Dammit, They beat me to the punch!

From http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8QMEDE80&show_article=1

Company Rents Pets to Animal Lovers

Jul 29 03:11 PM US/Eastern By LISA LEFF Associated Press Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - From the state that popularized purse puppies, drive-thru dog washes and gourmet dog food delivery comes the latest in canine convenience—a company that contracts out dogs by the day to urbanites without the time or space to care for a pet full-time.

Marlena Cervantes, founder of FlexPetz, bristles when people refer to her five-month-old business as a rent-a-pet service. She prefers the term "shared pet ownership," explaining the concept is more akin to a vacation time share or a gym membership than a trip to the video store.

"Our members are responsible in that they realize full-time ownership is not an option for them and would be unfair to the dog," said Cervantes, 32, a behavioral therapist who got the idea while working with pets and autistic children. "It prevents dogs from being adopted and then returned to the shelter by people who realize it wasn't a good fit."

FlexPetz is currently available in Los Angeles and San Diego, where Cervantes lives. She plans to open new locations in San Francisco next month, New York in September and London by the end of the year.

She's also hoping to franchise the FlexPetz concept so the dogs will have housing options other than kennels when not in use. For San Francisco, she's hired a caretaker who plans to keep the dogs at her house when they aren't on loan to members.

For an annual fee of $99.95, a monthly payment of $49.95 and a per- visit charge of $39.95 a day, (discounted to $24.95 Sunday through Thursday), animal lovers who enroll in FlexPetz get to spend time with a four-legged companion from Cervantes' 10-dog crew of Afghan hounds, Labrador retrievers and Boston terriers.

The membership costs cover the expense of training the dogs, boarding them at a cage-free kennel, home or office delivery, collar-sized global positioning devices, veterinary bills and liability insurance. It also pays for the "care kits"—comprised of leashes, bowls, beds and pre-measured food—that accompany each dog on its visits.

Charter member Shari Gonzalez said she was thinking about getting a dog when a dog trainer she consulted suggested part-time ownership. At first, she had reservations.

Gonzalez, 22, never doubted there was room for a dog in her heart. The issue was her life, which included a small, two-bedroom apartment and a full-time schedule of college classes in San Diego.

"I was thinking, 'How is a dog going to bounce from house to house and be OK with that,'" she said. "I didn't want a dog that would come into my place and pee."

Her misgivings were allayed after she spoke with Cervantes, who explained that only dogs with social temperaments were picked for the program and that each would ideally be shared by no more than two or three owner-members.

Since signing up, Gonzalez said a black Lab named Jackpot has become a treasured part of her social network. They spend an average of one day each weekend together. He sleeps at her apartment and she takes him on hikes, to the beach and to parks frequented by other dog owners. The money spent on her membership has been well worth it, she said.

"I never even thought that was a possibility," Gonzalez said. "I thought you either owned a dog or you didn't."

Although she has never seen the doggy day care center where Jackpot spends his off-days, Gonzalez recently met another of his part-time companions, graphic designer Jenny Goddard, 33. Goddard, who is married with a 6-year-old son, said having a dog a weekend or two a month has been perfect for her busy family and encourages them to spend more time together outdoors.

"It's funny," she said. "He is so friendly and immediately playful with us, people are surprised he is a rental dog."

The idea of commitment-free pets is not entirely new, although no one in the United States has tried it with as much drive as Cervantes. Most private animal shelters, for instance, encourage volunteers to become temporary foster families to animals awaiting adoption.

For 15 years, the Aspen Animal Shelter in Colorado has gone a step further with a Rent-a-Pet program that allows residents and tourists in the resort town to take dogs out for a few hours or overnight for free.

"It benefits the homeless animals, keeps them socialized and exercised and in the end they end up getting adopted," said owner Seth Sachson. "The people benefit, too. When a tourist walks around town with a dog, they feel like a local."

Melissa Bain, a veterinarian with the Companion Animal Behavior Program at the University of California, Davis, said she had concerns about, but no hard-and-fast objections to a service like FlexPetz.

On the positive side, it might give people an easy way to test the ownership waters and keep a few dogs from being euthanized, Bain said. Possible downsides would be irresponsible members who treat the dogs like a lifestyle accessory instead of a living thing.

"It depends on the people and it depends on the animal. Some dogs may be fine and some may become stressed because they are moving from home to home," Bain said. "Perhaps they had a good experience with a good part-time owner and then they get shipped back. What kind of message does that send to kids? That dogs are disposable."

Cervantes said the hour-long sessions Flexpetz members are required to spend with their dog and a trainer before their first outing ensures the dogs are going into caring, competent homes.

Her members, who range in age from 5 to 60-plus, include single women in search of security and a conversation starter, Navy personnel who love dogs but are at sea for much of the year, and seniors who live in apartments where dogs are not allowed.

"Usually, our dogs are lavished with attention, and it's undivided attention from our members because it is the only time they have together," she said. "Some people take a dog home and realize, 'Hey, I can adopt a dog.'"

Need I say more

Too Cool!

I can't wait any longer, You'll have to freeze me

NYTimes review of the upcoming Harry Potter.

It sounds so great

------

July 18, 2007

Books of the Times

For Harry Potter, Good Old-Fashioned Closure

By MICHIKO KAKUTANI

So, here it is at last: the final confrontation between Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, the Chosen One, the “symbol of hope” for both the Wizard and Muggle worlds, and Lord Voldemort, He Who Must Not Be Named, the nefarious leader of the Death Eaters and would-be ruler of all. Good versus Evil. Love versus Hate. The Seeker versus the Dark Lord.

J.K. Rowling’s monumental, spell-binding epic, 10 years in the making, is deeply rooted in traditional literature and Hollywood sagas — from the Greek myths to Dickens and Tolkien to Star Wars — and true to its roots, it ends not with modernist, Soprano-esque equivocation, but with good old-fashioned closure: a big screen, heart-racing, bone-chilling confrontation and an epilogue that clearly lays out people’s fates. Getting to the finish line is not seamless — the last portion of the final book has some lumpy passages of exposition and a couple of clunky detours — but the overall conclusion of the series and its determination of the main characters’ storylines possess a convincing inevitability that make some of the pre-publication speculation seem curiously blinkered in retrospect.

With each installment, the Potter series has grown increasingly dark, and this volume — a copy of which was purchased at a New York City retail outlet today, although the book is embargoed for release until 12:01 a.m. this Saturday — is no exception. While Ms. Rowling’s astonishingly limber voice still moves effortlessly between Ron’s adolescent sarcasm and Harry’s growing solemnity, from youthful exuberance to more philosophical gravity, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” is, for the most part, a somber book that marks Harry’s final initiation into the complexities and sadnesses of adulthood.

From his first days at Hogwarts, the young, green-eyed boy bore the burden of his destiny as a leader, coping with the expectations and duties of his role, and in this volume he is clearly more Henry V than Prince Hal, more King Arthur than young Wart: high-spirited war games of Quidditch have given way to real war, and Harry often wishes he were not the de facto leader of the Resistance movement, shouldering terrifying responsibilities, but an ordinary teenage boy — free to romance Ginny Weasley and hang out with his friends.

Harry has already lost his parents, his godfather Sirius and his teacher Professor Dumbledore (all mentors he might have once received instruction from), and in this volume the losses mount with unnerving speed: at least half a dozen characters we have come to know die in these pages, and many others are wounded or tortured. Voldemort and his followers have infiltrated Hogwarts and the Ministry of Magic, creating havoc and terror in both the Wizard and Muggle worlds alike, and the members of various populations — including elves, goblins and centaurs — are choosing up sides.

No wonder then that Harry often seems overwhelmed with disillusionment and doubt in the final installment of this seven-volume bildungsroman. Harry continues to struggle to control his temper, and as he and Ron and Hermione search for the missing Horcruxes (secret magical objects in which Voldemort has stashed parts of his soul, objects that Harry must destroy if he hopes to kill the evil lord), he literally enters a dark wood, in which he must do battle not only with the Death Eaters, but also with the temptations of hubris and despair.

Harry’s weird psychic connection with Voldemort (symbolized by the lightning-bolt forehead scar he bears, as a result of the Dark Lord’s attack on him when he was a baby) seems to have grown stronger too, giving him clues to Voldemort’s actions and whereabouts, even as it lures him ever closer to the dark side. One of the plot’s key turning points concerns Harry’s decision whether to continue looking for the Horcruxes — the mission assigned to him by the late Dumbledore — or whether to pursue, instead, three magical objects known as the Hallows, which are said to make their possessor the master of Death.

Harry’s journey will propel him forwards to a final showdown with his archenemy, and also send him backwards into the past, back to the house in Godric’s Hollow where his parents died, to learn about his own family history and the equally mysterious history of Dumbledore’s family. At the same time, he will be forced to ponder the equation between fraternity and independence, free will and fate, and to come to terms with his own frailties and those of others. Indeed, ambiguities proliferate throughout “The Deathly Hallows”: we are made to see that kindly Dumbledore, sinister Severus Snape and perhaps even awful Muggle cousin Dudley Dursley may be more complicated than they initially seem, that all of them, like Harry himself, have hidden aspects to their personalities, and that choice — more than talent or predisposition — matters most of all.

It is Ms. Rowling’s achievement in this series that she manages to make Harry both a familiar adolescent — coping with the banal frustrations of school and dating — and an epic hero, kin to everyone from the young King Arthur to Spiderman and Luke Skywalker. This same magpie talent has enabled her to create a narrative that effortlessly mixes up allusions to Homer, Milton, Shakespeare and Kafka, with silly kid jokes about vomit-flavored candies, a narrative that fuses a plethora of genres (from the boarding school novel to the detective story to the epic quest) into a story that could be Exhibit A in a Joseph Campbell survey of mythic archetypes.

In doing so, J.K. Rowling has created a world as fully detailed as L. Frank Baum’s “Oz” or J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Middle Earth,” a world so minutely imagined in terms of its history and rituals and rules that it qualifies as an alternate universe — which may be one of the reasons the Potter books have spawned such a passionate following and such fervent exegesis.

With this final volume, the reader realizes that small incidents and asides in earlier installments (hidden among a huge number of red herrings) create a breadcrumb trail of clues to the plot, that Ms. Rowling has fitted together the jigsaw puzzle pieces of this long undertaking with Dickensian ingenuity and ardor. Objects and spells from earlier books — like the invisibility cloak, Polyjuice Potion, Dumbledore’s Pensieve and Sirius’ flying motorcycle — will play important roles in this volume, and characters encountered before like the house elf Dobby and Mr. Ollivander the wandmaker will resurface, too.

The world of Harry Potter is a place where the mundane and the marvelous, the ordinary and the surreal co-exist. It’s a place where cars can fly and owls can deliver the mail, a place where paintings talk and a mirror reflects people’s innermost desires. It’s also a place utterly recognizable to readers, a place where death and the catastrophes of daily life are inevitable, and people’s lives are defined by love and loss and hope — the same way they are in our own mortal world.

So Cute!

The Simpsons Movie is about to be out and I just love all the promos they're doing for it.

First is the nice photo-op with all-too-familiar couch with the rest of the Simpsons at local movie theaters

Second is the 7-11 turned Qwik-E Marts.

Now, the Simpsons are featured in Harpers Bazaar modeling the latests in French Fashion.

http://community.livejournal.com/ohnotheydidnt/13886727.html

Another Case of "No Shit, Einstein"

Founds this on Reuters by way of DrudgeReport.com
-------------------

Women drawn to men with muscles

By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Muscular young men are likely to have more sex partners than their less-chiseled peers, researchers at the University of California Los Angeles said on Monday.

Their study, published in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, suggests muscles in men are akin to elaborate tail feathers in male peacocks: They attract females looking for a virile mate.

"Women are predisposed to prefer muscularity in men," said study author David Frederick of UCLA.

"Most research is focused on what men find physically attractive in women and the career traits women find attractive in men," Frederick said by telephone. "Much less research is devoted to what women find attractive."

He said prior studies concluded a man's desirability was influenced more by his earning potential and commitment. His study found physical characteristics mattered more.

Women were more physically attracted to brawny men, especially for a fling. But when it comes to finding a long-term partner, they tend to pick a regular man over a mate with huge biceps.

"On the one hand, it makes them more sexy to women. On the other hand, it makes women more suspicious about their romantic intentions," Frederick said.

He and colleagues interviewed 99 male undergraduates about their sexual histories. Muscular men were twice as likely to have had more than three sex partners than less-built types.

Frederick and colleagues also asked 141 college women to look at six standardized silhouettes of men ranging from brawny to slender. Most preferred a toned man who was more likely to commit over a muscle-bound man they perceived as more volatile, aggressive and dominant.

That's right outside AHS!

First it was the Beach Boys and now it's Pat Benatar. I never knew 1st St and Main in Alhambra is such a popular venue for such oldies but goodies performers. Classic!

JOAN JETT IS GONNA BE THERE TOO!! Nuts! Oh, I hate myself for loving you!

-------------From TMZ.com---------------
While most of the planet was rockin' to her Madgesty and Dave Matthews at Live Earth this weekend, tiny little Alhambra, Calif. got their best shot at welcoming rock royalty -- Pat Benatar! Hit me!

Queen of '80s rock Pat Benatar played a free show at the city's Summer Jubilee, beltin' out all her hits. Pat and hubby Neil Giraldo still have it, twenty years later! The city's summer concert series loves the '80s ladies; Joan Jett and Teena Marie are up next. Bust out the spandex, hairspray and fluorescent tops!

Flight of the Conchords

Maple Salmon

Stumbled upon the recipe for Maple salmon on allrecipes.com the other day. Since I already had all the ingredients in my fridge, I decided to make it. With it, i added some pesto pasta and sauteed squash and zuchinni as sides. For an appetizer, I made proscuitto and melon. I love proscuitto. I can't wait to wrap other stuff with it.

Overall not bad. the salmon could have been cooked a tad more so it can be more flaky. could have baked the fish in a smaller dish so there would be less loss of the glaze taste. It's a super easy recipe, so I'll be seeing a lot of this again!

Boston never disappoints

Teaser Fireworks during Symphony Half-time with the 1812 Overture
(You gotta have fireworks and cannons with that!)

Being the gung ho person that I am, I volunteered to stake out land for the fireworks show along the Charles yesterday. Arriving at 9am, I found the place packed with people already along the Esplanade.

Luckily, I was able to find a nice spot at the west side of Esplanade that was beautiful. There were enough trees that gave us plenty of shade for the day, but also an unrivaled view of the fireworks barge

So the day began beautifully. From 9 til noon, there was sunshine and nice wind -- altogether a great day to lay out in the sun. From Noon onwards, it was cloudy skies. Howevever from 4 onwards there was sprinkles and some drizzling. Again, being the gung-ho person that I am, I worried if the show would be canceled due to inclement weather. The trees, at this point, became a second blessing. As amateurs, I clearly did not understand the moodiness of Boston weather. To stake out a spot means you'll need to be prepared for the rain. Without full tents and umbrellas, the trees became a wonderful refuge from the drizzling.

As I have mentioned, I volunteered to stake out the land for people in class. Although the initial response was not a full fanfare, I had expected people to show up. Sadly, aside from a few people who were with me, others came and went. I was sad because I had saved a large piece of land for everyone and hardly anyone showed up (maybe under 10). Eitherway, special shout-out to the virology program. Rain had made their spot pretty miserable (as they were unshaded). They joined us and made the part much larger!

The show came on and it was an AWESOME show. We cannot see EVERYTHING in one look. I didn't take pictures of it during the show because it was too awesome to spend time looking into a small screen. I wanted to see every bit of it. Everything was worth it.

Oh yes. Super special thanks to Nate and Alison for being crazy enough to hang out with me all day on the river.




MIT lit up!

I'm rolling in money b/c I'm on Facebook

Found this from BBC by way of phdcomics.com

Social sites reveal class divide

A long-term research project has revealed a sharp division along class lines among the American teenagers flocking to the social network sites.

The research suggests those using Facebook come from wealthier homes and are more likely to attend college.

By contrast, MySpace users tend to get a job after finishing high school rather than continue their education.

Site-seeing

The conclusions are based on interviews with many teenage users of the social networking sites by PhD student Danah Boyd from the School of Information Sciences at UC Berkeley.

In a preliminary draft of the research, Ms Boyd said defining "class" in the US was difficult because, unlike many other nations, it did not map directly to income.

Instead, she said, class in the US was more about social life and networks - how people define themselves and who they define themselves with.

"Social networks are strongly connected to geography, race, and religion; these are also huge factors in lifestyle divisions and thus 'class'," she wrote.

Broadly, Ms Boyd found Facebook users tend to be white and come from families who are keen for children to get the most out of school and go on to college.

Characterising Facebook users she said: "They are in honors classes, looking forward to the prom, and live in a world dictated by after school activities."

By contrast, the average MySpace teenager tends to come from families where parents did not go to college, she said.

Ms Boyd also found far more teens from immigrant, Latino and Hispanic families on MySpace as well as many others who are not part of the "dominant high school popularity paradigm".

"MySpace has most of the kids who are socially ostracised at school because they are geeks, freaks, or queers," she said.

Teenage users of both sites have very strong opinions about the social network they do not use, she noted.

Ms Boyd was wary of drawing too many conclusions from her research and calling Myspace "bad" or Facebook "good" or condemning social networks out of hand.

She wrote: "This division is just another way in which technology is mirroring societal values."

In some ways, Ms Boyd wrote, social networking sites are helping teenagers cope with the stresses of 21st Century life.

"Teens are using social network sites to build community and connect with their peers," she said. "And through it, they are showcasing all of the good, bad, and ugly of today's teen life."