks out the door of the diner, which she owns now, and is the same as when they were kids, and stops. He is struggling with the fact that he is making a huge mistake, he then says, "Just keep shooting", goes back in, taps Nori on the shoulder, and as she turns around, he pulls her into his arms and kisses her.

     I'm sold, and I already set the DVR to record it as it pops up. It stars Jack Dylan Grazer as young Alex Riley, he is in the new movie IT, Giant hit right now, Bobby Moynihan as Alex Riley, he was most recently in Saturday Night Live, and finally John Larroquette as Older Alex Riley, You probably now him from the old TV show Night Court. I've been a big fan of him since that show, he is the reason I recorded it last night. It was on at 9:30 on CBS for a Monday night. If you get the chance check it out, you might just like it. You can watch the first episode on the CBS website right here.

     We are going old old school for tonight's Favorite Song of the Week. This band was a favorite of mine when I was in middle school, and this particular song was off their little known first album. It made me grow my hair out as long as I could, and started my desire to have tattoos. The hair went away a long time ago, and it would be decades until I got my first tattoo, but the dream is real people, and this band started it all. I'm talking about non other than Motley Crue. They put the mayhem in metal and kept Aqua Net in business far longer than they should have been. This song was when they were rough and not the polished hit maker when they did Home Sweet Home, or Kickstart My Heart. This is the pure essence of hair metal. They didn't have the spikes and spandex yet, but they had leather and spikes, and that was part of what brought this grinding sound to life. I got to thinking about this song last week, and that is what I learned in my guitar class. It may not seem like it, but there is a lot going on in this song guitar wise. Enough about all of that, let's just get to the song, and rock out. Here is Motley Crue with "Live Wire".

     I wanted to be lead singer Vince Neil. He was the coolest, but then I grew up, and so did he, and the troubles he has had in his life are ones that I wouldn't want to go anywhere near. He has overcome most of them, but he's a true rock star, and they always seem to have some sort of drama going on around them. Everyone knows about Tommy Lee's troubles with high profile marriages and video tapes, but you may not know about Nikki Sixx and what he has been through, or Mick Mars and how is is struggling with a long term disease. Nikki wrote that song I mentioned above, Kick Start My Heart about dying multiple times from drug overdoses, and the paramedics brining him back each time. Mick has a disease which I can't remember the name of, that leaves him in constant pain, and makes it hard for him to even stand up for any period of time, but until they retired, I think two or three years ago, he was right there alongside all of them playing those massive power chords on his guitar. They've been through a lot, and I'm pretty sure that their stories aren't complete done yet.

     There you have it, an update on the dogs in my life, and a history lesson about Motley True, what else could you want in life? I've written a lot more than I thought I would tonight, so I'll let you go for now. Peace in and goodnight.