What kind of a dog is that?

I have a nine year old Siberian Husky. I've had her since she was about four weeks old and she is great. The only problem is that she gets so much attention when I am out and about walking her in public. I've sure a lot of people get that with their dogs. I know my dog is no more or less special than anyone else's dog. But I just don't know how people are always up for a dog chat with anyone, anytime, anywhere.

 

Today my friend Jeremy was here and we decided to take the dog for a walk since he is visiting from out of town where the Pacific Ocean is not really a common sight. We walked with my dog to the pier and encountered a few interesting dog lovers along the way. First one was this man on the pier. We walked towards his direction and I could tell that he was staring at my dog Rudy. I was just going on with Jeremy about something else as we walk by and the onlooker blurts out the following. "A Husky!" he said. "Yep." I quickly responded. He said again, "I've got two of them!" Okay, I am happy for him. What does he expect me to respond to that. I muttered under my breath in Jeremy's direction, "Congratulations...?" I am sure he felt some kind of camaraderie with me since our dogs happen to be of the same breed. But sometimes I just don't feel like striking up a conversation about dogs with a stranger.

 

We walked to the end of the pier and hung out for a bit to enjoy the nice summer day and turned around to start heading back. Not too far back down the pier a woman in a walking suit turns and smiles as she walked past us and said excitedly, "Is that an Akita!?!?!?" Even though I was in the middle of a sentence with Jeremy but I politely replied to her, "No, she's actually a Siberian husky." "REALLY!?!?" she exclaimed. Again I felt like she wanted to get into another dog conversation but we just kept walking. I've had plenty of these conversations in the past and I know how they all go. People want to know how to tell them apart and how great they think the breed is thinks Huskies are also great. Again, I just can't get into it. I told Jeremy, "I should have said 'Yes' to her." She would have been content and I wouldn't have to feel bad for walking away.

 

Not far down the pier from the last lady, an older man walked toward us from a distance and I could tell he was looking at Rudy and had something to share with me. He looked to be maybe in his 70's or 80's and had a ginormous grin as he approached. As he got near, he blurted out this phrase in his some what raspy and mildly quivering old man voice.

 

"Is that a half Border Collie and half Elk Hound mix!?!?"

 

I thought at first, 'WTF?'. But without hesitation, I responded, "Yes she is." He was ever so excited to hear that. "REALLY!?" We kept walking. I didn't have it in me to tell him the truth. I also didn't have it in me to rap to him about Siberian Huskies and how they are a Nordic breed and loves the cold weather. The conversation always somehow end up on the topic of whether or not I shave her for the summer and I will have to explain how her coat insulates her to keep her cool in the summer and warm in the winter. Also, what the hell is an Elk Hound? How can this man know what an Elk Hound is but not know what a husky looks like. I am sure he was wondering when he saw her at a distance and began wondering about her breed long before he asked the question. How excited he must have been to think that his wild stab in the dark was right on the money. I bet he went home to his wife that afternoon and gloated to her about his still impeccable ability to read dog breeds.

 

I love my dog. I also love all dogs in general and I am glad that there are so many dog lovers in the world who take care of them. But I am not always in the mood to strike up a dog conversation. I just want to get this out there so if I run into your on the street and I don't stop to BS with you about the difference between a malamute and a husky, don't be too offended. In the meantime, I need to look up and see what the hell an Elk Hound is......

Burton Snowboards acquires Channel Islands Surfboards

Today my friend Helaine forwarded me and Email that announces the acquisition of the world renown Channel Islands Surfboards created by Al Merrick in 1969 to the snowboard staple Burton Snowboards. At the surface of this deal it may seem to make sense to most people. The biggest surfboard company joins forces with the biggest snowboard company. Both sports share a similar audience and subculture that once was underground and irreverent.

 

Once you look deeper into this deal, it was clear to me that the surfers are getting the short end of the deal. Think about each sport and its origins, surfing has a glorious and romantic start in Polynesia and developed through the past 100 years with a deeply layered legacy world-wide. Snowboarding on the other hand was a spin off sport that merged skateboarding and skiing. It has exponentially grown since its start in the late 70's and early 80's. The shallow learning curve and accessibility of snow and slopes made snowboarding as mainstream the sport they evolved from. Surfing on the other hand is not as easily picked up and requires some real dedication for a beginning enthusiast to become competent.

 

Surfing is also much more multifaceted as a sport than its solid-state counter part. Waves are ever-changing and unpredictable whereas groomed snow on a ski resort is just a passive opposition for metal edges of a snowboard. I don't want to sounds like a snob but I just don't think the snowboard culture is as deep and rich as the surfing culture. For most surfers, snowboarding is what you do in the winter time if the swells are small. Ask any surfer to choose between surfing the best waves in the world versus riding the best snow, I would imagine most would choose the liquid version of the board sport.

 

These 2 companies are as big as they come in their respective sports. Can they really benefit from each other? I doubt it. Nearly all surfers already snowboard so there is nothing for Channel Islands to gain by trying to sell their customer base on a new sport. I suspect what Burton will do is going to try and sell the romance of riding a wave to their snowboarding masses. Most of them will never pick it up but in the meantime there will be more people in the water for us to dodge around. Al, I hope it was worth it to you.

Amazing Lyrebird's singing abilities

The lyrebird in the Amazon can mimic other songbirds, tourist's camera shutters and even a chain saw...