I had no idea about this. Apparently, Xylitol (an artificial sweetener used in sugarless gum & candy, among other things) is EXTREMELY poisonous to dogs. Just a couple sticks of sugarless gum can make a dog really really sick (or actually kill a small dog) and a pack of sugarless gum is enough to kill a large dog ( Read more... )

Yesterday it was 65 degrees. When I left work today, the wind chill was 18 ( Read more... )

Oh man. At lunchtime I happened to reach into my bag and my little ID/credit card wallet (it's just a bitty little thing that holds my driver's license, credit card, university ID, etc.) wasn't there in the little pocket I usually stash it in ( Read more... )

So last night I fell asleep on the couch, which I've been doing a lot lately; I woke up about 3 am and took a shower and was just about to fall into bed. Then all of a sudden I heard someone outside talking on a loudspeaker of some sort. First I thought it was annoying students partying or something, then I heard the tone of voice and realized it ( Read more... )

A magnitude 6.6 earthquake hit the west coast of the Big Island today -- power's out, phone service is spotty, and the footage they are showing on CNN is pretty scary looking. It knocked out power as far away as Honolulu, eek! I am, as most of you probably know, inordinately fond of Maui (even though I've only been there twice so far) -- and ( Read more... )