This year marks the 20^th anniversary of the “Montreal Massacre”.  On December 6, 1989 Marc Lépine/Gamil Gharbi embarked on a shooting spree at École Polytechnique in Montreal.  In twenty minutes, he shot 28 people, killing 14, before turning his gun on himself.

Tragedies of this sort are extremely rare in Canada.  Since 1975, when the first recorded shooting took place, there have been only 8 school shootings in this country. The École Polytechnique shooting claimed more lives than all of the other shootings combined.

The real tragedy though, is the way that left-wing fringe groups continue to use the events of that day for their own purposes.  While I don’t agree with them, I can understand why the founders of the Coalition for Gun Control reacted as they did in the immediate aftermath of the shooting – the CGC was co-founded by Wendy Cukier and Heidi Rathjen, who was present at École Polytechnique the day of the shooting. 

What I can’t understand or condone is how they justify their actions now, twenty years after the fact.  Every year, militant feminist groups and gun control advocates brazenly disinter the victims, parading their ghosts before the public in a thinly veiled attempt to manipulate and shame people into supporting their cause.

The shooting at École Polytechnique was unique because the gunman specifically targetted women for the purpose of “fighting feminism”.  Much discussion has taken place over the last two decades as to what motivated Marc Lépine/Gamil Gharbi.  Some point to his upbringing with a mysoginist father, others say he suffered brain damage due to abuse, but the most commonly trumpeted response is that he was representative of wider societal violence against women.

It is this thinking that has led extremist feminist groups to hijack the anniversary of that day to shamelessly use it for their own ends.  Rather than seeking real solutions to violence in our society and the causes of domestic abuse, they instead sully the memory of those who died in order to promote their own brand of misandry.

Approximately 70 women are killed as a result of domestic violence each year. Since 1989, that’s roughly 1400 women who have lost their lives.  If these organizations claiming to be for the advancement of women’s rights were truly interested in preventing violence against women, you’d think they would be focussing on the 1400, rather than the 14.

There’s a very simple reason why these groups focus on the 14 though: it’s easier.  Concentrating on the 1400 would require them to look for real solutions to complicated and deeply rooted problems in our society.  By making a lot of noise and focussing on the gun control legislation that sprang from this tragedy, they can go to bed at night content that they’ve “done something” to prevent violence against women.  It doesn’t matter that it doesn’t work.

This year, when the Gun Control Lobby and the extremist feminist groups dishonour the victims of École Polytechnique, which they’ve already started, take a moment to remember that the women who lost their lives that day were people, not symbols.  See the organizations who debase the memory of these women for what they really are: a group of angry, scared and grieving people who would rather blame men and guns for all of their problems than tackle the real issues.

Rest in Peace

Geneviève Bergeron (born 1968)
Hélène Colgan (born 1966)
Nathalie Croteau (born 1966)
Barbara Daigneault (born 1967)
Anne-Marie Edward (born 1968)
Maud Haviernick (born 1960)
Maryse Laganière (born 1964)
Maryse Leclair (born 1966)
Anne-Marie Lemay (born 1967)
Sonia Pelletier (born 1961)
Michèle Richard (born 1968)
Annie St-Arneault (born 1966)
Annie Turcotte (born 1969)
Barbara Klucznik-Widajewicz (born 1958)

So I finally put the pieces together, I held my breath for so long about the whole complaints regarding PS3 firmware updates. In every update from minor bug fixes to major overhaul updates people are never satisfied no matter what huge update it is, the next firmware could have it to where you could play all games for free and pay your light bill for the rest of your life and idiot gamers will say it sucks and would want to get Cross Game Chat (CGC) and Avatars. No one finds it a problem other PS3 fanboys, folks who owns a PS3 will live happy without the feature…me being one of them. Now I must say I don’t care to much for the Facebook integration but it’s still a nifty feature nevertheless.

So for me having CGC with friends and their friends or random people would be a pain, granted it would be a nice feature for when playing online but only online. As for avatars if it ain’t free your not buying, you don’t know what the reason is for the delay…yeah this may be a feature I wanted to see too and yes I would like to see some too, but who’s to say they’re not making bundles for the avatars, maybe they want to implement it in future video games? So many fanboys not necessarly the gamers complain about every feature.

I’m so glad I don’t work for Sony or was in Eric Lempel or Grace Chen position because I would of done cussed out and blocked all the bastards who complain and get all pissy cuz of that. It doesn’t matter if you paid launch price or the new price. It obviously wasn’t a problem when the regular Xbox was limited to certain features such as Voice Chat and In-Game music. For folks who owned the PS2 shouldn’t care too much about those features. Avatars don’t make you a better gamer, voice chat doesn’t earn you extra trophies, so shut it fanboys about the damn chat shit, be happy you got the features and future features.

I’ll end the rant from here so if you got a problem with me saying that fanboys (not gamers) piss and bitch about wanting voice chat and ridiculous avatar. If you agree comment and share your throughts as for the nay-sayers ala Fanboys or Trolls feel free to comment to and unlike folks from the PSB I won’t bite my tongue I’ll tell you that straight up, all the more to hate but itll be so worth it.

(image from: Boris Veldhuijzen van Zanten's photostream)

I blogged about following hashtags to join in on twitterchats before, but I just have to blog about it again! Not all TV shows have live chats going on, but the two that I check out are #topchef and #projectrunway. What you do is either use Tweetdeck (a program to download) or Tweetchat (a website) and enter in the hashtag you want to follow. You can also do it on your regular Twitter home page by using the “search” function, but this is a lot slower.

My husband makes fun of me for participating in these chats since twitter is not designed to be a real chat program (and as such is rather clumsy for chat) but if that’s where the people are, why not?

My favorite twitter party is the Project Runway party at the Clever Girls Collective. There are a ton of funny snarky people over there (you may see some of my posts to them if you follow me @totallytv). Basically what you do is follow the hashtags #cgc during Project Runway every week and when you post your comments just add: #cgc and #projectrunway to the end. The only really annoying thing about hashtag chats is that adding the hashtag reduces your character limit even further, so you have to get creative with how you type things!

I started doing twitter chats this summer when there really wasn’t anything else on, so now that there are a million TV shows recorded on my DVR I don’t always catch the chats live. But when I do, it’s a blast! I don’t know what other shows have active/live chatting on twitter, but I’d bet the more popular ones have live twittering (hmm…haven’t checked to see if FlashForward has this) as the title for this post says, twitterchats and twitterparties are pretty much the only reason to watch live TV!  It’s almost like watching TV with friends and shouting rude/obnoxious things at the screen, only instead you post your comments to twitter for the whole word to see!

Are there any shows you *have* to watch live? If so, maybe you can start up your own twitter chat! Invite me over if you do!

Want to find out more about twitter parties/twitter chats? Check out the following links:

Twitter Parties & #hashtags by LittleTechGirl.com

Networking: How to Work a Twitter Party at Gigaom

How to host your own Twitter party at VatorNews

Rock on! The Power of Twitter “Parties” at TwitterMoms

Kelso passed his Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test last night. The CGC test is designed to test a dog’s competence in basic obedience and prove that he is a healthy, well-adjusted pet. The test is split into the following 10 sections:

• Accepting a friendly stranger

• Sitting politely for petting

• Appearance and grooming

• Out for a walk (walking on a loose lead)

• Walking through a crowd

• Sit and down on command and Staying in place

• Coming when called

• Reaction to another dog

• Reaction to distraction

• Supervised separation

This is basic stuff. I am proud of Kelso for passing, but the real goal of the class was to give him some experience being around new people and other dogs. I would very much like for us to do Rally-O or obedience classes next and maybe even advance to the level of AKC competition.

Over the last several months, three bills have been introduced addressing the gun registry (C-301, S-5, C-391).  Each of these has been met with opposition so vehement, that I’ve been left scratching my head.

Time and again, the same tired arguments are trotted out by the Gun Control Lobby.  Time and again, those arguments are proven to be inaccurate or just plain wrong.  Yet they continue to repeat them ad nauseum at every available opportunity.

This leaves me with more questions than answers. 

• Where is this irrational fear and hatred of a simple object coming from?
• Why does the anti-gun crowd cling so desperately to the same clichéd opinions when there is no evidence to support them?
• Why do they think that because they are offended by something, that someone else should be forced to change?
• Why don’t they see anything wrong with the government taking away people’s basic human rights in the name of “public safety”?
• What gives them the right to project their fears and insecurities onto 7 million law-abiding citizens?

 And most importantly, and most disturbing for me 

• Is all of this vitriol really about guns?

You see I can’t help but wonder: why all this noise?  Why this big global push for civilian disarmament?  No doubt, many of the “boots on the ground” naively tow the party line (this blogger immediately comes to mind) and truly believe that an unarmed populace would be safer.  But I find it impossible to fathom that the people running the show have such pure intentions.

Anyone with even the most limited knowledge of history is aware of the atrocities that humans have visited upon one other throughout time.  Before the gun, it was the sword, and the spear, and sticks, and stones, and bare hands.  It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the cause of violence isn’t the tool being used, but rather the person who is wielding it.

So what’s really going on?  Is all of this clamouring over guns really as superficial as the public has been led to believe?  Or is it merely a distraction, an entertainment, to keep us occupied while something else is being orchestrated in the wings?  Or scarier still, is this all part of a larger Orwellian scheme to disempower the people as governments and corporations insidiously worm their way further into our private lives?

I have no idea who coined this phrase, but it has been attributed to Benjamin Franklin:

“Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote.”

Whoever said it, I can’t say that I disagree.  Because when only the military and the police are armed, the people don’t stand a chance.

NEW CLASS START DATES:

• AKC S.T.A.R. PUPPY Classes: (for puppies 3-6 mos.)
• BASIC Classes: (for ANY dog older than 6 mos.)
• AKC CANINE GOOD CITIZENSHIP Classes: (for dogs completing Basic or Equivalent)

Wednesday, October 28^th, 2009

• AKC S.T.A.R. PUPPY Class: 5:30 p.m.
• BASIC Family Dog Training Class: 7:00 p.m.

 Thursday, November 5^th, 2009

• AKC Canine Good Citizenship Class: 7:00 p.m.

Monday, November 16^th, 2009

• AKC S.T.A.R. PUPPY Class: 5:30 p.m.
• BASIC Family Dog Training Class: 7:00 p.m.

Tuesday, November 24^th, 2009

• AKC S.T.A.R. PUPPY Class: 5:30 p.m.
• BASIC Family Dog Training Class: 7:00 p.m.

FREE 1 Hour Dog Training Seminars

Seminars are an introduction to PETCO’s Dog Training Classes. These FREE Seminars include basic information on Behavior Problem Solving, Training Tips, and more! (please NO dogs at Seminars)

FREE ½ hour One-on-One Training Session “Test Drive the Dog Trainer”

Discussions & Training Tips can include: behavior problems, obedience tips, etc…

This is one FREE ½ hour session per customer – not per dog.

For more information contact: PETCO @ 226-1200 or visit www.k9keltsdogtraining.com

Petco Puppy S.T.A.R. Classes $79.95 * Basic Classes $79.95* AKC Canine Good Citizen Classes $99.95

So… you have a new Puppy, a new Dog, perhaps you found your new friend wandering the streets, picked her out at the Shelter, or rescued him from a local Rescue group… what’s next?

The best thing you can do for you, your dog, your family is take a dog training class!

But… you might say, “I have books I can read, I can watch dog trainers on TV, I can surf the net, what do I need a dog training class for?”

Well… I commend you if you have done all your research! Bravo! Your dog will love you for all the effort you are putting in to learning about your new canine friend.

Or… you might say, “I have owned dogs all my life and have never had any problems training my dogs in the past, what else is there?

Dog Training Classes offer a great opportunity for you and especially your dog or puppy to socialize and test their dog training skills in a variety of distractions. Will your dog come to you when it sees a squirrel or a cat running in his path? When you take your dog for a walk on a leash, does your dog pull, get in your way, trip you up, get distracted and yank your arm out of your socket? Is your dog friendly to strangers or other dogs? Does your dog jump on you, your friends, your family? Can you trust your dog to be gentle with children or the elderly? Does your dog bark, whine, howl? What about housetraining issues? Does your dog Trust You? Are you the “Leader of the Pack”?

These are the kinds of things besides just a simple sit, down, stay that you can learn in a book. What if your dog presents a challenge that you never imagined and no matter how many books or articles or tv shows you gather information from, you are still left with no answers?

Each and every dog, just like people (even twins) are unique and have unique personality, breed and temperament traits. There is not only ONE way to teach a dog. Experienced Dog Trainers have learned to have what is called the “Trainer’s Toolbox” a variety of ideas and training techniques that will fit your own dogs unique personality.

As a dog trainer, I can offer some ideas, training tips, and yes Dog Training Classes. Presently, I have some new classes beginning at the Petco in Redding, CA.

For Puppies that are 3 – 6 months, there are classes beginning Wednesday, October 28th @ 5:30 p.m.

For the Family dog that is 6 months and older, there are classes beginning Thursday, October 15th @ 5:30 p.m. and Wednesday, October 28th @ 7:00 p.m.

For those who would love to do something a little more challenging and get an AKC Canine Good Citizenship Certificate, you can join the class that begins, Wednesday, October 15th @ 7:00 p.m.

Plus if you take a look at my website you will find more information about me, my dog training classes, free seminars and free 1/2 hour one-on-one private sessions.  K9 Kelts Family Dog Training.

I look forward to seeing you!

Craiova Gaming Center

Programul de traininguri Craiova Gaming Center propune participantilor 6 cursuri la care se pot inscrie in functie de preferinte. Am realizat o scurta descriere a acestor domenii pentru ca cei interesati sa isi faca o idee cat mai clara asupra continutului fiecarui curs:

Cursul de programare C/C++ este unul introductiv, care porneste de la informatii de baza despre variabile, vectori, matrice, functii, algoritmi si clase (programare orientata pe obiecte) pana la programare pe windows (Win32API) cu referire la Gaming.

Cursurile de DirectX si OpenGL presupun cunostinte avansate de programare C/C++ si se axeaza pe programare Gaming: notiuni de render pornind de la baza(matrici, vectori, miscare in 3D), diferiti algoritmi de optimizarea desenarii, structura pipeline-ului de render(ce pasi sunt urmati de un punct de la momentul cand i se trimite placii video, pana cand ajunge pe ecran), etc.

La cursul de Grafica 2D se lucreaza in Photoshop, se modifica texturi, se combina mai multe texturi, se lucreaza cu brush-uri (rugina, foc, zapada, zgarieturi, etc.) si layere si se realizeaza texturi pentru cladiri, environment si alte elemente ale unui joc.

La cursul de Grafica 3D se lucreaza in programul 3D Studio Max, in care se vor modela toate elementele 3D ale unui joc, elemente care apoi vor fi texturate de artistul 2D si introduse in engine de programator. Pentru Gaming se fac modele low poly – cu un numar cat mai mic de poligoane, dar care sa arate bine in joc. Pe langa modelare, se va studia si partea de animatie, compozitie si render pentru a realiza trailerul pentru joc.

La cursul de Level/Game Design se creeaza toate documentele de design ale unui joc : gameplay, story, nivele, etc. Toata actiunea si toate elementele unui joc sunt gandite de Designer. Veti invata sa realizati aceste documente si sa folositi imaginatia constructiv pentru a realiza la finalul primului an de cursuri un joc alaturi de artistii 2D si 3D si programatori.

Mai multe detalii veti primi pe 17 octombrie la deschiderea Craiova Gaming Center.

Contact : gaming[.]center[@]ubisoft[.]com

Ancora un abbraccio d’amore verso la Croce Verde e il suo presidente Milziade Caprili.

A donare ieri mattina i soldi raccolti durante alcuni incontri di hokey è stato il Centro Giovani Calciatori. La somma, di 4.230 euro, frutto di donazioni avvenute dai giocatori, e dagli spettatori, durante tre eventi sportivi, anche amichevoli tra “vecchie guardie” alle quali qualcuno non ha potuto partecipare per “debiti col fiato”, andrà ai bambini scampati dalla strage del 29 giugno. Alla presenza della stampa, a dimostrazione della totale trasparenza con la quale la Croce Verde riceve i denari delle sottoscrizioni, Caprili ha ancora una volta ribadito che nessun soldo, “nonostante i non rosei bilanci dell’associazione di volontariato”, entrerà nelle casse.

“Ci tengo particolarmente a questa donazione – ha affermato il presidente a Palagi. Nel mio peregrinare per l’Italia Viareggio è nota a tutti per il Torneo Mondiale del Calcio organizzato dal CGC. Pur non essendo un tifoso accanito di nessuna squadra, da ragazzo giocavo a pallone, e durante la Coppa Carnevale tifavo per il Dukla Praga”. “Volevano consegnare i soldi senza pubblicità – ha detto Palagi -, ma approfitto per informare di una seconda iniziativa: il torneo mondiale di calcio edizione 2010 sarà un’occasione di comunicazione a tutto tondo, per tenere viva la memoria sull’incidente ferroviario con una serie di iniziative che saranno decise nei nostri prossimi consigli di amministrazione. La solidarietà continua, fino a quando verrà restituita dignità ai 31 morti, le case non verranno ricostruite e le persone risarcite”. Ad oggi la Croce Verde ha ricevuto ben 1100 donazioni, tra persone ed enti. “Laici e cattolici, aziende private e pubbliche, da tutto il mondo – ha precisato Caprili. “Per il 29 ottobre stiamo organizzando una nostra iniziativa, apolitica e apartitica, per ricordare le vittime e stare insieme ai superstiti – ha annunciato. E mentre è partita la seconda trance di soldi per i bambini e le famiglie di chi è ancora ricoverato, il presidente della Croce Verde ha anticipato che il Consiglio sta valutando di aiutare, “con soldi nostri”, anche le vittime dell’alluvione di Messina.

Letizia Tassinari

Hurray for Skippy!  On Sunday, September 20th, at the Chico Canine Carnival, Debbie Eaglebarger a CGC Evaluator from Second Chance Animal Rescue from Corning, tested and evaluated Skippy for his AKC Canine Good Citizenship Test. Skippy passed all 10 test items and is now officially a Canine Good Citizen!

I am so very proud of Skip… who knows what will be next that he will accomplish! He has certainly grown (not physically) in leaps and bounds as he is learning Agility equipment, Obedience commands, Rally Obedience and a little bit of Lure Coursing. We shall see where this Rescue Dog of mine will go!

My boyfriend and I worked this week with Kelso on the CGC task of “accepting a friendly stranger.” When we brought Kelso home we found that he was rather shy and uncertain about meeting new people. But I am happy to say that he is doing MUCH better now. For those of you who are working on socialization with your dog or puppy, here are the techniques that worked for us:

1. Have a positive attitude. Dogs are very perceptive and they easily pick up on their trainer’s “vibes.” If you are friendly and outgoing, your dog will more likely be so.

2. Use treats. Reward your dog for sitting politely and allowing people to pet him or her. This keeps the experience positive.

3. Work with your dog on a regular basis. Being cooped up at home for a few weeks will only reverse your progress with socialization.

I want to train Kelso to pass the Canine Good Citizen task of “accepting a friendly stranger.” He currently takes about 30 minutes – 1 hour to warm up to people he doesn’t know. I am not sure why this is. But I do know that I need to teach him to trust people outright, and happily accept petting by anyone at any time.

I would think that a bit of healthy skepticism would be a fine trait in a dog. However, I’m going to suspend judgment on this case because I really want Kelso to be friendly with people we meet out on walks and not bark at friends that come over to my house. I also want him to pass the CGC test.

So . . . Kelso loves treats. If he gets treats for calmly meeting  new people, he will (hopefully) begin to associate strangers with treats. Sranger = good. That’s the plan anyways. I also know that it helps for me to be excited and happy to meet people because dogs are very perceptive and they pick up on their human’s vibes.

As far as treats go, does anyone have a suggestion? I would prefer something that does not have to be refrigerated. I also want something traditionally “people food,” that I would be able to find at my local grocery store.

I signed Kelso up for an obedience class at the Greenhill Humane Society. It is specifically a class to prepare dog and handler for the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test offered by the American Kennel Club (AKC). Here is the class description:

“The American Kennel Club’s Canine Good Citizen (CGC) Program is a certification program that is designed to reward dogs who have good manners at home and in the community. Beginning September 18th, Greenhill will be offering a 5-week course to community members and their dogs who wish to become certified taught by Greenhill Receiving Manager and Certified Evaluator for the CGC Program Theresa Iverson and Certified Dog Trainer Nancy Yamin. The goal of the course is to teach responsible dog ownership to owners and to certify that their dogs have the training and behaviors needed to be reliable, well-behaved members of their families and communities. Dogs who pass the CGC test at the end of the course will receive a certificate from the American Kennel Club.”

I’ve passed this test with another dog (my standard poodle, Heidi), so I know what is involved and how to train Kelso for it. The problem is that he needs to be socialized. I’ve noticed that he growls at people he is not familiar with and he is scared easily by things such as cars and bicycles. I think this class will be an excellent oppertunity to get him some socialization in a controlled environment. It will probably also motivate me to take him out for walks so he can meet new people. If all goes well, he’ll also have himself a CGC certificate at the end of the class!

For what it’s worth Logan passed the Canine Good Citizen class.  We ended up having 6 dogs in the class, 4 passed and the 2 “pet” dogs didn’t. 

I have to say that although they didn’t pass, the improvement in their dogs was incredible.  I think they improved much more than the rest of us.  I was there with Logan to hone his obedience skills in a distraction filled environment, but they were there just leaning these exercises.    I know at least one of the owners was going to take the class again – so maybe we have another “dog person” joining our midst.

The reason I don’t care about this title is because for me it’s a level of training so far below what my dog is capable of and what we are striving to achieve.  I DO think that all pets should be trained to this level.  It’s too bad that this can’t be made mandatory.

On a side note  – I was reading another trainer’s blog today and she was explaining the best way to teach your dog not to jump up on you in greeting.  First off let me say that I don’t believe that there is ever a one size fits all way to train.  you have to take into account the temperament of each dog.  (and owner)

This person recommended the turn your back method.  This brought back memories from Logan’s first night of puppy class.  The trainer was there with her 2 year old dog that kept jumping on her for attention.  She kept demonstrating the turn your back method, but the dog still jumped on her many more times.  This was a 2 year old dog.  Are you kidding me, My dogs learn not to jump up from the day they are brought into the house.  If he were to jump up now at age 10 months you better believe he would get a correction.  I’m sure telling the kids in the neighborhood to turn their backs if my 80 lb. puppy jumped on them would work.  Give me a break.

Another session of my Advanced Dog Training class starts Tuesday, September 1, 2009, and runs 6 weeks, from 7:00pm to 8:00pm. This will prepare your dog for the “Canine Good Citizenship Certification” (“CGC”). See “Advanced Class” description for details. MORE

Another session of my Advanced Dog Training class starts Saturday, August 29, 2009, and runs 6 weeks, from 9:00am to 10:00am. This will prepare your dog for the “Canine Good Citizenship Certification” (“CGC”). See “Advanced Class” description for details. MORE

I arrived early to class to give myself time to clean up vomit if necessary and to give Logan time to recover from the trip.  Luckily he didn’t vomit until the ride home, but he was looking quite ill about 25 minutes into the trip.  He calmed down quickly and “went” on command so I was hopeful that he wouldn’t “mess” in the class.

The class was small only 5 dogs and trainers.  This gave us plenty of room to spread out and more personal attention. Two of the people were what I call “pet” owners.  They were there for a little more help with basic obedience.  The rest of us were there to help further our dog’s “careers”  **(Wow that was quite a bit of “quoting” there.  LOL)

Our instructor surprised me, by asking us to have our dogs so a one minute sit stay.  I thought he would start with just asking us to sit our dogs, then have them lay down.  etc. .   Instantly I knew that this was going to be a great class.

During class we worked on sit stay, down stay, leave it, recall, and greeting the friendly stranger.  I was happy with how Logan did with all the exercises.  Our instructor had me introduce Logan to doing his recall between boards so he would do a straight front.  Logan didn’t know what to think of the boards so he walked around them.  I did the exercise again this time starting him between the boards so he could catch on to this new concept.

For homework we were assigned to work on the leave it command around other dogs, and I am to work on his recall between the boards.  Now the trick is to see if I can get myself used to do daily training sessions again.  I know the mental workout was great for Logan because he promptly fell asleep when we got home.