I have a few other “Motley” sites, but with a busy life like most people, you know, that wonderful thing we call “work”, I simply do not have the time to keep up on all of them, except one other besides Motley News. It is Motley Dogs.
Those who have been hanging around ol’ Motley News here for a while knows that dogs are a huge part of my life. But even then, Motley Dogs was put on the back burner for several months. I started to give Motley Dogs a “face lift” (a new layout and theme), but just could not seem to find the time needed to complete this task until just recently, so she is now done. Although last night I just about gave myself a heart attack.
A wide variety of animals featured here. Some are wild, some are pets, some rescued, some at the zoo…. So get your “awwww’s” all ready to go because there are a few of them.
But they should all at least make you smile.
Photo credits are completely unknown. These images were sent to me via email from a friend. I have seen a few of them roaming around the internet, but still do not know who took those either.
It is now officially summer in the northern hemisphere and what better way to celebrate than with some doggie funnies, many are courtesy of icanhasacheezburger.
It’s time to take a break from the news and everything else which tires one’s mind. Kick back and hopefully a couple of the funnies below will put a smile on your face and produce a chuckle or two. There are also a few “awwww’s” to warm your heart.
Clicking on any of the images will enlarge it to full size. Hit “back” button to return for the rest. Hmmm… good opportunity for a quick quiz…. When clicking on an image, do you prefer to have the enlarged image appear in the same tab, thus having to hit “back” to return? Or do you prefer when the image opens in a NEW tab? Just curious. When it comes to images, I prefer the same tab. But when it is a link to another article, I prefer a new tab. I am curious about your preference, though. Please leave me a comment. Thanks!
Well, here we go. Another Monday, another work week. I really need to make the jump and start working for myself… then I will never have any Mondays since what I am planning to do I do not consider work – it’s fun!
Anyway, not quite there yet. So in the meantime, I still have the right to piss and moan that it’s Monday. And hope that the funnies here will help put a smile on your face if you’re hating Mondays, too. And even if you don’t hate Mondays. Funnies of all kinds. Stupid people, dogs, cats, cartoons, “groaners,” some political… a Motley – since that’s what this site is about. Motley = variety; diversity.
Here is a video of five dogs all being silly dogs. Silly but cute. Decide which is your favorite and give a vote. Just having some fun here. Dogs are great! And can be the best entertainment sometimes.
The date is March 21, 2007 and I was on the job in Fallujah, Iraq when an enemy fired Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) exploded in our midst. I was blasted to the ground. I’m stunned. My head is ringing and my body feels numb. My eyes can’t quite focus on anything.
My partner is lying next to me severely wounded and bleeding. I move to him and touch him but he’s not responding. I feel sharp pains in my side and back. I’m bleeding but deal with it and concentrate on comforting my partner and protecting him from further harm.
NOTE: I believe there are two dogs here. It looks like a dog’s muzzle and nose on the belly of the Airedale rather than it’s “you-know”… but I just have not been able to figure this one out. If there are two, where are the other four legs? Sure a couple may be hidden behind, but all four? That and/or Photoshop may have helped hide some legs. Thoughts???
After publishing thought… the more I look at it, I am pretty sure I can see some Photoshop editing where at least one leg may have been. I also think the boom box was added in after the fact, too. Well, regardless, I love this image and kudos to the creator!
For those of you who live in a climate where swamp coolers are useless – be thankful. However, the desert southwest is not one of those areas. Born and raised in the midwest, I’d never heard of these beasts until I moved out here. The basic premise is water-cooled air by evaporation. Simple physics… air passes over water, water evaporates dropping the temperature of the air, and voila! The desert-version of A/C. When a home has a decent cooler, they’re not bad, especially when they function through the central air ducts. But some units just blast a wind tunnel of damp cool air out one duct right beneath it and sounds like a 747 landing in your house.
Well, just about to tear down my system for the day. Kind of painful since I’m so addicted to the internet, blogging, photography and graphics. But I will be back online later tonight. I am moving into my dear friend Lyn’s house. The lady who is a professional dog-everything.
Bobby Bradley reached a new height this morning after becoming the youngest person to fly solo in a balloon. The 9-year-old took off at dawn in Tome, N.M., near Albuquerque.
He was joined by three other balloons in his brief flight as family, friends and a crowd of 50 supporters cheered him on from the ground. Bobby landed safely after about 26 minutes in the air.
Bobby already has 30 hours of flight experience with his mother and father, and has been practicing with the balloon tethered to the ground or a truck. He wears a harness and a helmet. “This was his idea,” said Tami Bradley, his mother. “He started taking control of the burner when he was 4 years old.”
Under FAA regulations, he would be too young to fly a full-size balloon until he turns 14. His homemade airship, the Heavenly Dream, weighs less than 150 pounds and may reach an altitude of 1,000 feet.
My experience in a hot air balloon, Albuquerque NM
I only live about 5 minutes from the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta Park, and when I flew for the first time last summer, I had no idea just how much work is involved with piloting. I’ve seen them set up the balloons many times during the annual fiesta, and was quite aware of the organization and coordination involved, but the actual piloting is much more detailed and technical than I was aware.
The pilot I flew with, Don, was highly experienced with thousands of hours of flight time under his belt. He just relocated to Albuquerque to assume the job as the director of the annual balloon fiesta. Don also pilots a special shapes balloon “Paddy“, and flying a special shapes requires even more training and flight time. Plus additional crew members are required simply due to the size of the balloon itself.
There are many aspects to flying a hot air balloon of which I was aware of before I flew, but did not actually become concrete to me until I was soaring ever so serenely hundreds of feet above the Rio Grande river. On that day, there were approximately a dozen or so other balloons flying, and Don was very aware as to the position and travel pattern of the other balloonists. This was not to avoid collision, as that is very rare, but he watched to determine what the thermals and air stream was doing at each balloon location. Depending upon ones altitude, the flight path may change greatly, and it takes a very wise and well-seasoned pilot to use these thermals to ones advantage.
During the main part of the flight, the winds peacefully float us along while we would take in the scenery, and marval at the miniature homes, traffic, people, horses, and dogs spread out beneath us. The dogs. Dogs simply just do not like hot air balloons. For two years, I lived in the typical flight path of the “box” effect (see below). My dogs, as well as all the neighbors dogs, were literally crazed… running back and forth constantly in a barking frenzy. During the fiesta, the majority of responsible dog owners simply bring their pets inside during the morning flights. When lofting in the air that day, I must admit that watching the dogs go crazy was mildly amusing. From the dogs point of view, a large strange behemoth approaches from above frequently putting out a thunderous blast. Dogs duty: run, bark, and chase… must rid the skies of this beast overhead. Threat floats off. Job completed. Do not get me wrong, I have raised and trained dogs my entire life, and am a true hard-core dog-lover. But there is always humor in everyday life, and watching the miniature dogs from above was entertaining.
Box Effect: Part of the reason for the success of the Fiesta are the cool Albuquerque morning temperatures in October and the Albuquerque box. The “box” is a set of predictable wind patterns that can be exploited to navigate the balloons. At low elevations the winds tend to be southerly (from the south), but at higher elevations they tend to be northerly. Balloonists use these winds to navigate in a vertical box: they ascend slightly from the launch park, move south, ascend further, move north, descend, and repeat the box or land back in the launch park or quite nearby. During events involving on-field targets, such as the “Key Grab” (where pilots attempt to grab prizes, including a set of keys to a new vehicle, from atop tall, flexible poles), it’s not uncommon to see the same balloon make 5 or 6 passes at the targets, simply by working the “Box” to keep returning to the field.
The landing appeared to me to be the most technical part of the flight, both with piloting the balloon and coordinating via radio with the chase crew on the ground. The pilot, having watched the flight pattern and winds during the entire flight, would take advantage of watching the other balloons ahead as they descend through the various thermals. A large field with road access is the prime spot to land. With skill and expertise, Don would carefully time both hitting the burner and releasing air from the envelope in order to land in the targeted spot. The chase crew leader is well-seasoned and just as experienced as the pilot. They were waiting ever so faithfully on the ground to assist with bringing the balloon down safely. The basket touched briefly, re-ascending a few feet, while still moving forward, then eventually came down in a perfect landing. The chase crew now having surrounded the basket and using weight and expertise to halt our movement.
I still chuckle to myself… another person along for the ride was a local news anchor-woman. She is from New Mexico, and with the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta being the an international event as well as the largest in the state, all news stations heavily cover the event and know it very well. As we began our descent and Don was relaying our landing plans to the chase crew, the anchor-woman asked, “We don’t land where we took off?” Without blinking an eye, nor cracking a smile, Don politely replied, “Nope, these are one-way trips only.”
What this young 9-year-old boy did was not an easy feat. From my limited experience, it is easy to see that there is much more involved than hitting the burners, ascending, releasing the air, descending and landing. Especially the landing. Having lived in Albuquerque for 10 years now, and especially during the fiesta, balloonists do not always land where they want to. They have landed in the middle of intersections – which maneuvering through the power lines is as delicate as walking a tightrope; landed in the river when they were targeting an open area next to the water; in the middle of a herd of cattle; and so on. There has been occasion where the not-so-lucky tangled up with the power lines, which turns in to a life-or-death situation.
I am sure Bobby will keep looking up to the skies and will very soon have his pilot’s license. He has very wise, experienced, and supportive parents along his side. He will achieve his dreams.
I have a few other “Motley” sites, but with a busy life like most people, you know, that wonderful thing we call “work”, I simply do not have the time to keep up on all of them, except one other besides Motley News. It is Motley Dogs.
