There's a lot of different breeds of dogs, but among the world's most popular dog breeds there are a few that have been singled out as the most loyal, hard-working and intelligent. German Shepherds have long been valued for these qualities and more.

The German Shepherd is a newer breed. It originated in 1899 in Germany and was used for herding sheep. The breed was created when German ex-military member and veterinary student Max von Stephanitz saw a dog with admirable working qualities. The dog was strong and intelligent, with a superior sense of smell and fierce loyalty.

Von Stephanitz purchased the dog and bred it with his own working dogs. Eventually, he created the breed we now know as German Shepherds. Every German Shepherd today can be traced back to von Stephanitz and his breeding efforts.

The name of the breed has been a source of several controversies since its inception in 1899. The original name given to the breed by Max von Stephanitz translated literally to "German Shepherd Dog." In the 1940's, the Kennel Club officially changed the breed's name to Alsation Wolf Dog. The change was due to the fear that the breed would become unpopular because of widespread anti-German sentiments during WW2.

Not long after this name change, the general public began to fear that Alsation Wolf Dogs were actually wild and aggressive half wolves. While this was not true, the public's fear was enough to prompt the Kennel Club to change the name again, this time to simply Alsation.

Dog lovers in various countries pressured kennel clubs for another name change in 1977. This time, they asked that the breed revert to its original name. Since then, the official name of the breed has been German Shepherd Dog.

The original German Shepherd Dogs were used to herd and protect sheep on working farms in Germany. Since then, German Shepherds have been used in a variety of working capacities. Perhaps most well-known is their use as police and military working dogs. In rural settings, German Shepherds are extremely useful for search and rescue missions. Their keen sense of smell and dedication to pleasing their masters make them diligent workers.

In a more urban environment, German Shepherd Dogs are extremely useful for locating drugs, explosives and fleeing suspects. The strength of the dogs makes them ideal for taking down dangerous or running suspects. They are often used in airports and mail processing facilities to sniff out contraband in luggage and packages.

In recent years, some concerns have been raised about the safety of German Shepherd Dogs. There have been some reported cases of the dogs turning violent or attacking people. However, most of these cases are based on anecdotal evidence. Dogs tend to react aggressively when mistreated or threatened, or when protecting their masters. This has been the cause for many of the so-called German Shepherd 'attacks'.

Overall, German Shepherd Dogs are very safe to have around. In fact, they make outstanding guard dogs. They are protective of their owners and will often put themselves in danger to save their masters. They are currently the third most popular dog breed in the United States and enjoy popularity all over the world.

In Spain and the Balearic Islands especially, dog lovers appreciate the loyalty and beauty of this regal breed. According to licensing records, in fact, the German Shepherd Dog is the most popular dog breed in Menorca - the popular holiday island has a reputation of being extremely safe. That reputation is thanks, in part, to these gentle working dogs. They are always on the job, protecting their adoptive families and keeping watch for any signs of trouble such as housebreakers.

You might not know what explicit means so I looked it up in my dictionary/thesaurus and this is what I found:

"Explicit | adj. | speaking or stated plainly."

Thesaurus:

"Explicit | (crystal) clear, understandable, plain, precise, exact, straightforward, detailed, specific, unambiguous."

You also might have (seen) a cd or record with Parental Advisory Explicit Content written on it. Well, that means that that cd is not really for kids and mostly has cursing in it.

So now you know what Explicit means, now let's see how he looks!

Yeah, he's a noob. So what?! He has a cool name and you don't, ha ha!

But when I first logged in with Explicit I had a new postcard, but that wasn't the one with the blue mail bag. I don't think I'll get that one. But I got a card of CP saying, welcome to Club Penguin..., and you get 500 coins, instead of the 100 coins!

Well, that's that!

-Jellyboard/Explicit

Griechisches Gebet

Dieses Gebet ist mir vor vielen Jahren bei einem griechischen Trauer-Tanz-Seminar in die Hände gefallen.
Warum ich dieses Seminar besuchte, ist eine lange Geschichte...
Aber was faszinierend ist, ist die Tatsache, dass griechische Trauertänze zum Großteil sehr fröhlich sind und Kraft geben.
Es gab ein paar Lieder, zu denen wir getanzt haben, als ob wir die Energie und Kraft der Erde ganz in uns aufnehmen
würden und dann wieder frei werden ließen. Das fühlte sich sehr gut, befreiend und kräftigend an.
Probier es einmal aus, mit beiden Armen kreisende Bewegungen zu machen, so als ob du Schwung holen würdest,
von der Erde zum Himmel hinauf - wow :-)
Herz-liche und schwungvolle Grüße von Elisabeth

01. Final Fantasy X - Tidus & Yuna (Sky Theme)
02. Dishwalla - Angels or Devils
03. Goo Goo Dolls - Name
04. Oasis - Don't Look Back in Anger
05. Mariah Carey - I Don't Wanna Cry
06. Jackson Browne - Sky Blue & Black
07. Final Fantasy X - To Zanarkand
08. Tony Rich Project - Nobody Knows
09. Eric Clapton - Wonderful Tonight
10. Eva Cassidy - Time After Time
11. Collective Soul - Run
12. Rachmaninoff - Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini
13. Goo Goo Dolls - Iris
14. Puff Daddy - I'll Be Missing You
15. Mariah Carey - Without You
16. Oasis - Wonderwall
17. Tonic - You Wanted More
18. Jessica Simpson - Take My Breath Away

Humor is not real.  Most people have the good ability of pointing out what is funny, and they know when its appropriate to laugh.  The phrase "good sense of humor" refers to humor as a sense.  Maybe it is.  Maybe it is as simple to us as the sense of touch or taste.  What if it is, but only for a select cast.  The unchosen would have their ability to interpret that sense restricted more than others.  If this is true, then how many other "intuitions" are just suppressed senses.  The reason we cannot understand some things around us is not that they just "can't be explained",  our ability to explain them has just been missing.  Humans contain much more potential than some will ever know.  Those with elite senses would command all rivals.  Train the mind.  For the children of Earth are future warriors of the times to come.  United by species when living no longer divided by color.  No longer fighting for a country or continent.  Soon my children, with advances in the human mind, we will join as what we truly are.  We shall walk side by side, fight by a common name, and die with a pride greater than any other.

||| || || | |

Imeem: There are 343 other (undisclosed name here)s

Facebook: 500+ (incl. the longer version of my name)

Bebo: about 203

Mind you that not everyone uses their real name online. There are many many many many many many many many many more.

Google: Results 1 - 10 of about 1,850,000 for (undisclosed)

Nor has it been integrating the various other feeds (Twitter, Flickr, Google Reader and all) through WordPress's wonderfully flexible widgets.

Nor has it been difficult to think of things to write about, much to my surprise. In fact, there have been too many ideas; the only problem has been finding time in hectic week to do anything about them.

But when there is time, I haven't found it difficult to write the entries, either. I like writing, and posting here comes very naturally to me. (Whether the posts are any good, have any insight or meat to them - well, that's for you, the reader, to judge. He says with mock modesty and implied plea for reassurance.)

No, the most difficult thing has been ... Finding a name for this damn blog!

Should be easy, shouldn't it? A no-brainer. It's just a name, how hard can that be? But no, I seem to have agonised, prevaricated, wavered and flip flopped more about this one issue than any other aspect of the blog.

When I started it was "Andrew's online notebook." This rather bland and generic name was perfect for something that was not intended to be any more than a scrapbook of writings for other places, principally my motor sports race reports that I produce for the forum I host on The WELL. No one was really mean to read this other than a few friends and presentation was unimportant.

Then I found out - thanks to WordPress' impressive Blog Stats feature - that people were reading these posts. Other people. Real people. People I didn't know. Not just friends and family I'd bribed, threatened or pleaded to come read this stuff, but honest-to-God punters. Now this sounds naïve to be surprised by this, but I was. The last time I maintained any website or blog, it took months of very active work to build up enough word of mouth and general publicity to get people to come visit. Now I was getting dozens within a matter of 2-3 weeks and I hadn't lifted a finger.

That really shows the power of blogs as they've evolved over the last five years. The trackback feature and the way that a link from one blog to others shows up as a comment and quickly builds up a network; how the tags and categories that are used in WordPress are impressively aggregated and publicised by the central WordPress.com site.

But this left me in a quandary: "Andrew's online notebook" was now a horrible title when quoted in other websites about motor sports, so I had to find a new name. I opted to set up a new URL and ported all those motor sports posts over to what I called motorsportsind (a tribute to the name of the original WELL forum in which they appeared first.) Sorted.

But what to call the repurposed personal blog site? "Andrew's online notebook" still looked dull and bland compared to the impressive blog names I was seeing elsewhere.

My trouble was (and to a certain extent still is) that this blog has no laser-focus vision on doing one specific thing. Whitehallwebby for example is a brilliant name for a website with a single subject in mind (the use of social media by government in the UK). And I have never really had a nickname that could double as a snazzy blog title like GeekLawyer or Information Overlord.

So I tried "All About Andrew", which kept it personal with my name in there, and had a nice nod to one of the great all time films ("All About Eve", of course) which connected to my film/DVD obsession and called to mind the film's trademark line "Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night" spoken by the unforgettable Bette Davis. And the linking of that film's Eve with my name felt like a nice self-deprecating touch, as Eve is a spectacularly nasty piece of work. Whereas I'm - just a beginner, let's say.

Well, that lasted until I saw the trackback that appeared on Puffbox as a result of my link on the "To support IE6, or not to support?" story. There it was, "All About Andrew" over on Puffbox next to the link back. And boy, did it feel horribly conceited and egotistical. I cringed, and raced back to change the blog name back to "Andrew's online notebook" in all its dullness and generic blandness - and relative safety.

And yes, I know that it's bizarre to be so worried about being perceived as conceited and egocentric ... when I'm writing blog posts about all manner of subjects and expect people to come from far and wide and read my words and fawn over them. How egotistical is that in the first place? But don't blame me, I'm not in charge of how weird and inconsistent the human mind can be, and certainly not my mind which is a mystery to me at the best of times. (It checks out at odd times, never tells me where it's going, comes back in with a hangover and filthy temper - you know the scene.)

But I still had the problem of what to call this blog. I was getting so irritated by the question that it almost threatened to escalate into a reason to not have a blog at all (rather than packing up because of fear of feedback or criticism, for example, which of course would never be the case. Oh, no.)

And at some point "Let me think about that ..." popped into my head. It seemed almost clever enough to be a decent title for a blog. It was sufficiently vague not to pin me down to a specific area of discussion, but emphasised that these articles would - I hoped - deliver some kind of original thought behind them. It would look quite good, I thought, on any trackbacks I managed to produce in the future. It wouldn't look too conceited and full of itself, but more thoughtful and open to discussion. And it was at least more interesting than the "online notebook" chestnut that I was beginning to seriously loathe.

It also has a sense of not-necessarily-permanent about it. I'm not yet sure I like it enough, so I really do need to think about it for a while, try it on for size, and see if it sticks. In other words, when it comes to the title of this blog: let me think about that ...

It'll do until I can think of something better. I'm hoping that I'll come up with something like my personal current favourite, Mission Creep, which is delightful in how many different ways it can be interpreted; how it's serious, funny, wry and accurate about its content all at once.

Until then, we're stuck with "Let me think about that ..." for a while. Well, until tomorrow at least. Check back in 24 hours to see if I've had another kneejerk twitch and changed it again. And if you have any suggestions, fire away.

(But "Indecisive B*****d" has already been considered and, regrettably, ruled out. For now.)

Eine öffentlich-rechtliche Namensänderung ist im Ausnahmefall bei Vorliegen eines wichtigen Grundes möglich. Sie dient dazu im Einzelfall erhebliche Unzuträglichkeiten bei der Führung des vorhandenen Namens zu beseitigen. So zum Beispiel bei anstößigen, lächerlichen Namen, nach Einbürgerung bei ausländischen Namen und deren Besonderheiten, bei Familiennamen von Pflegekindern usw.
Quelle und mehr Infos

Ein Mann sitzt zum Beratungsgespräch beim Standesbeamten anläßlich seines Antrages auf Namensänderung. Folgender Dialog:

Mann: Ich leide sehr unter meinem Namen, ich möchte ihn unbedingt loswerden.
Standesbeamter: Wie heissen Sie denn?
Mann: Adolf Scheißenberger.
Standesbeamter: Oh, ich kann sehr gut nachempfinden, wie Sie sich fühlen. Wie würden Sie denn gerne heissen?
Mann: Herbert Scheißenberger.

I'm working on a logo.  Stay posted my friends.

Our passion is people!

This morning my fears were realized--he was in the neighbor's yard behind us. They have a very old, very nice Rottweiler, but I wasn't going to take the chance that it might be a bird-eating dog. The neighbors beside us have a Lab that kills birds any chance he can get. I had to jump the four-foot-high fence (scraped my hand on the chain link, yay) to get the chicken. The Rottweiler was elsewhere, around the other side of the house, and apparently didn't notice me or the chicken.

I would have called the neighbor before going onto their property, but they've changed phone numbers and I haven't got the new one from them yet. And I couldn't go around to their front door and knock because their four-foot chain link fence extends all the way around the house, with a locked gate in the front... so I'd have to hop the fence anyway to get to the front door, and that's probably exactly where their Rottweiler was (she sleeps on their front porch frequently). I'm not implying that their dog is mean--I like their dog just fine and I know many very nice Rottweilers (all the ones I know are nice, in fact, because I only know nice dog owners and I don't associate with thugs)--but I also know that dogs protect their property and I'm certainly not a family member. So when faced with the decision to either jump the fence, deal with a big unhappy dog, and ask politely to retrieve my chicken versus jump the fence and just get the bird and get the heck out, I opted for the latter. And it worked out, even though I felt a bit like I was doing something awful. A very short while later I saw a couple of police cruisers heading down the street and I tried not to look guilty.

Yes, my chicken made me feel like a criminal.

My mom and I both walked the edge of the coop/kennel after that and tried to figure out how the chicken is getting out. We both agree it must be that gap between door and side. I'm going to try closing it up with a bigger piece of wood to see if that stops the escapes, but since the chicken only escapes once a day--I guess he's too dumb to remember how he got out the first time, so it takes him 24 hours to rediscover the same weakness--I am running out of time to figure this out before we leave for our trip.

My husband says we should call the chicken Peepers, because he peeps nonstop. I think all baby chicks do this so their moms can keep track of them (heck, this is how I find him when he's gotten out of the coop). But the name is gender-neutral, which is good since we don't know whether this chicken is a boy or a girl. So Peepers is his/her name unless I can come up with something better.

Ironically, or perhaps coincidentally, this will make the... seventh or eighth pet I've had whose name started with the letter "P."

Some of you that know me, know that I was born with the name Michelle Anne.  I lived by that name until I turned 30 years old.  I didnt set out to change my name, nor did I dislike the name I had (Other than absolutely detesting that ridiculous Beatles song being sung at me as a child over and over again).  I think it was more circumstance and a meant to be thing.

I started to chat right before I became sick.  This was over 12 years ago now.  The internet was a very different place.  The only people who were on the internet back then were mostly computer geeks and professionals, because frankly they were the only ones who could afford it! 

Anyway, I digress.  So, when I started to chat, I needed a chat name or screen name to be known by.  I tried all kinds of combinations of names and none of them really fit.  I looked around and saw all of these women with sexually suggestive or trashy names and that just wasnt what I wanted to say about myself to the world.  I chatted for several months, and I just couldn't find the right fit.  One day, I exchanged pictures with someone (as you do when you chat).  The chatter said to me "You have the most Amber colored eyes I have ever seen!"  Amber.... Amberfire!  Perfect.

It was shortly after that that I became sick.  I spent all of my time on the internet chatting because it was the only thing I could do to try and take my mind off of the pain.  It was silent too.  That was important because I couldn't stand light or noise.  So television was out.  I turned my monitor down low so I could stand its brightness.  My eyes hurt so bad.  

I made friends all over the world via chatting and the internet.  They kept me company when I was in the hospital, even in intensive care.  It was a way for me to be "normal".  On the internet no one knew that I was sick.  I could flirt and be strong and normal.  None of them knew what I was going through.  I could socialize and have fun without leaving my bed.   The more I chatted, the more I became known as Amber.  People would call on the phone and ask for Amber.

After months on end in the hospital, you have time to really think about your life.  I realised mine would never be the same again.  I wouldnt be able to ever be the Michelle I was again.  Driven, focused, uptight and perfectionist.  To be honest, I didn't allow myself to have much fun.  I wasn't much fun.  I was too busy running around trying to create the illusion of perfection and being a royal pain in everyone's arse.  I was going to have to learn to be more relaxed, less uptight and easy going.  I would no longer be able to hold an executive job, or work the crazy hours that I was used to. 

After a while of re-evaluating my priorities and who I wanted to be, I found that I actually was Amber.  I no longer identified myself as the Michelle I once was.  Half of my friends were calling me amber and that is how they knew me.   My other friends from my life accepted this as they could see the serious changes to my life and my spirit and they have embraced the "new" me.  I have even had several who have said that they prefer this new me for a variety of reasons.  Others remain steadfast in their need to call me Michelle. 

My younger brother and sister in law always refer to me as Amber.  My older brother and cousin cant go there.  To them, Ill always be Michelle (Although I have to say that my cousin is now trying to call me Amber Michelle as she is starting to love that name).  Thats fine with me.  It doesnt bother me in any way.  I guess the thing is, I feel like Michelle died twelve years ago when I got sick, and Amber was born.  I find it hard to relate to the person I once was.  Its all like it happened to someone else. 

Had I thought I was actually going to change my name, I wouldn't have chosen the name Amber for myself at all.  It sounds like an empty headed Barbie type girl if you ask me.  I would have chosen something far more sophisticated like Amanda or Jacqueline or Sophia.  Feminine, powerful, and definitely not airhead sounding.

I look at my life now in the present, Amber fits me somehow as the gentle softer side of me. And after all, all I have is now.  And in this present I am Amber.

    Have you ever gone to a notary to have an important document signed.  A notary is a person that is empowered to authorize contracts.  The notary watches as you sign your name on a piece of paper, and verifies that you are who you say you are.  Once you have completed signing your name, the notary then places the seal on your document, which then certifies its' validity.  And to make sure that auditors can trace the time and date of when this took place, you are then asked to sign a log, so that if there is a discrepancy, the auditors can find when and if the seal is valid.  

     Just as a notary can place a seal on a piece of paper authorizing authority, "God places a seal on us when we receive Christ.  And that seal is a person--the Holy Spirit.  By the Spirit's presence God gives us security and establishes His ownership over us.

     The Spirit is also God's pledge.  He not only seals the arrangement, but He represents God's commitment to see us through.  And fellowship with the Spirit is a sample of what we can expect when we come into our inheritance in Heaven. 

     Finally, the Spirit witnesses to us, by the Scriptures and within our hearts, that Christ died for us, and by faith in Him we have become God's children.

     What a wonderful thing to know the Holy Spirit has been given to us a seal--a pledge--and a witness!  May each of these give us new assurance of God's unchanging love for us, and give us confidence as we seek to live for Him." (Billy Graham)

Quote of the day:  J. B. Phillips

"Every time we say, "I believe in the Holy Spirit," we mean that we believe that there is a living God able and willing to enter human personality and change it."

Bible verse of the day:  Ephesians 1:13

"In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise,"

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank You for all the Grace that You given to me and that You continue to give.  Thank You for sealing me with the Holy Spirit of promise, making me a child of You.  As I head into my day, I pray for wisdom and revelation of You and to do the work that You are calling me to do.  I pray that You use my body as vessel to witness to those around me and to share the Truth with those in need.  I pray that You give me the exact words, at the exact moment, to speak into the life of someone, the Truth, and then hand the reigns over to You, so that You can place Your Seal on them as You did for me.  I thank You for this day!

In Jesus Name I pray,

Amen