The Decision

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King Shio will announce his decision on where he will be potty-ing tomorrow night at 9pm. It will be a hour long special in which the first 10 minutes will be allocated for King Shio's decision.

The remaining 50 minutes will highlight his ability to potty under several stressed conditions, answering questions, and commercials breaks with King Shio as the star.

Preview of King Shio's career highlights:

[Basketball pictures by Mickey W.]

Shio vs. His Winter Coat

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I had some "uh... DUH!" moments last week. 1. After visiting a Shiba breeder, she kept mentioning that Shio's fur was still thick and full. I then realized that we haven't brushed him out in a few weeks so I proceeded to do so the Monday after we met her. I brushed him for a good hour and as a result, raked out a ton of his undercoat. Then, at the height of my frustration, I called the groomer and asked her how much it would be just to comb out his winter coat. She said, "$20." That's dirt cheap. We immediately scheduled him in for a grooming sesh the next day. Uhhhh... DUH! Why didn't I think of this before?

2. After we picked him up from the groomer, the several weeks of protesting and refusing to walk during walks suddenly subsided. Which means that he was extremely hot and bothered by the extra weight he had been carrying around and the poor guy just didn't want to walk with his winter coat on. Uh... DUH! Why had I not realized this before?!

And there you have it. I'm a moron.

July 4th Weekend :: Part I

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Long weekends are great because of 2 things: 1) you can spend more time with your loved ones; 2) there is a short week after the long weekend.

As always, we started our weekend with a trip to Prospect Park. The weather in NY really is perfect right now -- in the morning the air is cool and the skies are clear. Shio, who got his undercoat stripped by a groomer for the first time this past week, is especially enjoying the summer now that he is not wearing his winter coat.

I have been really enjoying the photographic opportunities with the warm morning light. Having gone to Iceland recently with the wonderful McLellans, I have rediscovered the fun of photographing everyday things. On top of that, they taught me a lot of new tricks, both in terms of taking the photos and in post-processing. If you are looking for wedding photographers, stop the search and check them out! They are Shio approved!

The reason why I stopped using my GF1 is because I found it difficult to take good photos of Shio given the need for quick autofocus and continuous shutter. I would never have been able to stitch together something like this with the GF1:

Have a good long weekend everybody!

Photos taken with Nikon D700, 24-70mm f/2.8G.