Heh heh.....with all of the OT discussions I thought I'd throw a little humor into the mix...with emphasis on the word "little".

Tommy

Heh, yeah maybe just a tad off topic I currently have a cat, a little guy named buzz. Hes just like a dog though, greets you at the door, VERY social, plays fetch and so forth. I also used to have an awesome little boxer pup about 2 years ago, but died due to tumors. She was a great dog and I have had some other great cats and dogs along with them, i guess im pretty nuetral.

Phil

I have a several Cats and One Dog and LOVE them all!!!

Hmmmmm, I do not think this post is any different than being curious if you are a Yamaha or a Korg person. Personally I think that the cat (and I have 2 cats) are kind of undersized and cheesy feeling And that many dogs are just way to heavy to carry around to every job. Perhaps if we could have a cat-sized dog with a good rabbit feel, and of course it must have good authentic canary voicing.
Oh yeah, anyone know what a midi is?


------------------
The old Newb

Got an old, white cat - I love to hate him.
I'd prefer a dog, but once old Snowball is gone that's it for pets for a while.

A Great Piranese! Gentle giant! Also, a 5 year old Schnauser, two African Grey parrots and about 30 Koi (they actually come up to the edge and eat out of your hand)! Most are 18" and larger.

My office manager and I are the main supporters of a charity called B.A.W.L.
(Bluegrass Animal Welfare League). This organization provides free spay/neueurs for low income people and funds a humane education program for elementary school children and teachers.

We're dog people!

Russ

Phil, I suppose you can figure out the answer by the pics! - Scott

African Grey Parrot: 'Alexander the Grey-t!':


Miniature Schnauzer (twins?): Siegfried & Roy:

Russ

It may be perfectly legal in your country to spay/neuter low income people but is it really nice?

We found it kinder in the UK to send them to Liverpool. (Only joking you Scousers)

On a % basis my wife and I prefer animals (most kinds) in preference to people. They are always loyal and a great friend, never cheat you and always fit themselves around what you are doing.
We had a dog 17 years who after 6 years of having tablets for fits every 6 weeks finally departed, it was like losing your right arm.
We now have the pleasure of 2 cats from next door neighbour visiting every day.

Now what I am about say may seem strange, but when I am out driving and need a parking space, I ask my departed dog for help find one for me and one appears near me.....this is not the odd occasion but has happened for years.

[This message has been edited by Graham UK (edited 04-28-2005).]

I have learned that devout cat lovers have little sense of humor, evidenced by the fact that whenever I give them a copy of "100 Things To Do With A Dead Cat" they never speak to me again.

Glenn,
does such a book really exist?

By the way....
in the past I have had several cats, but never had a dog. The official excuse is that I haven't the time to walk them twice or three times a day and wouldn't know where to leave them when I am away (which happens often).
But, on a more personal level, I don't like the smell of most dogs (even if I have to admit that Sigfried and Roy were a pleasant exception).
Cats, on the other hand, smell good ... except when they begin to "spray around"...

Here ya go, Andrea:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0517545160/104-1287300-2664710?v=glance

OMG!

Love it, trevorjohn! :0

I like BullDogs.

I am a dog lover. I think my family and I have had possibly 11 or 12 dogs in my life ( I lost count). So far I have out lived them all.
Right now we are taking care of my sister-in-laws cat. It is an old, 10 lb., 3 legged cat. Our 60 lb., 5 year old, red bone hound/rotweiler mix is afraid of it. If the cat sits in the doorway, the dog will not pass, he just waits for the cat to move.
Starkeeper

Trevorjohn....hard attitude, but I've often accused some people of being America's best arguement for compulsary sterilization...

Scott, looks like we have similar tastes in pets...have had one or two of the "little grey pups" for years. Sophie is our oldest African Grey. We also have a Conyer (Frito).
Now, if I can just get you interested in
expensive colorful CARP, and dogs you can ride....

Gus, our 1-year-old Ragdoll cat snoozes on my Korg's keybed - he likes the feel of it!! BoomBoom!!

It would be nice to see more pictures of your pets posted, the way Scott did....

Yeah, that's a great idea, Dreamer! How do we get them on here? I don't see an "add picture" button anywhere.

I'm a bird person too Scott. One African Grey, One Greater Sulphur`Crested Cockatoo, and one Orange Wing Amazon. All great birds with unique personalities. The "grey" is definitely the friendliest of the three.. maybe a little atypical since greys can often be standoffish.

I also have a chow chow. Considered by some to be among the fiercest and maybe even dangerous dogs. The reason I have her? Also very atypical... she might hurt a burglar.. only if the intruder tripped over her while she's sleeping. She's almost 10 yrs old now, and I still have no idea if she even has a clue about how to growl at someone or scare them, let alone bite... instead she has a personality typically seen in a lab or golden retriever..

Cats are cool too. Just don't need more pets right about now.

AJ

Renig, to post a picture here you should first upload it on another website where you have access and also room for storage. Then you could post here a link to the original picture. This is what Scott did.

I have one big dog named "mason", who looks like "Scubby Doo" who is part Rodesian Ridgeback and Shepherd and two cats named "smudge" and "annie". Smudge is a longhaired grey cat who is scared to death of my dog and annie was a stray we found and she torments the dog.
George Kaye
Kaye's Music Scene
Reseda, California

Cap Russ: cool to discover we both have the same great taste in pets. Bluezplayer, with your impressive flock, you definitely ARE one bird devotee. I used to have a Blue & Gold Macaw & Lesser Sulfer Crested Cockatoo as well, but the jeoulousy that developed between my Grey (which I purchased first) and the others resulted in having to find the Macaw & Cockatoo a new home, which luckily is an owner who lives in Colorado on a 10 acre ranch. My birds were all hand-fed from babies so I admit it was difficult to let the Macaw & Cockatoo go. Captain Russ, Bluezplayer, and other pet owners here, if you send pics of your pets to me, I'll gladly upload them to my site & post them here if you'd like. - Scott

Hi,
basically a dog person. Lost my 18year old cat & 12 year old female Maltese dog a couple of years ago, still have my 16 year old male Maltese but unfortunately he's got a bad heart & going downhill rapidly which is very distressing.

Joy in my life at the moment is a little hand reared parrot "Quarrian/Cockateil", real little character, who thinks he's human.
Chatters away all day ( he's very musical too, he can whistle in tune, I can't)). Loves to perch on me ( or anyone else who visits). On the odd occasion when he jumps to the floor, he usually makes a beeline for the poor old sleeping dog. He loves tugging at his fur. Most patient dog I've ever seen in my life.
Life just wouldn't be the same without a furry or feathered friend.
best wishes
Rikki

[This message has been edited by rikkisbears (edited 05-03-2005).]

We've got 4 cat's. A tabby named Lucy, 2 Persians named Boo-Boo and Fuzzy and a tabby siamese mix named Squeeker. We just got a pure breed chihuahua. Haven't thought of a name yet. (Don't tell the landlord)haha.

After the initial cat's shock of a new "creature" in the house and a little pecking order established, like a couple of bat's on the head of the puppy, it turn's out that Lucy and Fuzzy have adopted the puppy. Lucy never had kittens so I think its her parenting instinct coming out. Fuzzy, the only male in the house seems to like the puppy too, because the puppy accepts him, unlike the 3 female cat's who keep batting him away for some reason.haha

I prefer retrievers the best. My family used to raise Chesapeake Bay Retrievers and I grew up with some of them and a great Golden Retriever named "Bloopert". What a great dog that was!!

The Chesapeake Bay that we had when I was a baby, who's name was Major, used to protect me like I was her own cub, and used to get in between me and my mom and would growl when she was trying to tie my shoes. Funny how this OT thread brought back some good old memories for me. Loved those darn dog's.

[This message has been edited by Scott Langholff (edited 04-28-2005).]

Scott,

My grey isn't overly fond of my other 2 either.. but the amazon and cockatoo are virtually inseperable. I've never seen two birds of different species that are so close to one another. I'll take you up on the pic thing.. thank.. Will send 'em later today.

AJ

Hi fellow Synthzonians...

I've not posted for quite a few weeks. I just didn't have the time because of a few big projects at work. But I have been reading your posts whenever I had the time. Things are more on smooth waters now so I hope to participate again on this great forum.

Now off-topic posts suddenly re-appear in the General Arranger forum, presumably as a reaction of some members to the discussions of what should and what should not be "allowed" to be posted, I realise that I really missed these more personal and often OT postings.

I think it is postings like these that are a big part of the charm of this place. Since The Bar is created and a lot of members suddenly became very alert for any off-topic postings or remarks, this place is not as much fun anymore. Please let's not forget the "social aspect" of interacting with each other and make it one forum again without frenetically (is that the proper word?) trying to seperate things.

Oh well, and I am a cat-person! :-)

------------------
Tom NL

[This message has been edited by Tom NL (edited 04-29-2005).]

I'm a dog person, but I love cats too.

We have 5 dogs, 4 Shetland Sheepdogs (shelties), and one Collie.

Pics:


This is our oldest dog, Maroussia, an 8-year old Collie.
Roussia loves fetching tennisballs, but usually she's kinda stoned. (ecxept when we are playing fetch).


This is Kelly, a 7 year old Shelie (Shetland Sheepdog), Kelly is usually very distant, she doesnt like to come near to unkown people, and doesnt want alot of attention.


This is Bonita, she's 3 years old, a daughter of Kelly, Bonita loves to be petted, but doent like to sit on your lap, Bonita also loves to do agility, and shes quite good at it.
She's also very nervous, gets stresed easily.


This Maeglin, but we pretty much always call her Meg, We've imported Maeglin from the UK, when she was almost a year old (She's 2,5 now).
We use Maeglin for shows a lot, she's even made it to be a Dutch champion.


This is our youngest dog (a daughter of Bonita), a few months younger than Maeglin, Fardau loves to sit/lie on someone's lap pretty much all day, Fardau always wants attention and to be petted.

So these are our pets .

Greetz ,
Marcel

[This message has been edited by Wazza (edited 04-29-2005).]

I like both, but cats must be cooked much longer to become tender. Properly seasoned, both are excellent in Gumbo.
DonM

I'M JOKING! See the smilie

And you sure made me smile!!

This reminds me of the ad: "for sale: nice dog, eats everything, loves small children...."

------------------
Tom NL

Perhaps you might appreciate a trip to China to experience how they're prepared there!

I'm just kidding of course, but I'm afraid they aren't.

Scott

A cat couldn't be much different from a squirrel! Anything's good with soy sauce.
How do you prepare a good roast parrot?
DonM

hmmm. dunno (yet).

Ok, What's the difference between roast beef and pea soup?

ANYONE can roast beef.

....... shouldn't this thread be in "The Bar" ?!?!? ....
t.

Double post

[This message has been edited by Dreamer (edited 04-29-2005).]

OK.... back to the original topic... off topic!
I have stated before that I am basically a cat guy, but I wouldn't mind a dog like this one: http://www.corriere.it/Media/Foto/2005/04_Aprile/29/fdg/CANE.jpg

[This message has been edited by Dreamer (edited 04-29-2005).]

Now that's a cool dog. Maybe a Siberian Husky?
Almost looks like a wolf.
I live outside of town on a golf course. At night we can still hear the coyotes howl. Civilization is forcing them to intermingle with housing developments. They eat rabbits, field mice and by the way, they LOVE cats! They don't even bother to cook 'em.
DonM

Don,
yes, I believe that the dog in the picture is a siberian husky and.... did anyone tell you before that you have a WEIRD sense of humour?
Speaking of coyotes.... I have never heard so many of them howling and so CLOSE to me like I heard in a night I spent in the Yosemite Park, in a place called Wawona Lodge (if I remember correctly...)

[This message has been edited by Dreamer (edited 04-29-2005).]

Me, a weird sense of humor?? Never!
However, other than the cooking part, the coyotes ARE hard on the cat population.
I actually grew up in Oklahoma in a small town where you could hear them at night. You are right, they sound very close. Their voices can carry for miles with the wind.
DonM

[This message has been edited by DonM (edited 04-29-2005).]

You know, I learned something very valuable from this thread.

I honestly started it as a joke. With all of the ill-will and bad feelings associated with the subject of off-topic posts, I decided as a joke to pick an absurd topic and put it on the Arranger Forum, not the Bar, as a joke.

I noticed after the first reply that I included "hah hah" but not the words "just kidding". I totally meant to! I didn't expect any response other than joke responses such as "very funny" or "you got me. I was really ticked off about that subject line!"

Well, guess what? I REALLY enjoyed the responses. I loved seeing Scott's birds and dogs, and I learned that Andrea loves animals and everybody here has some type of pet. My dad always used to say if a person hates animals he probably hates people too. Well, it's probably true.

So I learned a valuable lesson. While I didn't chime in about the OT posts, I personally felt that they were not important and a pain in the neck. Then I saw the responses to an innocuous post such as the cats and dogs post and it brought me that much closer to people that I have been conversing with for the past two years.

It made me really happy.

Thanks for teaching this sarcastic bastard a lesson.

Tommy

Hi Tommy. I think 'I've' learned from your thread too. OT threads with BROAD membership APPEAL attract more interest. Pets are a perfect example as they've been a universal pastime & appeal to people all around the world since the dawn of time, whether you're an arranger keyboard enthusiast or not.

It was those OT postings threads directed ONLY to a specific/limited group of individual(s) which used to UPSET me. Those should have been delivered via private email. Thankfully, the formatation of the SZ bar has more or less eliminated those kind of postings here. On the other hand, occasional OT threads here which attract & include the interest of the membership at large offers a refreshing respite from arranger keyboard discussion, especially during times when arranger keyboard news is at a lull & certainly a lot more fun than all the in-fighting among the membership which seems to always insue whenever interesting keyboard news is at a low.

Scott

All is well and fine, Tommy, but now it's YOUR turn to tell us if you are a cat or a dog person!

I have a cat for five years now worth about $5,000,000.00 to me LOL.
As the other member sed I prefer animals in preference to people. They always are loyal and are great friends, never cheat you and always fit themselves around what you are doing.

I'll tell ya, this forum is going to the dogs!

BTW, don't they eat dogs in China? Hey Scott, wadaya know about that? How 'bout cats?

Hey Tommy. This is exactly why I don't have a big problem with having some OT posts. We all learn something about eachother in threads like this and that is a very good thing. There is no way I would want to censor a post like this.

And I love dogs, cats and birds. Like music they make life a wonderful thing. Ollie my little cocker spaniel accompanied my wife and myself last year on the trip to San Jose for the West Coast Synth Zone get together. He got to meet BEBOP's dog Rocky and Eric and Claudia's dog Sunny up there.

Here you can see Ollie and Sunny while Scott Yee and I fool around playing Browneyed Girl.

[This message has been edited by Nigel (edited 05-03-2005).]

Hi,
sadly since writing this post, I've now lost the last of my 3 furrie friends. My 16 year old maltese had to be put to sleep Sunday night. His little heart had worn out. He's being missed terribly.

best wishes
Rikki

That is so sad Rikki. I know how bad you must be feeling. But you must console yourself by thinking about what a great life you provided for him.

Here is a picture of Bro our last dog, an Australian Blue Heeler back in Melbourne who just loved our budgie Girlie and Boofa the Love Bird and would let them tug on his fur.

My deepest condolences go out to you in the lost of your dear pet & friend of 16 years. It really doesn't seem fair that dogs & cats have such relatively short lifespans compared to us. It's a paradox to know that my dogs will live for 16-18 years, but my African Grey Parrot (Alexander) may possibly outlive me. I learned there was an African Grey at the London Zoo that lived over 100 years.

Scott

I love all animals and kids, except cats make me sneeze and my dog ate my ex-fiance's couch. Hmm.. maybe that explains why I'm single again...

Hi Nigel,
thank you Nigel,
what a wonderful photo. One doesn't realize that a dog and a bird can actually get on together.
I remember the first time I felt 100%comfortable that the dog wouldn't hurt the bird. I'd only had the bird for about 4 months. I'd left the room to answer the front door, accidently leaving the bird sitting on top of his cage, the dog snoozing in his basket. Came back in some 15 minutes later, both were sitting next to each other, at the door , staring up, patiently waiting for me to rejoin them. It was so cute ( but scarry thinking of what could have happened).

Hi Scott,
thank you.
It is amazing how some of the large exotic parrots can outlive humans. I think the sulphur crested cockatoo's can also live to about 100 years. A couple of the one's that used to fly in every season for a visit ( they were only after food I know haa haa, but I liked to fool myself they were visiting me), they looked every bit of 100+, I always made sure they got fed first.

best wishes
Rikki


[QUOTE]Originally posted by Nigel:
[B]That is so sad Rikki. I know how bad you must be feeling. But you must console yourself by thinking about what a great life you provided for him.

Hah hah Andrea! You got me!

Okay, been a dog person my whole life. Used to live out on a ranch near a major two-lane highway (oxymoron?) and used to lose a pet per year. It was horrible but really shaped me for the hardships of life. The really smart dogs could live to 15 years but a lot of the really fun young dogs would get hit by cars by two years old. My parents didn't believe in caging animals and thought that two years running through the fields chasing rabbits was worth 15 of sitting in a pen.

Well, now I live in lovely Los Angeles with a postage stamp-sized yard and we only have a cat. His name is Sebastian and he's 15 and starting to go downhill which is sad.

Our one-year old son seems to have replaced a lot of the time we spent with out cat and we're really glad we have both of them!

Take care and thank you for asking.

Tommy

Bro was a very special dog. You can see him as a puppy at http://www.cutepuppy.com plus pics of Ollie my cocker spaniel who saved my life 5 years ago when I had a brain aneurysm at home. Ollie made a big fuss so people found me having seizures and called 911. I owe my life to my pets so I love them more than anyone can imagine.




[This message has been edited by Nigel (edited 05-05-2005).]

Man, could he jump! Nigel, was that one an australian beach?

DITTO !!!


By the way I´m a dog person. I have a Dushound with three years old, called Luna.
She is the best thing that happened lately for my family.

Cheers.
Armando

I've always favored dogs over cats, although here in Rhode Island we've had a couple of cats to help keep the field mice away ... We named one cat 'Bates' because he was a real PSYCHO !!! ... he would sit on the rafters in the garage and pounce on the hood of the car as we drove in ... the first time he did it he scared the hell out of me and I almost went through the back wall!!!
The best pet we've ever had was a full blooded Golden Retriever named 'Zeke' ... He got along well with any of the cats we had, but especially Bates ... I have photos (somewhere) of the 2 of them laying down together with their heads sticking out of Zeke's doghouse ...
t.

Gosh, Tony! I LOVE when cats climb on my car and leave all those nice marks with their nails...

Hi Nigel,
what a gorgeous puppy photo. I adore puppies & kittens. He sounds like one amazing dog.
Just made me realize, the younger generation hand their babies to my husband to cuddle, me they hand their pets. ??? (haa haa)

best wishes
Rikki

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Nigel:
[b] Bro was a very special dog.

[This message has been edited by rikkisbears (edited 05-05-2005).]

Andy is my Best Bud.Blue Collie/Chocolate Lab cross.

Goes everywhere except my gigs. Loves to ride in the truck.
Loves to run and swim at the beach.
We got him from a shelter when he was 11 months old. He had been abused by some kids on an indian reserve chasing him with dirt bikes and taking shots at him with pellet guns.
Makes you wonder sometimes what makes some people tick.
Andy is going to be 3 in November. Still has a lot on puppy in him. Man he loves to play. When we first brought him home, he was understandably a little apprehensive, so we just kept the veranda door open to the outside, and every few minutes he's stick his head in to check us out, we didn't want to rush him into trying to accept us. Long story short, after about three hours of this he must have finally realized that we weren't going to hurt him, he wandered in, and laid down at my feet. That night he slept beside us on a bed we made for him in our bedroom. He fit right into our lives beautifully. Every day, he walks up to the mailbox with me, and carries the mail home, we try to get as much play time with him every day as possible. Cathy & I lucked out when Andy came into our lives.


------------------
...shboom

[This message has been edited by shboom (edited 05-05-2005).]

Dogs have always held a special place in my heart. When I lived in the country, we had a couple of horses, and a variety of dogs over the years from Grayhounds to German Shepherds.

My all time favorite was a black Lab. In his later years he contracted cancer of the groin and the vet said he would have to put him down...unless....he had a sex change.

I dug deep in my pocket and Alexander became Alexandria, living another happy 4 years. She never did learn to squat to pee. The result was always one wet leg.

Eddie

Because Chico (SZ member: Chico Brazil) and I are BOTH Schnauzer dog fans, I just received today from him, a short 1 minute video clip taken of his handsome miniature Schnauzer "Sebastian" romping in the yard with another pup. I've taken the liberty to post the video clip (1 Megabyte file size) for EVERYONE here to enjoy. The file is in .asf format, and playable in "Windows Media Player" (or any other media player) which supports .asf video clip playback. Click on the following link:

Sebastian & Friend

Chico, many thank's for sharing.

Scott

Scott, Your boys sure resemble my Lasa

Danny