We received some spam comments here at mj today. Since Bloghorn now offers confirmation text for comments to help stop automated scripts from posting spam comments, I turned it on.

On the comments input page, you will now see a graphic displayed that has some letters and numbers. You have to type those letters and numbers into the "Enter Confirm Text" box to be able to post a comment. I hope this doesn’t cause problems for our flesh and blood commentators. (And I hope it does cause problems for our spider friends.) If you do have problems placing comments, please let us know in the comment section. (Kind of like when they tell you at work that to unsuspend your e-mail account you must e-mail the administrators.) It’s a shame that people come up with a way to spam anything that is out on the Internet.

On the way to the noon Bible study in downtown Pittsburgh, I walked by a man playing the saxophone on the corner, begging for money. He was playing Stevie Wonder’s Sir Duke. I’ve heard him playing before, and he isn’t terrible. (How’s that for a complement. "Damning with faint praise" is the phrase that comes to mind.) But he plays songs he learned while playing in a band. So there he stands all by himself playing harmonies and counter melodies. Every once in a while in the score, the saxophones have the melody, so you can occasionally recognize what he is playing. But then he drops back into playing what sounds ridiculous when played by itself, but would fit right in with the rest of the band.

I recall one day walking with someone else, and being subjected to this man playing Weather Report’s Birdland. Being familiar with the song, I knew how what he was playing fit in with the rest of the imaginary band.

I told my friend, "I don’t understand why he plays like that. When you’re the only one playing, you should play the melody. It doesn’t make any sense to stand out on the street and play one minor supporting part of an entire score of music while the melody goes unplayed."

"Knilram," my friend replied, "he’s a beggar. He’s begging on the streets of Pittsburgh. And you want him to be more logical about it?"

I guess he had a point. But for what it’s worth, today all I heard of Sir Duke was melody. The quality of begging is improving.

Today was a big day in the Knilram household. For ten years we have operated with only one dog to take care of all our household doggy needs. Overall, our dog is still taking care of all we ask from her. She still barks at anyone in the yard (and across the street, and imagined people, and the doorbell on TV, and just about everything else also), and she chases more balls and sticks than we are able to throw. But she is slowing down a little after ten years.

We’ve realized for a while now that we need to get an emergency backup dog in case of a failure of our primary dog.

Well, today we brought home a new puppy from the pound. So far she is completely overwhelmed by the experience. She has really taken to the girls, but she just starting to get to know the place.

When we put her to bed tonight in her cage in the girls’ room, she whimpered for a few minutes, and then settled down for the night. I haven’t heard a peep from her. I think she likes being in the room with the girls (and the primary dog). She might not think of it as home yet, but I don’t think it will take long.

The girls have decided to name her Tyme. As in "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and." I was impressed with their choice. Not bad at all. It sure beats "Garlic".

The first evening has gone fairly well. How quickly I’ve forgotten all the puppy problems. But it will all come back quickly as we get to know our new emergency backup dog.

We got the puppy from a "no-kill" shelter. They refuse to kill the dogs they get. As a consequence, the shelter is completely full, and the majority of the dogs are pit-bulls or pit-bull mixes. No one wants these dogs. It is possible that the dog might be just fine in its temperament, but how many want to take a chance? Very few, by the number of the breed in their care. Since people aren’t taking the pit-bulls, but people are bringing them, they keep accumulating more.

I understand the desire to have a "no-kill" shelter, but they’ve got to come up with a way to move some of these pit-bulls so they don’t have to turn away the other dogs that need placement.