A little over a week ago, we had a mini-crisis here at home, when it looked like our 17-year-old beagle had undergone a major hit to her equilibrium. We were very concerned it would be something she wouldn't recover from, and could signal the beginning of the end for a dog who has stuck around for more than her fair share of time. But after a few vet visits, a battery of pills and ear drops, she's walking straight, sleeping through the night and keeping food down, so it looks as if the worst is over.


Molly relaxing this evening on the loveseat.
(Ignore the red-eye from the camera flash)
The veterinarian crew accurately surmised Molly was the victim of canine vestibular disease, further complicated by a pair of ear infections, and later, an irritated colon, which had emerged after she was unable to keep down her dinner too many times. Interestingly, instead of fancy animal-only drugs, Molly was prescribed more run of the mill prescriptions, including Benadryl, to calm her down, and Pepcid AC, to help her stomach problems.

As we've undergone this battle, it's been amazing to see how my first post on the subject reached far further than I had expected. Kent Newsome of Newsome.org noted the story, and remembered his family's loss of an 18-year old cat in 2003. But even more amazingly, Molly's story touched the hearts of beagle owners throughout the US, and likely abroad, when her story reached a BeagleWorld e-mail list, powered by Yahoo! Groups, sending many dog-lovers to our site.

One reader wrote, "The story about Molly is so sad." Another, "17 years though, going on 18....wow. I cried when I read it." and "It's funny as they turn to be seniors, they all look alike with their white faces and soulful eyes."

I didn't mean to send complete strangers to tears with our story. And those who were made sad by our first message should be relieved to know we're near a full turn-around for this beagle that just simply won't give up.

Cross-posted to Athletics Nation...

On Saturday night, Joe Blanton beat out the Twins' Carlos Silva in a one-hour, 49 minute shutout, making the crowd of 30,000 at the game wait for more than an hour before the promised post-dusk fireworks. While the game's duration was quite short, it doesn't match other short-lived items we've seen this season...


Click to See Larger Comic

Can you think of anything else you've seen this season that lasted less than one hour, 49 minutes? Let us know in the comments!

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I love living and working in the Silicon Valley. Though at times the hours and intensity can be challenging, I do enjoy being around aggressive people with innovative goals, and seeing the sources of development face to face. Today, I got to "look behind the curtain" at one of these companies - TiVo.

Yesterday evening, our TiVo remote stopped working. We've had it for four years, so that was no major surprise. It wasn't the end of the world, but it was certainly annoying, as we had no access to saved programs, and had to manually change the channel by going to the cable box.

This morning, I went to Fry's Electronics to get a replacement remote. No deal. They only wanted to give me one if I bought a new unit (for up to $800).

So at lunch, a colleague and I went to Best Buy. Same issue. They offered that I could possibly use a universal remote, but the universal remotes don't have a TiVo button, and it's questionable if they would work.

I looked online, and while I could get a remote cheap, I wouldn't get it right away unless I paid upward of $35 to ship a $10-$20 product via next day UPS.

I pass the TiVo's corporate headquarters every morning on my way to work, so I had other ideas. I went to the TiVo Web site, called their main number, and hit zero to talk with the operator. I told her of my plight, and after checking with her colleague, she asked me to drive over by 5 p.m., and I could have one of her three they had for customer demonstrations.

I hopped in the car, and less than ten minutes later, I was at TiVo's worldwide headquarters, surrounded by TiVo images, from the clocks to the floormats, to a six-foot TiVo mascot plush toy. I was also in possession of a brand new TiVo remote for free, thanks to the receptionist's generosity. I offered to pay, but she declined. After all, that wasn't the point. It was outstanding customer service, something she knew she could do given our offices were only a few blocks apart.

I was already a TiVo fan for life, but this service went above and beyond, delivering a story only possible here in the Silicon Valley.

One day after Neil Henry lit up the mediasphere with his stark comments on the world of journalism in a brave new world of instant, independent media, more bombshells continue to drop at the San Francisco Chronicle, as the beleaguered paper saw its managing editor quit yesterday, despite not having a new job. In his leaving, he said the business model in the newspaper business "is clearly broken."

Not too long ago, San Francisco was a two-paper town, with the Chronicle and Examiner publishing every day. The Examiner functioned as an afternoon paper, including the closing day's stock prices, and the Chronicle was the paper of record. In a series of missteps, the Examiner cut back the number of editions, went to tabloid format, and all but disappeared. The Chronicle, the seeming victor in the race, has seen its own struggles, and is circling the drain in an extremely wired, connected landscape that is turning elsewhere for its media intake.

I was once a newspaper addict. I read the paper daily from the age of 12, scoured for newspaper headlines and editorials all over the nation when the Internet evolved, and seriously considered journalism as a profession, becoming a charter subscriber to the defunct Brill's Content, and making myself a student of the craft. But the landscape changed under my feet, and I was lucky enough to make the jump to a more forward-looking, aggressive environment. If others in the newspaper business don't make similar moves, many will find themselves starting their careers over, voluntarily or not.