Canine agility champion

YouTube link.

Filmed at the 2015 Westminster Kennel Club dog show.  Wikipedia has a wonderfully comprehensive article on dog agility competitions.

Dogs run off leash with no food or toys as incentives, and the handler can touch neither dog nor obstacles. Consequently the handler's controls are limited to voice, movement, and various body signals, requiring exceptional training of the animal and coordination of the handler....

Because each course is different, handlers are allowed a short walk-through before the competition starts. During this time, all handlers competing in a particular class can walk or run around the course without their dogs...

Each dog and handler team gets one opportunity together to attempt to complete the course successfully...

Dogs are measured in height at the peak of their withers (shoulders). They are then divided into height groups... Dogs are further divided into their experience levels...Dogs are not separated by breed in agility competitions... 

Lots more details re the individual obstacles and the training techniques.

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You can "micro-volunteer" your time to help a blind person

YouTube link.

One more way smartphones are changing the world:

Be My Eyes allows you to “micro-volunteer” tiny portions of your time, perhaps less than a minute, remotely via your smartphone. 

The idea is to lend your sight to a blind person, via a one-way video link, and help them accomplish a task that is simple for you but impossible for them. 

Imagine cooking a meal, but being unable to tell one can of food from another. Or receiving a letter and not knowing if it was a bill, a wedding invitation or junk mail. Or perhaps you have taken a taxi to an appointment but can't find the correct doorbell...

All of these problems can be solved by a stranger donating just a few moments of their time, thanks to some clever coding. Be My Eyes is already available as an iPhone app and an Android version is on the way...

When a blind user requests help, a call goes out to a random sighted volunteer. The clever part is that there’s no pressure: if you’re in the middle of something, you can ignore it, and another user will pick it up. But if you are free you can answer with a tap and help with their problem...

Already there have been over 23,000 such interactions - tiny portions of time donated to make someones life easier. More than 8,500 blind users have signed up to the service, and 103,000 sighted volunteers.

More details at The Telegraph.

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Canine prosthetic legs

YouTube link. 

This is your feel-good video of the week, which I found at Oregon Expat.

Note from the OP: "Many of you have pointed out that Derby's prosthetics seem too low. We started this way to give him a chance to get used to his new legs. But with 3D printing it's easy to iterate design, so he is being fitted with progressively longer legs until he reaches his optimal height. Work is ongoing and we are about to 3D print the 4th version of his prosthetics."

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Golden retriever knows the meaning of life

YouTube link.

Dog obedience trials in Finland.

Think of it this way:  you are the dog, the work you need to get done is at the other end of the carpet.  In between is the internet...

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This is a beautiful tattoo

It covers a facial burn scar.

Samira Omar pushes back her headscarf to reveal burn scars that swirl along her face and neck. Her hands are also dotted with colourless patches where her skin was scorched.  The 17-year-old says she was the victim of a horrific bullying incident in August. She says four classmates she thought were her friends, beat her and then doused her with boiling water...

She thought she’d be scarred for life. But then Omar heard about para-medical tattoo specialist Basma Hameed... Over time, Hameed will camouflage Omar’s burns by tattooing them with ink that blends with her natural skin tones...

Patients from around the world seek out Hameed’s skills. She started her Toronto clinic in 2011 and recently opened a second location in Chicago. In addition to scar victims, she also treats people with vitiligo...

More details at the CBC article.

Note there is also an organization called Survivors Ink.

Survivors Ink is a project that addresses the issue of branding. The purpose is to empower human trafficking victims by breaking the psychological chains of enslavement through beautifying, removing, or covering the brandings that are constant reminders of a violent past.

Related previous post:  Medical nipple tattoos vs. "titoos"

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Patrick Otema's world changes

YouTube link. 

This is your "feel good" video for Christmas morning.

And here is the sequel, filmed 10 weeks later.

From the filmmaker's comments at Reddit:

A lot of people asking how to help. Here is a list of organisations based in Uganda helping the deaf. One of my favorites, and for which it's very easy to donate to, is called Sign Health Uganda. The organisation which set up the course for Patrick is called UNAD - their donate link is broken so you have to email them directly.

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A tortoise rescues an overturned comrade

YouTube link.

Discussed at Reddit.

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The epitome of "cheerful"

YouTube link.

I created a "cheerful" category for blog posts (now with 200+ entries) because some days after surfing the internet for news and stories, one needs some lighter fare.

Bryan College (a Tennessee Christian liberal arts college) apparently has a feature at its home basketball games where one student is given an opportunity to make four consecutive shots (a layup, a free throw, a 3-point shot, and a half-court shot).  

Making all four within a 30-second time period results in a $10,000 reduction in tuition.  Gustavo Angel Tamayo, a 23-year-old student, had never played basketball.

This fits nicely in the cheerful category.  I've watched it three times.

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The pure joy of "one last time"

"My grandma wanted to see the ocean one last time before checking into hospice.  Her face says it all."

Photo credit to ecost, who posted this at Reddit, where the discussion thread focuses on praising Hospice personnel (and I heartily agree).

It's hard to see in the embedded image (better in the original), but it looks like the wheelchair has large inflated wheels designed for beach transport.  I didn't know such modifications existed, but they certainly make sense for residents of coastal communities.

Addendum: a hat tip to reader OrcaSister for this link illustrating the beach wheelchair.

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uoıʇɐıɹɐʌ ןǝǝɥʍ ɹǝʇsɯɐɥ

The gif is here, from a Reddit thread with numerous hamster videos and gifs.

(Title via Flip Text)

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Quilling

I had never heard of this art form until I watched an enjoyable interview with this remarkable young artist at the Hong Kong Tatler:

YouTube link.

Here's more information from Wikipedia:

Quilling or paper filigree is an art form that involves the use of strips of paper that are rolled, shaped, and glued together to create decorative designs. The paper is rolled, looped, curled, twisted and otherwise manipulated to create shapes which make up designs to decorate greetings cards, pictures, boxes, eggs, and to make models, jewellery, mobiles etc. 

During the Renaissance, French and Italian nuns and monks used quilling to decorate book covers and religious items. The paper most commonly used was strips of paper trimmed from the gilded edges of books. These gilded paper strips were then rolled to create the quilled shapes...  In the 18th century, quilling became popular in Europe where gentle ladies of quality ("ladies of leisure") practiced the art.

The word "quill" as an avian appendage dates back to Middle English.  Presumably early artists used to wrap their paper strips around quills.

The top image is an example of the artist's work from her website.

Via The Dish and Neatorama.

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Pas de deux

 

YouTube link.

Via The Dish.

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Migrating monarch butterflies detectable on weather radar

Keen observers of our radar data probably noticed some fairly high returns moving south over southern Illinois and central Missouri. High differential reflectivity values as well as low correlation coefficient values indicate these are most likely biological targets. High differential reflectivity indicates these are oblate targets, and low correlation coefficient means the targets are changing shape. We think these targets are Monarch butterflies. A Monarch in flight would look oblate to the radar, and flapping wings would account for the changing shape! NWS St. Louis wishes good luck and a safe journey to these amazing little creatures on their long journey south!

From the Facebook page of the U.S. National Weather Service in St. Louis Missouri.

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Flour sack clothing

"When they realized women were using their sacks to make clothes for their children, flour mills of the 30s started using flowered fabric for their sacks, 1939"  Via Earthly Mission.

I found the following photo at Living History Farm:

 

And this image via Jennifer Lewis:

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