Back to the vet!

[judy]

The vet wanted them on the Panacur, which I'm done with until the 18th. Then they go onto 3 more days of it.

They're eating chicken, rice and carrots at the moment with a couple of spoons of chicken broth mixed in to hide the medicine taste.

I don't know if it's the food or the Panacur, but what a difference! I still don't like Gracie's poop. It's stringy, but much less diarrhea and no blood. I'm so glad for her. Actually, she hasn't pooped today or during the night. She's probably constipated now from all of the rice!

There have been drops of wet poop around the house that I don't see (yet) today, so thank goodness. Sorry to be so gross.

I am now the official champion poop cleaner upper of NYS. Odoban is good. It disinfects as it cleans and deodorizes.

To be honest, cooking chicken and rice for them is really easy, cheaper and probably healthier than dog food. I may stick with it. I bought a big package of chicken cutlets, boiled them, cut them up, baggied them in daily portions and stuck them in the freezer. Minute rice couldn't be easier and you can do a few day's worth at a time. I have nothing against freezing rice anyway. Veggies are absolutely no problem.

Anyway, I hope this works!

[rivermom]

I'm glad you are finding something that seems to be working for you and Gracie. Mandy cooks homemade for her girls - maybe the two of you can swap "fur kid" recipes.

I think it's a superb idea to cook homemade for the furkids. I have to admit, I don't, wish i did, and have no excuse why i don't...but i think it's good.

[Janet]

I'm really happy that the 'kids' are getting better. It does sound like fixing their food is easier. I had thought about homecooking for mine, but LOL I hate cooking! Plus, you have to make sure you get the right amounts of everything. I just don't feel like thinking that hard.

[judy]

I never would either Sheryl, but had no choice and it's a lot easier than I thought.
I don't cook at all. Right now, I'm microwaving stuff I bought ready made and packed up for Weight Watchers meals.

For me, that's heavy duty cooking!

I'm also wondering what else they get in dog food, like vitamin and mineral and other supplements that I'm not giving them. I really don't want to make a career out of this domesticity thing, you know!

[Mandy]

Judy, cooking for the fur kids is about the only proper cooking i do around here, i dont like to stand and stir pots, i'm not made to be a proper housewife/keeper, but one thing i make sure of, is that they get the proper meals they need, us people can help ourselves, dont get me wrong, my family gets a cooked meal every night, but i promise, i do not spend more then 30min. in the kitchen. I'll send you recipes i use. They easy, i make a batch once a week, and freeze the potions. I spoke to the vet about this, and gave her the recipe, she said it's the best they could have.

[judy]

Thanks Mandy! I'd love that.

Gracie Leigh is finally making regulation poops since yesterday!

(I'd attach a picture, but I somehow don't think y'all want to see it as much as I did!)

[DianaB]

I'm so glad that she's, aaaaaa......, aummmm........awwwmm.....pooping better!!!!! Hopefully she's all better and you can worry about other things besides dog poo!!!

[rivermom]

Originally Posted by judy

Thanks Mandy! I'd love that.

Gracie Leigh is finally making regulation poops since yesterday!

(I'd attach a picture, but I somehow don't think y'all want to see it as much as I did!)

That's one way to "capture the moment". Gives Kodak an entire new meaning.

[judy]

Now I'm going to have to post it! A Kodak poop.

I needed that good laugh, Sheryl. I just finished reading 14 or 15 rough drafts of my college students' research papers. They e-mailed them to me. My brain is fried, but I only have 3 more hard copies to read and I am done!

Once I read the first draft, the revised and final drafts are a breeze.

[rivermom]

Originally Posted by judy

Now I'm going to have to post it! A Kodak poop.

I needed that good laugh, Sheryl. I just finished reading 14 or 15 rough drafts of my college students' research papers. They e-mailed them to me. My brain is fried, but I only have 3 more hard copies to read and I am done!

Once I read the first draft, the revised and final drafts are a breeze.

I thought you were retired Judy? So you are still teaching? My brain would be fried too. What are the student's papers about?

[judy]

I retired from the Dept. of Ed. (high school), but teach one Saturday morning
English course at a nearby community college. I really like it, but once I retired,
I changed. I just left that work part of me behind.

I'm still a good teacher at the college, but I just don't want to work anymore. I will, because the money is good.

I should have been born very wealthy!

Their papers are about ADD, abortion. the death penalty, etc. - controversial research papers. Some are good, some have potential, and some are downright funny! One was so good, I had to ask th student if she wrote it herself. I asked her
to please bring me something else she has written. I hated dong that!

My favorite bad paper had me laughing. I have spent the past 2 months teaching them how to write a research paper, have collected several assignments leading up to this rough draft, and so on. The paper is supposed to be about 10 pages, dealing with both sides of a controversial topic, with the information taken from experts in that field and paraphrased by the students.

Here's the rough draft I got. Skim through the first 3 paragraphs - they're technical, but end up really funny.

I am about to embark on a controvertial topic about global warming.
Is it man made, or is it a natural accurrance? The media creats a big
misconception about global warming. For instance, "the ice glaciers
are melting!" The ice glaciers have been melting since the ice age. It
is often that the media gives out inaccurate information. I believe
this is done, because more people whould watch the news if a disaster
would accour. Most people wont be "glued" to the Telavision screen
knowing everything would be ok.
President of the Science and Environmental Policy Project, S. Fred
Singer, had this to say about the melting ice glaciers. "Once the
large ice masses covering North America and north Europe had melted
away, the initial rapid rise of about 80 inches per century gradually
changed to a slower rise of 6-8 inches per century about 7,500 years
ago. But the slow melting of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet continued
and will continue, barring another ice age, until it has melted away
in about 6,000 years."



Burning fossil fuel is what brings the world to its knees.
Not only is fossil fuel bad for the ozone, but it destroys the
environment too. For example, after burning fossil fuel the chemicals
would float up the atmosphere. The rain that the atmosphear producs
will now be called acid rain, that is because the water vapor brings
down all the chemicals that had floated to the atmosphere. These
chemicals are mostly composed of carbon monoxide, thus killing plants'
and animals'. Many companies and industries burn fossil fuels in order
to produce energy. Using solar energy, and wind turbines, we can save
the enviorment without the cost of producing less. I came acroos an
artical in the CQ researcher entitled "Coal's Comback," by Jennifer
Weeks, who describes how coal has greatly contibuts to global warming.
She clearly expalins how different methoods of producing and buring
coal in order to make energy with little to none enviornmental effects
such as acid rain or ozone deplition.

The Earth's ozone layer is mostly composed of O3, which is three atoms
oxygen. Scientists around America have a difference of opinion about
global warming and the risks it may pose. The main concern that
scientists are faced with is the releases of CFC (Chlorofluorocarbon).
Chlorine is the main culprit most scientists say. CFC is known as a
cooling chemical, and is inert which makes it very hard to break apart
these chemicals. Over time CFC floats to the atmosphere, ultra violate
radiation hits CFC and breaks it down. This makes oxides of Chlorine,
taking oxygen from ozone. Thus ozone is broken. For every 10,000 ozone
molecules, it only takes one atom of chlorine to destroy it all. CFC
is nontoxic chemical that saves lives and helps improve our standard
of living by keeping our food safe. Now who should I trust? I have two
sides pulling me in both directions and I don't know what to do.


In ECO-FEST the student body of Kingsborough Community College
only heard the negatives about global warming. For example, we were
told to start using the bus because there is a spike in the carbon
monoxide in the atmosphere. Why are we, the minority polluters being
bombarded with limitations? Instead, they should be giving lectures to
these factories which compose 80% of the polutants in our atmosphere.




A new debate comes into play. How much will our climate change,
and how fast? This was one of the main concerns for the speakers in
Eco-Fest. Brammer, Mark was a speaker in kingsbourough Eco-Fest 2006.
We were shown data on the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
over periods of time. The graph would show low concentrations of
carbon dioxide in the 60's. The graph illustrates a slow climb over a
long period of time. When the graph comes towards the 90's it reaches
an endless climax in a very short amount of time. Towerds the end of
the lecture I felt like punching the speaker in the face for several
reasons. My main reason for getting so heated was the fact that he
said students should start biking to school or use mass transite why
is he telling this to the minority poluters he should have this
conflict with big industrail companies who are creating majority of
the polutantce in our atmosphere 2

Towards the end of the lecture on global warming In ECO-FEST, one
speaker said, "we only have about 30 to 50 years remaining on Earth."
When I heard this I couldn't believe my ears. How could anybody in
their right mind say such a thing in front of hundreds and hundreds of
students? These made me extremely hostile to contribute anything to
help with global warming. What is the point? The world is coming to
an end, anyway. I believe throughout every generation, there are smart
people who say the world is coming to an end and most of us believe in
what they say. For example In the 70's, people thought that Russia was
going to annihilate America. Teachers in American high schools said
that if the civil defense alarm sounds everybody should get underneath
your table for safety.

After the lecture on Eco-Fest, a lot of teachers started assigning
work on what was covered in Eco-Fest. Even though Eco-Fest is over, it
still lingers in our minds. A lot of students also have things to add
to Eco-Fest like the good behind global warming. Without global
warming, no humans would roam the Earth, since millions of years ago
the world was a big bowl of ice. Through the process of global warming
this big bowl began to melt, which made it possible for us humans to
live on planet Earth.

There are many reasons ways in which humans contribute to global
warming. Although there are good logical reasons as to how it is a
natural accorance. Scientists also wants us, the small polluters, to
help bring some sort of closure in regards to global warming . In
fact, they should be battling with the factories, since they are the
ones with smokestacks spewing out tons of carbon dioxide each day.
There's no longer doubts that this gas contributes to global warming.

What grade should I give this student? D or F?

[katepoet]

That is an amazing paper, Judy.

In the city of Richmond, so many students are passing middle school unable to write that I am not surprised you got this level of work. It's shows what my students last year will be doing 10 years from now - nothing that contributes to a job or an education. Yet they are passed up through the grades.

One of my students in college now is content with C's in classes she struggles with - instead of using that to spur her to work harder. We have failed to teach kids with handicaps, be they physical or financial, how to overcome and care about the outcome. Kids with all the advantages seem to be able to coast a lot.

I don't mean to be cynical. There are a lot of strong families who support excellence in their children, a lot of young adults who are doing remarkable things that I could never hope to accomplish. I am just stunned by the number who are failing at it all. What cost will we pay as a society for this failure? What damage will their children bring to the public schools to handle?

I can understand your asking your advanced student to bring in some evidence of the quality of the work. Students can pay for anything today and do so without any sense of shame. I like your idea of how to substantiate the skill level. Hope it works. Keep us posted on these trials and tribulations of your work.