Another one bites the dust. 10-30-11

One does not know at first if a new fish is going to do well upon its introduction to the tank. Baby angel fish can be especially fragile at first. But both of the new baby angels seemed vigorous enough when we first put them in. We floated the plastic bag for over half an hour in order for the water temperatures to equalize. They both swam out of the bag with gusto. Sometimes, a new angel will find some thick plant cover to swim off and hide in. Neither the black one nor the gold one did so. It is always a good sign when they accept food within the next 24 hours. Both of them did this as well, although the gold one seemed to be a little pickier as to which flakes he ate. By Friday evening, the black one was eating well...rushing to the surface every time flakes were added. The gold one, however, was waiting for the flakes to float down and inspecting them carefully. He would eat a small one, then taste and spit out two or three more. This is never a good sign. By Saturday evening, the gold one was hiding under a broad plant leaf--and showing little interest in the small flakes that happened by him. On Sunday morning, he was no where to be found...until I began to clean the tank. His little corpse floated out almost immediately...belly up. With great ceremony, I have placed him in a cup of water and stored him in the back freezer, to be de-thawed and returned to Pet Smart next Thursday. His black co-hort and his other tank mates continue to thrive. RIP.

Dead Fish 10-28-11

It appears as though the mortality rate in the front aquarium has diminished somewhat. As many of you are aware, we have been trying to establish a community tank for some time after Lazerus and Psycho graduated to the back tank to be with Max and Panga. The original plan was to introduce several female guppies, which would soon result in hundreds of colorful guppies after nature took it's course. Cardinal and Neon tetras were to provide color and motion in the interim. The guppies got off to a prolific start, but we purchased two diseased females at Sea Scapes on Gulf Gate, and soon many of the adults had a slimy white fungus that resisted all of the usual treatments. After the majority of the guppies had died off, we attempted to introduce some baby angels into the tank. Out of 20 attempts, only one black and white one survived. Many were under warranty at Pet Smart, but the little blond manager of the Fish Department was developing an attitude toward Sasha and I. Simple logic would dictate that if you don't want my Samoyed drinking out of the bottom fish tanks in your department, you should leave them covered, right? Last week, we discovered that the nitrate level in the front tank was too high. The huge sword plant in the middle of the tank was harboring a great deal of "fish ca-ca" under it's roots. Over a week, we cleaned the gravel and trimmed back the plant. Now that the cause of many deaths had been found, we were determined to return some of the corpes for new fish. Sasha and I felt the need to keep a low profile at Pet Smart for a while, so this past Thursday we sent Josh with the bodies and the receipts.  To be cont....

My Arthritic Dog 10-27-11

I began my search for a laser that Sasha could call her own and use to stave off her arthritis. The label on the casing of the one the Vet used said Companion Laser Therapy. It was easy to locate the company. Unfortunately, they quoted me $18,000. It seemed a little pricey, and I was not Sasha had the ability to grasp it's operation no matter how many YouTube tutorials we watched. I would have to be the technician. In addition, neither my dog nor I currently have a Veterinary License. It was time to think outside of the box. We searched the internet together. We studied frequencies and light spectrums and pulse rates. We stumbled across a man in a foreign country who was willing to sell us a home-made but very well constructed Laser with the specifications that we required. My dog would still not be able to operate it, but we were able to accept that. She had already admitted to being hesitant to wear the protective goggles that were furnished with the device, and the last thing I needed was a blind and arthritic dog. The man in the foreign country quoted us 3 to 4 weeks delivery if he was able to get the device through U. S. Customs without incident...to be cont...

Best Massage Therapist in Sarasota 10-26-11

How many times have we heard it at Classic Personal Trainer? "Mark, you should have a massage therapist on staff, or at least one that you recommend." This suggestion is made at least a dozen times a year. We do in fact have one that we recommend. His name is Rich, and he works out at Classic on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. He's getting in shape for his wedding next April. Incidentally, although we highly recommend him, he is much too busy to accept any new clients. Have any of our clients used him in the past? Of course they have. One of our clients named Michelle is a pharmacist. She had painful migraines. No, it wasn't from my jokes. Rich claimed he could get rid of them (the migraines, not my jokes.)It turned out he was right. Michelle now claims that Rich is the best thing since sliced bread. But his accounts at Sun and Tervis Tumblers keep him working 40 plus hours a week, and when his pregnant employee left to give birth, he had to pick up another 20 hours. Thus while we recommend him highly, he has no time to see you. I've caught the poor man sleeping in his car in our parking lot prior to his workout. When Rich has some free time again, I'll let you know.

Mark and Laura B 10-22-11

Mark and Laura B are back from visiting their son Andrew in Atlanta. He is attending graduate school there for an advanced engineering degree.  I have met the young man and he seems to be unusually intelligent but I am getting sick and tired of watching all of these young people on the fast track to success while my son continues to....er....stall. I am trying to negotiate a trade with Mark and Laura. I am willing to trade my son for theirs, no questions asked. I realize the paperwork will present some challenges and it may take me a while to explain it all to Andrew, but I am ready to begin the transition as soon as I get the go ahead. They are sitting on the fence about it so far, but I will try harder to persuade them next week and explain the benefits to them, as soon as I think of some.

Short circuited and a sketchy repair quote 11-20-11

Joanie has the most immaculate, perfectly maintained white Mercedes Diesel in Florida. So why is vegetable soup such an issue for her? Because the lid wasn't on tightly enough on a carryout and it spilled all over her seats and center console! The power windows immediately stopped working as the liquid seeped into the switches. Joanie tried a new repair garage, Jay and Dean's, at my behest. They quoted $643 parts and labor. They claimed the dealer would be over $1200. She told them to order the parts. They did. But they didn't know Joanie. She called the dealer and received a quote for only $687. She is a class-act and let Jay and Dean complete the repair anyway....after the mechanic finally got back from lunch one hour past the agreed upon appointment.

People Coming Back! 10-19-11

Rob is back! Marta appears to be done traveling around the country on her jet and is back in the mornings. Les is back in the afternoons but we are excusing him to go to California for a week in November. Lloyd has been back for over a month and soon his cottage in Maine will be buried in snow. Is he going to dig wells in the Dominican Republic again this year? I shall ask him.

Warning! Sticky sand. 10-18-11

The sand at Siesta Key Beach is brilliant white and powdery fine. It has another unusual quality in that it does not burn ones feet no matter how scorching the sun is that day. This remarkable sand is just one of the reasons that Siesta Key Beach was just voted the number one beach in America. Turtle Beach is more isolated than Siesta Key. The parking is a little less chaotic. The sand is a little sticky as well. See for yourself below.

I was going to offer to brush this clingy,
irksome sand off the bottom of this young
ladys feet.