Why The Black Market Breeders Bill is SO important!

This, of course, is Baxter, our puppy mill rescue. You can read more about his story here.

The Oklahoma Senate is debating SB 1712, the Commercial Pet Breeders bill, aka the "Black Market Breeders Bill" tomorrow afternoon. This bill treats pet breeders with 11 or more intact females as a regulated business, like locksmiths, pawn shop owners, and dental hygenists. It creates a board to set standards for care. It gives the state and local officials a significant tool in finding and shutting down puppy mills. It does not provide a tremendous burden on responsible breeders who are already taking care of their legal and moral obligations. It does not affect farmers or hunters who breed working dogs. It is a self funded measure, so it doesn't affect the states already stretched budget. It is not a perfect bill, but it is the best chance we have to make any progress in reducing the number of puppy mills in this state (Oklahoma is currently #2 in the country, behind Missouri, in puppy mills).

Our Governor here is term limited. This is important, because the most likely candidate to win that office is our current Lt. Governor, Jari Askins. Ms. Askins told NABRA (the National American Breeding Rights Association, aka the folks that protect puppy mills) that if elected Governor, she would "never sign an 'animal rights bill'".

In other words, if we don't get this done this year, we may not see any movement on this issue for many, many years.

So, if you are reading this and you live in Oklahoma, or you are reading this and you have any influence over anyone in Oklahoma, then please, please, do not let your (or your loved one's) senator go into that chamber tomorrow afternoon (session starts at 1:30) thinking that his or her constituents don't support SB 1712.

Call them, write them, fax them, visit them. IT IS THAT IMPORTANT .

The site to locate your state senator is here.

2010 Best Picture Showcase -- day 1

Last year, Caryn and I, along with several of our very good friends back in the Bay Area attended AMC's Best Picture Showcase. Back then, it was 5 movies in one day. Now, of course, the Academy has decided to include 10 nominees for best picture, and AMC was forced to spread it out over 2 consecutive Saturdays. We went today (in Oklahoma City) and saw the movies on the card (in that order), and next Saturday, we'll be travelling to the DFW area to see the remaining 5 ("An Education", "Hurt Locker", "Up in the Air", "The Blind Side", and "Inglorious Bastards".

We had seen Avatar and UP, but the other 3 were new to us. I enjoyed Avatar the best, but all 5 were quite excellent. I'd say the biggest surprise was "A Serious Man", a movie I knew absolutely nothing about. It's one of those movies that leaves you asking questions long after the movie is over.

The overall experience was a bit of a disappointment over last year. No outside food or drink (last year, people brought coolers), the movies were kinda squashed together (15 minutes apart, except for the dinner time break, which was an hour -- last year we got no less than 30 minutes between movies, and a 90 minute lunch break), and, lastly, they kept cutting the credits off COLD (when I say COLD, I mean 15 seconds into the credits, the lights come up). Also, the sound was really messed up for the last 20 minutes of District 9.

I'm not saying it was horrible, nor am I saying we won't do it again next year, but I do hope the experience next week in Grapevine is better.

3 years...

OK, Really, the 3 year anniversary of this blog was January 28th, but I didn't want to post until I got my new MacBook, which arrived today.

Here are the links to my very first post and my 2-year post (I really didn't celebrate the 1 year moment).

Twitter Sign

There are a series of signs in OKC (and probably a number of other cities across the country) that pull selected tweets of those who follow (and then are followed by) @lamarokc.

It only shows about once every 10 images, so I see it all the time, but this is the first time I've had the camera close by to snap a picture of it.

ABC Wednesdays -- F is for Flag Flying over Fire station

Google maps had told me this was Fire Station #5, not, as the sign says, Fire Station #9. Had it been numbered such, the title would have been "Flag Flying over Fire station Five", but, alas...

Quick shout out to all the firefighters out there -- lots of love and respect for you guys! Stay safe and know that you are SERIOUSLY appreciated out here.

To view other contributions to the ABC Wednesdays project, look here

Caught him checking out the (empty) birdhouse...

Someone does not watch the local weather

Clearly, the robins did not get the memo that the groundhog sent out back on the 2nd. It was pretty darn cold today (with a chance of light snow tonight, Thursday night, and Saturday night), but this little guy and about 20 of his closest friends wanted us to know that spring is just around the corner.

Made me think of the big harbinger of spring back in the bay area -- Trader Joe's daffodil sticks (also here)!

Jelly Beans

A lot of birds

That's a whole freakin bunch of birds.

Here's a closeup that I've lightened it up a bit.

Oklahoma State Capitol Building

We were one of the last states with a dome (just installed in 2002), and, as far as I know, we are the only state with an active, producing oil well in the visitor's parking lot.

OKC Downtown Architecture

ABC Wednesdays -- E is for Evergreens and Electric Lines

To view other contributions to the ABC Wednesdays project, look here

Buffalo sculpture

Catch up for Sunday -- Steam in Shadows

This is Sunday's catch up photo.

Kaisers

Kaiser's was THE BOMB when I was a kid.

It was Oklahoma's first ice cream parlor, opening in 1910. It moved to this location in 1918, and was open as Kaiser's until 1990. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

It was refurbished in 1996 and reopened as "The Greatful Bean Cafe" or, alternately, "Kaiser's Greatful Bean Cafe". The new owner's website is here: http://www.greatfulbean.com

I haven't been to the new place yet, but I'm planning on going soon.

Catch up for Saturday -- Clearly, I'm not in Iowa

Yeah, I know, I missed both Saturday and Sunday, but I'm going to do 2 pictures today and 2 tomorrow to catch up.

Saturday's picture references a peculiarly Oklahoman thing. Most of the gas stations here proudly point out the fact that they sell "100% real gas" without ethanol. I've even heard people talking about how their mileage has "doubled" without ethanol.

Um, 1) I doubt it. I've measured mileage fairly extensively with and without ethanol, and I find the ethanol mileage to be about the same or slightly better than the "real" gas.

2) Even 100% "real" gas is going to contain some ethanol. Cracking petroleum is a pretty complex process, and gasoline is a melange of pretty much the hydrocarbon gamut, INCLUDING ethanol.

It seems to break down to a lefty-righty thing. There is one brand of gas station that sells both kinds. The "God-fearing patriotic gas" comes in red pumps, while the "socialist pinko gas" comes in blue pumps. There is another station near work that sells both kinds. The ethanol free comes through a hose on the right side of the pump, while the E10 comes out the left side (similarly to the way some stations have diesel on one side and unleaded on the other).

By the way, E10 is about 20 cents a gallon LESS than the ethanol free stuff.

Clemmy close up

Gold Star Memorial Building

This is the centerpiece of the Oklahoma City University campus. The building is 282' (81 M) tall and is topped with a 7' tip-to-tip 5 point star. It was dedicated in 1952 (at the time, it was the 2nd tallest building in OKC).

ABC Wednesday - D is for Dirty Downtown

To view other contributions to the ABC Wednesdays project, look here

New foster dog -- Pepper

This is Pepper. He is about 2 years old, and was an owner surrender (left in the drop box at the city Animal Shelter overnight in the 18 degree weather). He is our first foster through the OK Yorkie Rescue.

Snow falling on basically the same shot as last night's

Misty evening, long exposure low light shot

I know, not my best shot.

Making Valentine's Day Cookies

We had the grandson over today, and we made Valentine's Day cookies.

Fog and light and colors and a tree

I actually kinda like this picture because of the colors, and the way that the fog stands out.

This other picture isn't mine, but I absolutely LOVE it. It was taken by a Flight Engineer on board the International Space Station. He just pointed his camera out the window and took a picture of the big orange bridge. Love that shadow!

Baxter Askew

ABC Wednesdays -- C is for Coins

To view other contributions to the ABC Wednesdays project, look here

Sunset over KFC

Didn't get out much with the camera today...

can you tell?