Oops

OK, I misspelled 'gargoyle' in the title of that last post...I swear, an ape can type better than I can. I apologize. Anyway, resume blogging.

Name The Gragoyle Contest

OK, in my last post I had a picture of my faithful gargoyle, which reisdes in my backyard. I always wanted to come up with a name for him, but never have. So here's where all of you out there in Blog-Land come in. Help me come up with a name for him. The winner will have the adoration and envy of their fellow bloggers , and maybe I'll even come up with some kind of actual prize for this. Anyway, have at it!

Backyard

I did some yardwork today, and figured I'd show you all a bit of my yard. The gargoyle use to sit in my garage, but I decided a while back that he needed some fresh air. I got him , cracked wing and all, at a garden shop several years back. The windchimes I got from a couple of freinds a long time ago...you gotta like chimes with pentagrams. Finally, after all the work i did in the yard today, I decided to relax in my palatial above-ground pool. Actually, it's for my dog Odin to play in and get baths, but once in a while I use it myself. Hey, it's not bad for 6 bucks. It was nice sitting in there drinking Newcastle Brown and Strongbow cider this afternoon. Hope you all had a good Sunday afternoon as well.

Trip To The Zoo

I did my walking at the local zoo today. I like going to the zoo on a weekday because there are less humans there. It's also cooler in the A.M., and when the breeze kicked in, it was downright pleasant. I had camera in hand as well. Hope you like the pics.

My Best Friend

This is my best friend Odin. He's 12 years old, but he still gets around OK. He's the best watchdog I've ever had, and he'll still mess someone up if they're not introduced properly. He's a Collie/Husky/Shepherd/Rottweiler mix. He had a bout with mast-cell tumors( aform of cancer) a while back. He's been on chemo meds, and is still rocking along. I've had some real good dogs in my time, but Odin is the best dog I've ever had. He knows when I'm feeling down, and always comes over to me with a wagging tail and a smile , and does his best to cheer me up...and he never fails to bring a smile to my face. He loves our cats, but lets them know when they're in his way or in his favorite spot with a loud bark or a growl. He's scared off untold numbers of unwanted salesmen, and possibly felons who have tried to break into my house while I'm gone, only to be scared off by Odin's fierce growls and barks. He's my buddy, and I'm lucky to have him in my life.

Goin' For A Walk

Ok, now for a more positive blog to balance out things. anyone out there regularly go for walks? In parks, in your neighborhood, around a local track? I've always done a lot of walking in my life...in college, I didn't own a car, so I either got rides, took the bus, or hoofed it. Now, my wife and I share a car, so there's times I walk to and/or from my work. it's about 1.7 miles one way, and most of it's through a quiet neighborhood. I also go for walks just for the hell of it...I've been trying to imrove my health, and walks are a good way to do it, if my recent weight loss is any indicator.

Walking is great for lots of reasons. You , of course, travel at a much slower pace, so you have time to really take in the sights, and you get the opportunity to see things you may have missed before. For example, in my neighborhood, there's a house with a lamppost in the driveway, which is cool, but until I walked past it for the first time, I didn't notice the cool details, like dragons carved onto the lamp, and the nice lion statues near the front door of the house.

Another big plus for walking is that you're out there with Nature, not shielded against it inside a car. You can feel the breeze, smell the plants, flowers, and earth as you walk, and see animals both domestic and feral, from cats sleeping under cars parked in driveways to hawks soaring majseticlly overhead.

Walking, especially if you go by yourself, is a great way to mentally unwind. You can take time and think about things, or just think about nothing in particular and take it all in. You can opt to take some music with you as well(on your iPod or Zune)if you so desire. I walk solo quite a bit, and it gives me time to decompress, and lets me have some 'alone time' that seems so hard to come by these days. Don't get me wrong, I love my wife, family, friends, pets, etc, but sometimes I just need a bit of time to myself once in a while. Walking allows me this.

If you already inot going for walks, I'm obviously preachng to the choir. If you haven't gone for a stroll lately, give it a try. You may like it.

Grown-Up Brats

Have you ever noticed the number of people, who, when they don't get their way, act like spoiled children, i.e., throw a grown-up version of a tantrum? This is prevelent in service-oriented industries. I've seen peolpe, adults, mind you, get angry for no other reason than they aren't getting their way. They aren't being treated unfairly, or being discriminated against in any way...they simply are not getting exactly what they want when they want it, no matter how unrealistic or ridiculous their demands are. This kind of behavior is reinforced when , say, at a retail store or a restaraunt, a patron acting out gets what they want so they will be quiet and not create a scene. This teaches the patron that if they make a big enough ruckus, they will get their way, no matter how unrealistic their requests. I know a friend whose in-laws , whenever they go anywhere to eat, create a scene in order to get discounted or free meals. I actually saw these people in action once. I believe it was at a IHOP or Denny's or some such place...the wife told the waiter that she wanted to speak to a manager, because there weren't enough fries on her child's plate...let me tell you, there were plenty of fries there for an adult, much less a child. But because she was making a scene, the manager comped the kids' meals to shut her up. What he should of done is told her to shut her pie-hole and eat somewhere else if she didn't like it, and then throw her out if she kept bitching...but that's just me.

I onder if it's people who behave like this while travelling that give Americans a bad reputation. Fortunately, not all foks from other countries hate Americans...I have a pen-pal in Belgium who thinks Americans are cool.

Sorry if this is a negative sounding post, but I saw this kind of behavior the other day at work, and I saw it far too many times back when I worked retail years ago, and it just bugged me.

About my Blog title

Maybe some of you have wondered about the title of my blog. I'm not actually a Satanist, although the Devil has always fascinated me...if I ever meet him, I'll either shake his hand or punch him in the face, depending on the mood I'm in. Anyway, I've been given the nickname 'Beast' at no less than three different times in my life, by different sets of people. I guess it was meant to be. Maybe it's because of my appearance, or my personality, or because I have a way with animals, I'm not sure why, but I do know that there's a lot worse nicknames I could have been stuck with. And actually, I kind of like being referred to as 'Beast'. So, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.

Some pictures I took...

....hope you like 'em.

Belief

Belief is a powerful force in our lives. Religion is based on it. Our own personal lives are fueled by it or fouled by a lack of it. If someone believes in you and what you are doing, especially if they are close to you, then that's a strong positive reinforcement to what you are attempting to do. It makes you feel like you're heading down the right path, like nothing can stop you. Lack of belief, however, especially on those days when you're feeling down, or you're having a hard time seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, can be the opposite...it makes you think that those around you either don't think you can accomplish your goals, or that you're serious about your goals, or they simply just don't give a shit.

Now, the latter reaction can also be a sort of positive reinforcement...it can make you say,"Fuck you, I'm going to do this with or with out you, whether you believe in me or not...and I'll be laughing at you for not believing in me when I accomplish my goals."

Don't let naysayers deter you from whatever it is you're trying to get done.

First Step Into Blogworld

Hi everyone out there. This is my attempt at starting a blog. I'm just getting set up today...hopefully I'll have something interesting to talk about in later entires. I figured that blogging on a regular(or semi-regular) basis would be helpful in honing my writing skills. Guess we'll see. Feel free to stop by and say "hi".