The Web According to Google #87- Reader

I already use Google Reader, as a matter of fact, my home page is iGoogle, and has been so for many years. I love Reader because its so simple to use, and gives me multiple different options for sharing. I've tried other readers, but they don't link in well to my home page.

The Web According to Google #86: Calendar and Documents

I've used Google Calendar for awhile, the most handy thing about it is being able to share it with my husband, so he knows what I have going on. I actually love using Google docs, its handy for when I need to send docs to my husband to print out. It's also much easier to create my docs at home for work, and just load them to google docs, that way I don't have to email it to myself to get it here, or carry it on a flash drive.

Social networking

I registered at Dogster.com and AnimalAttraction. I thought the regististration process was very simple, quick and easy, and the registration link arrived quickly. Dogster also warned me that since I have gmail I need to add them to my address book, as they often get stuck in the bulk mail folder. When they asked for my zipcode, I expected them to link me to others in the area who are registered, but there was nothing. I don't know if more relevant information will come up as more people register. Animal Attraction I registered for because I think its a nice idea that they will donate money for everyone who registers, and every time you log in. I saw a lot of homeless pets, back in PA. We were a vacation town, and a lot of the inner city tourists would come for the summer, pick up a pet for the summer, and then on their way back to NY, would dump them on the side of the road. So its nice to see a website doing something positive for them.

As to some of the site features, most of them were ok, but I came to find myself getting very annoyed with Dogster's local feature. It required a keyword of some type, and even when putting in nothing, it came back with no results for () found. So even leaving it blank didn't help. I did find a page with all local pet businesses, and reviews of them from members, so that will be a nice thing to have.

Loss of a Pet

We did lose a pet, 4 years ago. It was very hard for us, but even more so for our youngest son. I checked out the pet loss websites, but, to be honest, I really didn't see anything that was any different from what we already know. I DO disagree with the ASPCA website, of getting a "replacement" pet a month later. These are members of our family, and there is no replacement for them. We waited 3 years, and then I made sure to not get another cat, as I didn't want it to even seem like we were replacing her. She was a wonderful friend, and kooky enough that even my husband, who hates cats, loved her. My son still writes essays about her, whenever he has to write something serious for school. We try to remember her, whenever we can, as a way of respecting her memory. We even have a special Christmas ornament, that she always played with, that goes on the tree last, down at the bottom, where she'd whack it around. My son hangs it in his room the rest of the year. It's just like losing a person. All the information in the world doesn't help, you have to go through the grieving process and no amounts of information is really going to help that.

Pets #72

I just did Sasha's Dogage and it comes up as Sasha's DogAge is 12.8!

That's 3.2 years younger than the average DogAge for Sasha's breed. DogAge is the biological age of your dog, measured in people years. Your dog is lucky to have such a good caretaker. You can make your dog even younger by checking out the details of your results below.

And as far as the things on PetFit, we already do some of them, like Pet Tag... nobody can outrun Sasha though!!! We also play a game of Fetch in the pool with her, and race her to the frisbee, we actually have a chance of winning then!!

Pets #71

I used Petpicker, and it said I should get a cat. I can't get a cat however, because we had a cat once, and she was my youngest son's best friend. The upset he felt when she finally died was too much and the thought of getting another cat for him, even 4 years later, just wasn't going to work. About a year ago, I decided to get him a new pet, and we decided to get him a dog. I did use Petfinder and assorted other apps, but we had a particular breed in mind, and there was none available in those particular websites. I ended up finding a breeder online, through www.chron.com and purchasing a Siberian Husky for him for his 12th birthday. Her name is Sasha and we just love her to death. This is a picture of her when we first brought her home.

Short Stories for Summer Reading

Summertime is an excellent time to peruse some new short stories. The Nebula Awards Showcase 2009 is a great collection of stories, they are all award nominees, and all beautifully written. There are also several chapters on the state of SFF today, and also coverage of award nominated movies. I'd also recommend Legends which is a collection of novellas from several famous authors, such as Anne McCaffrey, Robert Jordan, George R.R. Martin, Raymond Feist., etc . The novellas are actually new stories set in the worlds that these authors have made famous. This is where Robert Jordan's New Spring was first published.

Speaking of Robert Jordan, The Gathering Storm, Pt 1 of The Memory of Light is scheduled to be released November 3, 2009. The Memory of Light is the 3 part conclusion to The Wheel of Time, and is being completed by Brandon Sanderson, per www.Tor.com. Tor is also running a re- read of the whole series, to be completed at approximately the same time as the release. HCPL's catalog of available titles is here, and it includes the book on cd version (for those tiresome commutes) and also the link to our downloadable audiobook, that you can transfer to your mp3 player. Happy Reading!!