Kazak

If you've read and enjoyed any Kurt Vonnegut books, you'll recognize the name as being the name of the dog that recurs throughout a couple of the books. Kazak (who is a big, mean-ass watchdog) and his multibazillionaire owner (Rumfoord, I think, is his name) are most prominently featured in my favorite book, "Sirens of Titan," by Vonnegut, but they are mentioned in some of his other books too. In "Sirens..." it explains how they got caught in a "chronosynclastic infundibulum" while on a space exploration flight or something like that (it's been awhile since I've read it). In kindergarten terms, that basically means they were vaporized and travel (as energy waves) around the sun in an orbit. When that orbit intersects any planet (like, Earth or Mars), they are able to materialize on that planet. They basically have the ability to travel through time and space as well, which is kind of the basis for what happens in "Sirens..." If you like sci-fi books at all, or if you like imagination that seems so absurd that it isn't possible, I'd suggest "Sirens..."

By the way, I've always pronounced it "KAY-zack," but I think it's pronounced like the name for the people from Kazakstan (of the former Soviet Union)...that would be "Kah-zock," or something like that. But this works. :)

Off to bed now that I've used most of the evening (volleyball-free, given the rain) to drive home, watch "Walking with Cavemen," which was only minorly interesting, play SimCity 4 for a while and type out my radio notes for tomorrow's PFW radio show. All this after telling Troy around 10:30pm how tired I was...I guess I got that second wind. Oh, and I typed out this blog. Off to bed I go...