CHAOS MANOR IN PERSPECTIVE

CHAOS MANOR

COMPUTING AT CHAOS MANOR

Sable: First weeks

Jerry Pournelle

Tuesday, December 24, 2002

REPORTS

Work in Progress

Here, by popular demand, the Sable Story. I begin with previously published stuff, then a lot of new pictures.

MONDAY, October 28, 2002

Friday October 25 it rained, sort of, in Los Angeles. Saturday the 26th we were supposed to go out to Edwards AFB for the Air Show including Chuck Yeager's last supersonic flight. I like Edwards, although I haven't hung around out there since the X-15 days, so I was looking forward to going. Instead, we ended up in Fontana, driving out in Friday afternoon freeway traffic, and coming home through rain and more evening traffic. It was all worth it:

Meet Sable, the world's cutest Siberian Husky puppy. She is 7 weeks old, and has been living with her brothers and sisters, some other dogs, and a family that gets into the pen with the puppies and lets them crawl all over. She likes people. Friday was a little hectic getting her to sleep, and Roberta wasn't about to leave her alone Saturday, so we missed General Yeager.

Roberta wasn't too sure about getting another dog, then she decided it was time, and once that decision was made, it was time Right Now, which is why Wednesday through Friday were spent in phone calls and on the web, and Friday afternoon and evening in traffic. As an aside, my sincere sympathies to people who have to do that every day. I had forgotten. It's astonishing that the entire civilization doesn't collapse.

Anyway, that's why we missed the Air Show, and I didn't get much done this weekend. Now we need to send in her AKC papers, and get her acquainted with the veterinarian although at the moment she doesn't need anything, she has her shots and she's fully weaned.

Tuesday, October 29, 2002

I seem to be falling behind. Thanks to everyone who wrote about Sable. Today was our first walk:

which went amazingly well, about a mile, with some carrying. Previous dogs took a couple of days to adjust to a leash. Sable decided this was fun and after about one minute of whimpering forgot the thing was there. She follows or leads depending on what's interesting and who's ahead, and she gets picked up when there is any sign of another dog; until she has all her shots we don't want her around other dogs. But after a mile walk, she still had plenty of energy:

But that didn't last, and she's asleep in her doggy carrier bed. I won't bore you with too many baby pictures...

ELECTION DAY

Now by popular demand:

Discovering her brothers: Alex and Richard meet Sable

In a pig's ear, I will...

I don't have to be smart. I'm cute.

My first ball. This Chaos Manor place is pretty neat, if you're my size. And I'm pretty smart, even if I am cute.

I don't know about this stairs stuff. It looks awfully high... Got to the landing. Hmm. This wasn't so hard after all. Now I can go up there whenever I want to...

Wednesday, November 6, 2002

We are up early on this Wednesday next after the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November. Very early, but it's just right puppy time. Huskies don't bark -- well, they can, but usually they don't -- but they do howl, particularly if lonesome, and while we can cage her where we can't hear her, there's no such place where she won't wake the neighbors. And Sable is very well designed: she's as hard to ignore as a human baby, and after all, all she wants is to be with people. Of course at 6 AM being with people who are asleep is boring, so we need to distract ourselves by chewing, and while we're happy enough with pig ears (hard on the pig but fine for people), it means this human who takes care of me gets plenty of time to read the election news.

We won't be taking any more walks for another month or so. The vet insisted that Sable not be exposed either to other dogs or places that sick dogs may have been. There is just too much risk. Which makes nights a bit hectic here, since I can't run her around the block (which helps me get to sleep too). We make do with mad dog tears through the house and Great Hall.

She loves that...