Teddy Talk: Creating, Collecting, Connecting

Okay...  This one is PG-13.  A little racy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oYPSpXTL6po

See...  Bears and bunnies do get along sometimes!
   

Either a Facebook group or a Yahoo group.

Regardless of the locale, a "Lost Bears" group would be a good thing to have on the net, in general.
There really aren't very many websites where people can post "Missing Bear" notices.

We have three Bears in our Den who are orphaned.
One was found in Steadman's Corner's, N.Y.  His name is "Steadman."  If his owner ever comes back, we would like to find his original name.  But it's been more than 15 years since Melanie picked him up off the side of the road.
The second was found on the side of the road, a few miles from here.  Across the street from an elementary school.  We postered the area but no luck.
The third actually found his way to our doorstep!  He must have known this house would be safe refuge!  :D

As much as we love having them with us, it would be nice if we could reunite these Bears with their first humans.

It would be great if there was some kind of website to help.

Bears share.  Bunnies don't.

"The more the merrier!", we always say.
A lot of us Bears have pets.  Mostly ducks.  Some have sheep.  One of us has a pet hedgehog.

Yes, certainly, Easter is a bunny holiday...  After all, the Easter BUNNY is the mascott.  We think the Easter Bunny is great!  He brings chocolate.  Bears LOVE chocolate!

Weather Bears "rule", as you say, or not, we are pluralists.  Rabbits are monists.
Go to any Bear shop.  You'll find bunnies there.  We allow others to come and play any time they want.  We share our most favorite holiday.  Rabbits don't return the favor unless we put up a stink.

How about a YouTube video?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdnPbtFF58A

Anybody who wants to put that wanted poster on their site has my permission to do so.   :thumbsup:

Lets out out an APB...   "All Paws Bulliten!"   

I'm probably a bit guilty of skimming too...  ;)

A coyote attacking a small dog at night is more plausible.  I can see that happening.

You'd be surprised what people can do when they are called upon.

I used to live in Boston.  I worked at FAO Schwarz on the corner of Boylston St.
One day I was working at the register with my head down and my eyes on my work when the security guard came running past, hollered, "Randy!  Come on!"  Next thing I know, me and him are chasing this thief down the street.  He had a Nintendo game under his arm. 

I'm 6 feet tall and I weigh 280 lbs.  I caught up to the crook in about a half minute.  I don't know how I did it but I had the guy on the ground about 15 seconds after that.  In times like that, you just "find" strength to do things you wouldn't normally do.

That's kind of when I started learning about myself.  Since then, I have lived by the code of the bears:  "Leave me alone and I'll leave you alone.  Mess with me and you'll regret it."

Federal Bear Investigators?

:dance:  :crackup:     

I was generalizing.  I meant more like "y'all" instead of "you-personally"
It's my fault for not being clear about that.  I often do that...  sorry.

I am really happy to hear that you know about self defense.  You are absolutely right.  You don't need to use firearms for self defense.  In about 99.9% of cases you don't.  But I look at guns like a mechanic looks at tools.

A car mechanic would never think about going to work without a socket wrench in his tool box.  Maybe he'll never need that 4.5mm metric socket but, if he does, it could make the difference between getting the job done right and not doing it at all.    Firearms are just another tool to have in your "self defense tool box."

I really applaud you for your actions when that guy was tailing you.  I wish more people thought like you do.  Our crime problems would be a fraction of what they are if more people were aware of their surroundings.

I am incredulous when I hear that people have lost pets of the end of leashes due to hawk attacks!  How could anybody just stand there and let that happen?  Do you mean that the bird attacked and, even though it was chased off, the dog was too injured to survive?  That's the only thing I can think of!  If I ever saw that happen, you can bet I'd do my darnedest to wring that d@mned bird's neck!

You know, with the pigeons, officials in Paris, France have come upon a good solution.  They actually build pigeon coops on tops of buildings for them to nest in.  The idea is that they draw the birds to all nest in one area.  Then they can go into the nest boxes on a regular basis and take the eggs before they hatch.  They actually control the numbers of pigeons that way.
There is an "optimum" number of birds to be living in a certain area.   (Pigeons are scavengers.  They clean up garbage.)  When they get above that optimum number, the officials start taking more eggs from the nests until the population stabilizes.

I'd like to see this kind of control used in the US to keep urban wildlife in check.  We wouldn't have this problem in the first place.

Here!  La La is now officially a wanted mouse! 

Some people must be touched in the head!   

Think about this for a minute...  What does a Teddy Bear symbolize?

Friendship.  Love.  Caring.  Honesty.

What does that say about somebody who would steal a Teddy Bear? (or a Bear's mouse?)

They probably aren't very loving and caring.  They certainly aren't honest.  A Teddy Bear probably wouldn't want to be friends with them!   

Rest assured!  The 1,000 Bears in this hug are now turning on their Bear Vibes to putt a whammy on whoever took La-La!

I hope it was a young kid or somebody retarded who didn't know better than to steal.
Yeah, I know...  Small consolation. 

Bobbie,

If you are not comfortable with guns you could probably do just as well with an industrial sized can of pepper spray.

Not like those things that people carry on their key chains to deter muggers.  I mean the industrial sized ones that cops carry.  Some of them are the size of a can of hair spray.  They look like miniature fire extinguishers.  If you get the high potency stuff (20% capsicum) you should be able to repel any creature shy of a grizzly.

Go to a gun shop and tell them what you want and why.  Be straight up and honest.  Just tell the guy that you are afraid of coyotes and you want something to keep on hand in case you need it.  Any reputable gun dealer will be glad to help you and he won't bat an eye for asking.

While you're there, ask the guy if he teaches any urban self-defense courses.  Good gun shop owners will either teach the courses themselves or they should be able to tell you where to go to get in on one.  You should be able to find courses in both firearms and non-firearms defense.

Hawks are cool!  :cool:
They sit on top of the light towers at the end of the runway and just hang out.

Hawks and owls are two of the primary predators for rats, mice and other small rodents.  It is good to have one or two of them in your neighborhood.  If they are well fed you should not have any problem with them bothering your pets.  Even when hungry, it would be rare for a hawk to try to take anything bigger than a rabbit.  Your dogs and cats should be safe from your average red tailed hawk or Cooper's hawk.  (The common hawks in your area.)

You might see the occasional falcon or eagle but they are rare.  I wouldn't even worry about them.

You are right to feel concerned about hawk and coyotes but be careful to keep yourself in the "be prepared" category rather than in the "scaredy cat" category.  Hawks and coyotes are all God's creatures.  They are here for a reason. 

You are smart to be the one thinking about what you should do BEFORE something happens.   
If you stay prepared and just keep your head about you, there should not be anything to worry about.

See...  I'm more comfortable around black bears than coyotes. 
(Don't know much first-hand about grizzly bears.  Never met one.  I have met black bears more than once.)

For the most part, black bears live by the implicit agreement, "You stay over there and mind your own business and I'll stay over here and mind my own business."  If you come upon one in the woods you can virtually always walk a wide circle around him and he'll leave you alone.  The exception being when a mother is protecting her cubs.

Stories of black bears attacking people are rare, especially when the people were not molesting the bears or their cubs.
The brain tumor explains things.

If you are in the woods in an area you know well, you should not have a thing to worry about with bears.  Carrying a bell or a rattle is certainly an okay idea but not 100% needed.  When you are in your own neck of the woods, you should know about where the bears are and they should know where you are.  Through the above-mentioned mutual arrangement, you should never have a problem.

Now, I have also met coyotes in about a half dozen locations.  Most of them were at my current home.  That is a suburban area.  As I said, it's near an airport where passenger jets land.

The two times I met a coyote while walking in the woods, we both stopped, he looked at me and I looked at him.  After about a minute, he high tailed it into the brush and that's the last I saw of him.  I wasn't afraid of him.  Matter of fact, I thought it was cool.  Unless they are in packs, you probably have nothing to fear from a coyote.

Now the times I saw them in the suburbs it was a different story.  One time I saw one while driving in the car.  He came right up to the car!  No fear at all!  And I have had them come right into my yard as if there was not a care in the world.  I stood there in the window and watched.  He knew I was there.  He never even flinched.

As I said, I don't mind having coyotes around, even in the suburbs.  They keep the rats, the mice and the rabbits in check.  Keeping the rodents in check keeps down the possibility of spreading disease.  Of course, I don't want them getting into my house, either.  It is cool to sit up late on a warm night and hear them yipping and howling in the distance.

But it does worry me when coyotes get too acclimated to being around humans.  Once they lose their fear of people, that's when they become dangerous.  If a lone coyote attacked an adult, you could probably fend it off.  Just kick him in the gonads and keep hitting until he gets the idea.  However, a coyote that's dumb enough to attack a human probably rabies or some other nasty disease.  These are the things that bother me about coyotes the most.

It's something I virtually never worry about with bears.

Bruins are solitary.  Coyotes are pack hunters.

I've got no problem with them living in the area.  In fact, as long as they keep the rodent populations at bay (in cooperation with the hawks and the owls) I am quite happy to have them around.

One-on-one, a coyote is no match for a human.  But, if a dozen or more of them get together, they can take down deer.  Although it is rare, there are scattered reports of coyotes attacking people.

I do enjoy watching coyotes and listening to them... from afar.

Coyotes are part of nature.  Try to live harmoniously but have no illusions.

I live within 100 yards of an airport.  If I touched off a round in this neighborhood you can bet there would be two men wearing dark suits knocking at my door in a matter of minutes!  It is not in my nature to shoot indiscriminately.  Neither is it my nature to break the law without darned good reason.

But, if I had to make that decision, it wouldn't be in favor of the coyote.

"eteddys" is right.  The destruction of natural habitat is what causes coyotes and humans to be forced into close proximity.  They only come around your house because they are looking for food.  If you don't make it easy for them to find food they won't come around your house.  Coyotes are opportunists.  They'll go where the pickin's are better.

Interesting story...
I have seen coyotes hunt by the runway lights.  (The lights are automatic.  They only turn on when a plane comes in for landing.)
They'll lay in wait by the ends of the airfield and wait till the runway lights go out.  When it's dark, the rabbits will come out to feed.  They think they are safe in the dark. 

But when an airplane comes in for a landing, the lights go on again.  That's when the coyotes pounce!

I've seen them do that a couple of times.

If my wife knew there were coyotes in our yard she'd probably pee her pants. 
But, nine times out of ten, they'll leave you alone if you leave them alone.

The reply for a situation like that is simple:

"People only value those things which come at a cost."

If you give something to somebody for free, they won't value it.  Before long it will be piled up in a corner with all their other useless possessions.

But, if they have to pay for it, that very same object that was once given to them for free suddenly becomes valuable.

If somebody asks you for freebies and they aren't a family member or close friend simply tell them that.
(If they were a friend or family member they wouldn't have to ask.  Would they?  )

Again, there's nothing wrong with bargaining...  nothing wrong with asking for a discount.  No harm at all.
Neither is there harm in saying, "No." if you don't want to give the discount.

I cringe to say this but, here goes...

Keep a rifle handy.
Learn how to use it properly.

I don't advocate going around shooting things indiscriminately but when it comes down to making a decision between the life of a member of my family or a coyote, the coyote is going to lose.

If they are jumping fences and coming into peoples' yards and they aren't afraid of humans, somebody has probably been feeding them.

If this keeps up, it's only a matter of time before somebody gets hurt by one of those things.

I suggest you get ready now and pray to God you never have to take action.   :pray:

Better safe than sorry...

Now, to the reason they are coming around...

They come around because there is a ready food source.
Remove the food source and they won't come around.

First and foremost...  DO NOT FEED THEM!!  I repeat!  DO NOT FEED THEM!! 

Coyotes are opportunists.  They go where the food is.  Take away the food.  The coyotes go elsewhere.

Keep your garbage in until the garbage man comes.
Don't leave cat food out on the back porch for your cats.
And, as you have no doubt figured out, coyotes consider your pets to be food...  Keep them in at night.

I'm pretty sure you are doing most of these things.  It's likely to be some of your neighbors that are unwittingly (or purposely) leaving food out for them.

I know that some people feel for the coyotes that can't find food in the winter like this.  But it has to be done.  If people don't take heed now, the only other way to control the problem will be trapping and culling.

And, even I don't want that to happen. 

Glad to hear you're getting a new computer!  :)
It's even better to hear you're getting all the discounts!  :cool:

A couple of hints:

1)  Buy as much as you can afford right now. 
I know it's tempting to say that you'll buy a cheaper model right now and upgrade later but this is often a false economy.  Most people keep the same computer for several years.  Buying the best you can afford right off the bat helps your computer last longer.  My previous computer lasted 10 years.  I expect the one I just bought to last at least that long.

2)  Don't buy "extras" from the manufacturer.
Buy the base model with the processor speed you want and stick with it.  Don't buy RAM or bigger hard drives from the manufacturer.

For my computer, Apple was selling the upgraded hard drive (from 250 GB to 500 GB) for nearly $200.  I looked on a third party website and found a 1,000 GB drive (Yes!  I said TERABYTE!) for $120.  That's twice the storage for half the price!  Same thing goes on RAM.  I was able to buy 6 GB of ram for cheaper than Apple sells 2GB modules.

When you are buying a notebook you trade ease of service and upgradability for size and convenience.  You probably won't be able to upgrade the HD yourself unless you know somebody.  However you can probably install RAM yourself.  It only takes a couple-few minutes and a small screwdriver.

In your case, I would probably buy the fastest CPU I can afford.  Just keep whatever hard drive comes with it but only buy the base amount of RAM.  Go to "New World Computing" ( www.macsales.com ) and order your RAM from there. 

If you order iWork at the time you buy the computer they might even pre-install it for you.  That way, all you have to do when you get your computer is turn it on and start working.

You're right to shop around before you buy.

There are three "brick & mortar" Apple Stores in Australia:
http://www.apple.com/au/retail/storelist/

I'm betting the nearest one to you is more than 500 km away.  Am I right?
It would be really good if you could make the trek.... if you can.
It really does help to be able to get your hands on a Mac and fiddle with it before you decide to buy.

(And, yes!  The people at the Apple Store will let you fiddle with the computers!  )

iWork is very compatible with other file formats.

You have "Pages" which is your word processor.  You have "Numbers" which is your spreadsheet program.  And there is a presentation program called "Keynote" which does all the thingsPowerpoint can.

iWork can read just about all of the usual file formats out there that you can throw at it.  It will read M$ Word and it can save in M$ Word format too.  Same goes for Numbers and Keynote.  They can read and save into their counterpart formats in M$ Office.

iWork won't read some of the funky table formatting and macros that M$ Office uses but 90% of the people who use Office don't use those features.  Most of the time there is some workaround you can use to solve those cases.

iWork will cost you approx. $80.00 US  ($70.00 if you can get the education discount.)
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MB942?mco=MzA3MDc5NA

M$ Office Mac will cost you approx. $150.00 US (I do not know if they have educataion discounts.)
http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/O … p-now.mspx

So, when it comes down to the bottom line, ask yourself, "Can I live with 90% compatibility for half the price?"

I vote YES!

That means that Bears and Rabbits don't always get along...  ;)

This is a message from Randy and Melanie's Bears...
Because of the approaching Easter holiday, we'd like to make it clear how we feel about certain sleights we Bears must endure, at the hands of rabbits, each year.

Let's start from the beginning.
What's the most important Teddy Bear holiday of the year?  Valentine's day!  Right?
Bears are all about love and friendship.     That's what Valentine's day is supposed to be about. 
Let us tell you!  We Bears are straightening our bowties and fluffing our fur in preparation for the holiday!  We want to give big Bear hugs to all our humans.  Valentine's day is the perfect day for that!

Then come the rabbits...
Go to the stores.  Look at the Bear and doll shows.  Even look on this website.  You'll see plenty of rabbits.

Y'Know what?  We LIKE to share with the rabbits.  Bears are all about sharing too.
We are happy to share our big holiday with rabbits.  We think, "The more the merrier!"

But guess what?

Go look on the shelves of your favorite store on Easter!  You'll hardly find a single Bear!
That makes us sad  and a little bit mad  because we share our favorite holiday with them but they don't return the favor!

You can find plenty of rabbits on Valentine's day but, do you know how hard it is to find even ONE "Easter Bear?!"

It doesn't have to be a Bear wearing bunny ears.   (Yes, we think it's funny but the joke only carries us so far.)
How about a Bear with a flower print dress and a nice basket of jelly beans?  What about a Bear with a baby chick for a friend?  We bet there are hundreds of "Easter Bear" ideas out there if only you humans would step up and give us a hand!

We Bears would never really hurt a bunny but, sometimes, we think about pulling on a rabbit's tail when he's not looking, just to get back at them a little.

So, how about it, Bear makers?

Are you making any "Easter Bears" this year?

Two things:

1)  There's no harm in a buyer asking for a discount.  The seller doesn't have to give discounts if she doesn't want to.
2)  Don't forget that people from other countries often bargain by nature.  It's part of their culture.

Dreli-Bears' story of the woman from Italy reminds me of the summer I spent in Tuscany.  You just don't go to the market and expect NOT to bargain.  It's the way they do business.
I don't think the woman was trying to cheat you or put you down.  It's just her "way."

If you have a customer who has bought a lot of Bears or who is about to buy several, there is no harm in letting them bargain a little.
Certainly DO NOT sell at a loss!  You absolutely deserve to get a fair price.  But there's no harm in "wheeling and dealing" a little bit, either.

I like Allison's idea of issuing percent-off coupons to special customers.   

Nobody says you should give discounts if you don't want to but, like I said, there's no harm in asking. 

There has yet to be a successful virus attack on a Macintosh computer.

This is not to say there will never be one but virus hackers typically go for targets where they can spread among a large population quickly.  Therfore, Macs are not targeted.  Being in the minority of computer users has its advantages.   :P

Apple Computer also has vested interest in keeping viruses out.  They are very aggressive at patching security holes BEFORE viruses can penetrate them.  As a matter of fact, there is a story going around that tells of a hacker who was paid $10,000 by Jobs not to release information on how to write a virus for Macs until Apple could patch their operating system.

That having been said:  There may be such things as "trojans" for Macs.
"Trojan" comes from the old story of the "Trojan Horse."
A trojan is a program which pretends to be something else but is really malicious software in disguise.  It could be a game or some other kind of program that you might want to have on your computer.  But when you run it, the trojan goes to work stealing your passwords and doing other damage to your computer, all the while you think you're playing a game.

THERE IS NO DEFENSE FOR A TROJAN BUT COMMON SENSE!

It doesn't matter if you use a Mac, a PC or Linux.  A program that you willingly run can do anything it wants to your computer whether you like it or not!  You need to know what programs you are running, where they came from and how you got them onto your computer.

NEVER use programs downloaded from the internet that you do not know the source.
For example, if you want to download the Firefox browser, get it from mozilla.com, NOT from some "Joe Blow" website you've never heard of.  Don't download plugins, toolbars and other add-ons to your programs unless you know and trust the source.  Again, Microsoft.com...  Mozilla.com...  Apple.com are good.  Any place else is bad!

And, never, NEVER open programs that somebody e-mails you!  You're only LOOKING for trouble when you do that!

Like I said, it's all common sense.

The good news is that, with a little common sense and a Mac on your desktop you should not have to worry about viruses on your computer for a good long time!  :)

Second question... About building websites:

Check out iWeb!

It is a template-based web design program that works very much like a word processor or page layout program only it automatically uploads your pages to a web server at the click of a button.  It doesn't build super-duper fancy websites but it can make blog pages and picture sharing pages with only a few clicks of the mouse.

Click here for more information. ===>  http://www.apple.com/ilife/iweb/

Those are some great old machines!

They were made back when things were built to last!  No plastic gears inside those!
Those things will sew just about anything and if taken care of will sew rings around most modern machines for years to come!

Now, this is a little bit off the path of this topic but if you want the ultimate machine for sewing fur you should look into a Bonis fur machine.

http://www.bonisparts.com/index.htm

These are the machines that professional furriers use to make fur coats.
They look like iron beasts but they will sew perfect seams in fur every time.  Different models can have little attachments like a little metal blade that push the fur out of the seam so you don't get "bunched up" stiches.  Other ones have little air jets to blow the fur back so you can always see where you are sewing.

Most of these machines are designed for sewing real fur but they do make models specifically designed for sewing faux fur.
http://www.bonisparts.com/bt-11.html

They even make ones that are designed for closing stuffed toys.
http://www.bonisparts.com/tc-57.html

If you want to see a video of one in action, check out this link to YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nvy3w-AP00

Here's a very detailed description of how these machines work...  if you speak German. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbkhBpRRLhk&NR=1

Now, these are the kinds of machines that are used in factories.  They are probably too expensive for somebody who sews at home.
But, if you study sewing machines seriously, you should at least know about the Bonis machine.
I bet some of you already know about this kind of industrial machine! 

The reason why cats and dogs get infested is because their homes are infested with fleas.  If you keep your house clean you should not have problems with fleas.

The fleas get carried into the house, either on the dog/cat or by people (on clothing, etc. as others have said) and they take up residence in the carpeting and upholstery throughout the house.  Then the fleas breed on the animal, lay eggs and the hatchlings fall off into the carpeting.  When they mature, they jump back onto the animal and the process starts all over again.

Vacuum the rugs and upholstery regularly... religiously during flea season in the summer months.
Use an anti-flea carpet shampoo on occasion.
Use an anti-flea shampoo on your dogs and cats but DO NOT use shampoos that contain aromatic oils like eucalyptus or tea tree oils.  Some cats and dogs are allergic to it and it will make them very sick!
Limit your animal's exposure to the outdoors during the height of flea season or, better still, keep your cat indoors all the time.
One area that people overlook is the pet's bedding.  Fido's bed can be infested with fleas, making a perfect breeding ground!

If you have to shampoo the pet it is important to do it correctly:
1)  Wet him with warm water and apply shampoo in a ring around his neck first.  Fleas will try to avoid the insecticide and will flock to the animal's ear canals.  Your pet could end up with infested ears and the shampooing will have done no good.

2)  Next, apply shampoo to the animal's bum.  Fleas can flock to the animal's anus and genital areas, only to reinfest later on.a

3)  Shampoo the head.  Pay attention not to get any soap into his eyes and mouth.

4)  Shampoo the rest of the body.  If you have done it right, the fleas will have no place to hide and will be forced to flee or be killed by the insecticide.  You should see the fleas jumping off the animal, and floating to their death in the water below.

5)  Do whatever else the label of the shampoo says.  Some say to let the shampoo soak in for a certain number of minutes.  Others might say to wash off immediately but to reapply a second time.

6)  Dry your pet well!  A wet dog or cat can catch cold and will then be an even easier target for illness and/or reinfestation later on.

Personally, I am not a fan of those anti-flea treatments you get from the vet.  I just don't believe in using drugs on animals or people when they aren't sick.  I have heard horror stories about dogs and cats getting sick and dying from improper use of over-the-counter flea treatments.  I believe that preventative measures are best and that, if you keep your house clean, you shouldn't have flea problems in the first place.

I'm not trying to stop people from using drugs to ward off fleas.  If you think that is a good remedy, go ahead and do it.  But go to your vet and ask him/her what to use.  Don't buy that crap you find in the pet stores unless your vet says it's okay.  Many O.T.C. preparations don't work very well.  Others can be harmful. 

Like I said above, many people use eucalyptus because they think "natural" remedies are better but that's not always true.  Eucalyptus can be toxic to some cats!

When I was a kid, my Dad bred hunting dogs.  We used to feed them raw garlic in the summer time to ward off the fleas.  It seemed to do the trick but we also used to be pretty religious about keeping the fleas away in the first place.

Guess who's job it was to give all these dogs their flea baths? 

Yeah...  We got a little bit of snow...

http://homepage.mac.com/randystankey/snow09/index.html