Dogs: "Some people don't like dogs, they can all go to Hell".
There seems to be a great difference of opinion on the what where and how of dogs in the world today. Personally my dog is treated as a family member and best friend. I don't leash him, fence him or crate him as I regard all these to be infringements on him. I do not walk him or pick up after him as it is an organic and natural process. Birds do it everywhere and no one worries about that. Never thought of myself as a bag man! He has the run of the neighborhood, never strays, he doesn't bother anyone, never bites or threatens and is regarded by most people as cute, kind and gentle. If he is struck by a car then that is his fate but so far none of my dogs have had this problem. I train my dog by keeping him with me as much as possible and they learn by osmosis what I expect and what is unacceptable behavior. My dog frequently go into stores where I do business and there is never a problem, as a matter of fact most store employees look forward to his arrival and ask where he is when I come in without him. He is a Gentleman dog. I don't license him as this is nothing more than a tax, he is not "fixed" because he is not broken. He considers his balls very important and doesn't want to loose them.
To those who disagree with my methods of dog ownership I say "you raise your dog your way and I'll raise mine my way. If this is a problem then you will simply have to put up with it because the Police really aren't interested and I am never going to see it any other way. If I loose your business I don't consider it a loss.
“Summer’s gone” or so the signs say. The spiders are on the wall and the dew is heavy in the morning. Time to think about the coming winter and how best to cope with the new reality of $70.00 oil. For many years we have lived in a paradise of low energy costs and plentiful supply but the party is over and it’s time to get serious about energy saving. I have had a lifetime of experience in this area and can boil it down to the following suggestions. These are in order of savings, the most savings at the top of the list.
1. Tune up your furnace.
2. Install computerized auto set back thermostats.
3. Air seal the house. This means sealing all the places where the air you have paid to heat is leaking to the outside. It’s pretty simple if you know where to look. The sill area, windows, doors, electrical fixtures, attic hatches, plumbing holes and the chimney are the major culprits. We have the good weather strip in stock.
4. Attic insulation, 10” recommended.
5. Basement insulation. Surprised? The average home looses 20-30% of it’s heat through the basement. We recommend 2” of truwall foam covered with ¼” meranti plywood, the bonus is that when the insulating is finished , you have a comfortable finished usable room. Great for kids or it can be further finished into a Home theatre or spare bedroom etc.
6. Replacement windows: The advent of the vinyl insert window has made window upgrading very economical and the new windows are so easy to clean, no painting, the advantages are more than just energy savings.
7. Insulation of cold walls: The new foam insulations make it easy to make any room warmer.
8. Electric heat: You heard me right. With the oil prices being what they are it is a good alternative in the shoulder season’s to use electric heat especially if your furnace is more than ten years old. Jamieson Electric [629-1449] is the favorite electrician of the House Doctor and John Cahill [628-6419] is the favorite plumber/ furnace man.
All these upgrades pay for themselves these days. Safer than the stock market and great returns.
