Ahem

Haven't there been some revelations about Imam Rauf's nefarious connections that you want to share, Michael?  I rely on you for such news, so I was disappointed to have to get it from Jon Stewart.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
The Parent Company Trap
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

I think maybe NOW I'm opposed to the building of the mosque because of its frightening connections to Fox News.

Stewart doesn't begrudge the "sensitivity" issue. Otherwise, he makes perfect sense as usual.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Extremist Makeover - Homeland Edition
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

Rachel does bacon

Looks like Rachel is stealing my bacon schtick shtick.

Free shaping: crate training

When we first got Karma (age 6 months), I tried to confine her to a crate at night and when we left her alone.  I thought that was the safest place for her (and for everything else in the house).  She went into hysterical fits in the crate, though, shredding her bed and shrieking like a banshee.  I gave up on the crating and she magically behaves herself really well when she's alone.

When we started agility training, the instructors warned that by the third level (week 19) our dogs would need to be crated sometimes during class in crates along the side of the room.

I re-dedicated myself to the task of training her to accept being crated. I tried to lure her into the crate with the big guns of dog training: bacon, peanut butter, Velveeta. She would not put a paw in the crate to get to them, even when she was alone. When that didn't work, I figured our agility training would come to an end at week 18.

A few weeks before the deadline, it dawned on me to try free-shaping to get her into the crate. (The first behavior she learned by free-shaping was backing up onto an inclined plank. She's so pleased with learning that behavior that she does it all the time spontaneously during class.)

Step by step, over the course of days, in 5-10 minute sessions:

• I put the crate in the living room and stocked myself with treats (chicken, hotdogs, Velveeta).
  
• Stood in the living room.
  
• Karma started offering behaviors (rolling over, backing up, sitting...) which I ignored.
  
• When she looked in the direction of the crate, I marked (with a clicker) the behavior and gave her a treat.
  
• After treating her a few times for just looking in the direction of the crate, I withheld the click/treat until she took a step toward the crate.
• Then I waited for her to take two steps toward the crate before rewarding her.
• Then I waited for her to get right up to the crate.
• Then the big hurdle: I waited for her to put one paw in the crate. She did it!
  

Eventually (this is over the course of many days), she walked all the way into the crate.

Then I worked on increasing the amount of time she had to be in the crate before treating her.  I did this while leaving the crate door open.  I increased the time by one second at first, then later, when she was up to 15 seconds, I increased time in 5 second intervals. Then, I worked on stepping away from the crate. At first, just one step away, then two, then five, then turning my back and walking one step, etc. Eventually, I worked up to being able to turn my back, leave the room, go upstairs and come back down, while she stands quietly in the crate even though the door is open. Then I worked on incrementally closing the door. Voila! We did it! She can be crated!  Finally, we went through the same process (but much more quickly) at the training center.

I can't explain why she was willing to put a paw in the crate when we were free-shaping, but wouldn't do it when she was lured with bacon. Something about it was just fundamentally different to her. Free-shaping is a fun game to her.

Tonight we start Week 27 of agility training.

I write for the wrong blog

as we all know. But I've just discovered where I belong, thanks to M.



BACONTODAY.com

Bringing home the bacon. Or not. (Three bacon posts in a row. Thank you very much.)

Here's where we're at on unemployment: 9.7% for August 2009. (This is from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics.)

And to refresh recollections, here's the projected unemployment graph from the Romer/Bernstein report used to justify the stimulus bill. (This is the third time I've posted this graph. Previous posts on the topic from June 5, 2009 and January 16, 2009.)



I'll leave it to economic historians to say whether the stimulus has helped with unemployment. This much is clear: we have not seen a downward turn to the unemployment rate yet; the report projected that we would see a relatively sharp turn by now. Of course, things may have been worse than was understood when the report issued in January 2009 and the stimulus money may be being spent more slowly than the plan provided.

Speaking of bacon and internet nonsense

Look what I can do! I can speak in dancing bacon.

Kanye is everywhere

In case you haven't heard, there's a Kanye-ruins-people's-moments meme that's on fire about the interwebs. See more here and at knowyourmeme.com.

Update to post an example of the fun people are having with this. This is one of the silliest:



One more of the animal variety:

May have found my Kevin Bacon connection

One of the interesting experiences I'm having with Facebook is discovering who you're connected to with just a couple degrees of separation. One of my friends has daughters who are involved in serious ice skating; serious skating means working with the country's best coaches and that means rubbing shoulders with wildly wealthy parents of skaters. So my friend just got "friended" on Facebook by one of these wildly weathy people she's met at the rink. The WW person is Facebook friends with Leo di Caprio and Angelina Jolie and on and on. So it's likely that my closest route to Kevin Bacon is via my friend and then via the WW person. If the WW person isn't friends with Kevin Bacon herself, I'm sure one of her friends is.