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Sidney Crosby admits that the Philadelphia Flyers "bring out the worst" in him, but the reverse might also be true. Watch PHT's Jason Brough and Mike Halford discuss some of the most interesting issues in the NHL, including a Flyers team that might be known for whining like it once was for fighting – which might dissipate quickly if they go after Crosby to avenge Danny Briere.This video is no longer available. Click here to watch more NBC Sports videos!
With Rust still day-to-day, Sullivan isn't in a 'hypothetical' mood when it comes to his lineup
Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan still has forward Bryan Rust listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury after he took a controversial hit from Patrick Marleau in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday.
(The league stated Tuesday that there will be no suspension for Marleau.)
As for Rust, who has six goals and nine points in these playoffs, his status hasn't changed since the conclusion of the game. But with Game 2 set for Wednesday, Sullivan may have a lineup decision ahead of him if Rust isn't able to play.
Sullivan, who said Rust is still being evaluated, was asked about the possibility of Eric Fehr moving up onto a line with Evgeni Malkin and Chris Kunitz, where Rust had been playing.
Naturally, Sullivan praised Fehr but didn't want to delve into the possibilities for his lineup tomorrow.
"If he were to go back on that line, he's a pretty good player. Regardless of which line he plays on, (Fehr) has had the ability to adapt his game. The one thing he does bring to the respective lines, he's another center iceman that can take faceoffs in the defensive zone," Sullivan told reporters.
"He has a real good awareness in the D zone. He's pretty strong on the wall. He brings all of those elements to that line that we choose to put him on. We'll make decisions accordingly depending on who we think is available for our lineup. But hypotheticals is not the world that we live in."
'It was frustrating for me,' says Tarasenko after struggling offensively versus Sharks
St. Louis Blues star Vladimir Tarasenko has opened up about his play in the Western Conference Final versus the San Jose Sharks, who held the talented forward off the score sheet in five of six games.
It wasn't until the third period of Game 6 that Tarasenko finally broke his slump, scoring twice as St. Louis tried one last desperation comeback attempt. It didn't work. The Blues were eliminated and the Sharks are in the Stanley Cup Final.
"They played really tight and they backchecked so hard," said Tarasenko, as per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "It's just experience. It was frustrating for me. I wish I could do better. I'm supposed to do better."
After a 40-goal regular season, the 24-year-old Tarasenko's point production through the first two rounds — versus Chicago and Dallas — was solid, with 13 points in 14 games.
But the Sharks kept him in check.
His lack of production became a key focal point as the third-round series carried on. Blues' coach Ken Hitchcock, who signed a one-year extension to stay in St. Louis, admitted Tarasenko was "learning hard lessons" against the Sharks and that he had to fight through the tight checking in order to produce offensively.
As the series continued, Hitchcock added that Tarasenko just needed to play within the system, and that getting away from that is perhaps a "natural tendency" for young players pressing to make things happen in crucial situations.
There had been talk about a rift between Tarasenko and Hitchcock, especially after video replays showed the two in a brief but heated exchange at the bench during the first round. Of course, the coach later downplayed it.
As the Blues' playoff run ended, there was speculation about why, exactly, Tarasenko didn't address the media on the same day the rest of his teammates did.
From St. Louis Post-Dispatch sports columnist Ben Frederickson:
More importantly, Tarasenko's no comment closed the book on his season without addressing the elephant in the dressing room.
There is growing speculation of friction between Tarasenko and the Blues. Is there a rift between the star and his club?
If I'm a member of that front office, I sure would have liked a player under contract until 2023 to squash such a story on Saturday.
On the subject of any perceived issues between the Blues organization and Tarasenko, both parties responded:
The Russians say they're in 'negotiations' with the NHL to get Voynov into the World Cup
Yesterday in Pittsburgh, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman made it clear that Slava Voynov was still suspended and, because of that, would not be allowed to play in the upcoming World Cup.
Bettman also said that the Russian Ice Hockey Federation had been told as much.
However, it seems the Russians — who last week added Voynov to their World Cup roster — still haven't given up on trying to get the 26-year-old defensemen into the tournament.
From Russian News Agency TASS:
"The Russian Ice Hockey Federation is holding negotiations with the organizers of the World Cup – the NHL – concerning the issue of national team's defender Vyacheslav Voynov," the RHF's press service told TASS on Tuesday adding that besides the Russian and US sides the negotiations also involve Rene Fasel, the president of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).
"The Russian Ice Hockey Federation hopes that the organizers of the international competition will make a positive decision on the issue and the defender will be allowed to be included in the roster of the Russian national team," the RHF added.
Known in the United States as Slava Voynov he played in the past for NHL's Los Angeles Kings before the North American Hockey League suspended him over domestic violence charges and the player returned last autumn back home, where he is currently playing for the national team and KHL's SKA St. Petersburg club.
Time will tell if the Russians can convince the NHL to change its stance. They could sure use Voynov, given the relative weakness of their defense. But Bettman did not sound yesterday like he was open to a negotiation.
The Russians, for the record, have maintained that it's not the NHL's decision to make.
So perhaps that's the big question here — who has the final say on the matter? Officially, the World Cup "is a joint effort of the NHLPA and the NHL, in cooperation with the International Ice Hockey Federation."
It's just not entirely clear how that bit of boilerplate applies to the Voynov situation.
Report: Bruins' Khokhlachev to sign in KHL
Alexander Khokhlachev's time with the Boston Bruins is up, according to a report out of Russia that has the 22-year-old forward signing with SKA Saint Petersburg of the KHL.
The deal reportedly won't be announced until after June 30; Khokhlachev is under contract with the B's until then. But the fact he's apparently decided to depart for the KHL should come as no surprise.
A second-round draft pick in 2011, Khokhlachev has spent the last three seasons piling up points in the AHL; however, he's only appeared in nine NHL games.
Earlier this month, his agent told CBS Boston, "Alexander did not really get a chance for all the years that he signed a deal, for four years, the deals he signed with Boston, didn't really get a chance to play in the National Hockey League, so he won't stay in the organization."
SKA acquired Khokhlachev's KHL rights last summer.
Related: Khokhlachev just wants a chance


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When Will Kate Hudson Rep Confirm or Deny Pregnancy?Lulu and Moxleys Mom
Are you getting sick of a Kate Hudson bump watch when it might not even be a bump watch? Me too! But don't blame the bump watchers — the speculation can end with one simple statement from her PR person. Yes or no! Which is it??? Ryder Robinson visited his mom on the set of Something Borrowed this week — and we have some other photos that show the tummy region that seem to indicate a bun could indeed be in the oven next.
Photos: BauerGriffin.com and INFPhoto.com
Article Posted 6 years Ago

subset: commoncrawl


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Our personal electronics have become, in a way, impersonal. As well-constructed and pleasing as your iPhone may be, it is essentially indistinguishable from any other. So goes our entire relationship with electronics: The larger the part they play in our lives, the less we have to identify them as our own. We may love their features and spec sheets, but it's difficult to love the gadgets themselves.
And yet at the fringes of the audio world, a thriving sect of enthusiasts is keeping the spirit alive. Large companies and lone craftsman alike yearn to satisfy a particular type of consumer with spectacularly designed–and often, spectacularly expensive–speakers, amplifiers, receivers and earphones. This customer is a perfectionist, a spec-obsessed gadget nerd with the soul of a wine enthusiast. His vocabulary is extensive and foreign; his passion unmatched. Whatever you do, though, don't call him an audiophile.
In Pictures: The Best Luxury Audio Gear
Steve Guttenberg, who writes the popular blog The Audiophiliac, about high-end audio equipment, for tech website CNET, describes the phenomenon: "About 20 years ago, I was at a party with a lot of audiophiles, and I was kind of bored. I walked around and I asked every single attendee if he was an audiophile, and four out of five said no." This conundrum, he says, is unique to the Listening Arts. "Ask a guy with a Ferrari and ask him if he is into cars, he'll say 'Damn straight!' There is something weird about being an audiophile that even audiophiles are ashamed of."
Indeed, it is true that one doesn't have to look far to find flagrant excess in this culture, where die-hards spend more furnishing a living room with speakers than many do filling their garages. Amplifiers routinely carry tags in excess of $5,000 dollars, and a "world-class" set of speakers can go for double that. Earbuds, not unlike the ones iPod owners treat as disposable commodities, sell for 10 times the price of their no-frills counterparts. Listening to music can be a sublime experience, the attainment of which, for some, carries no price.
Setting aside the most extreme examples, to flatly dismiss such products as esoteric, or their advocates as delusional, is a mistake. For their heightened prices these products offer spectacular sound, yes, but also artistry. Speakers, phonographs and amplifiers are as much fixtures in your home as they are creators of frequency, and the mad focus of their designers promises, at the very least, a unique object. "What distinguishes high-end audio from mass-market audio," says Guttenburg, "is that there's always a guy who says 'I can make it better.' And to the best of his ability, he does."
When it comes to the priciest products, a skeptic can explain diminishing returns in performance, lament inscrutable audiophile jargon or point to products that are, by his judgment, "good enough." But he might be missing the point. Bob Palkovich of Merlin Music Systems, who makes his living selling high-end audio gear, proclaimed, "Some people turn a passion into a fixation. I'm a musicphile. I just want to own things that let me hear what's there." And who wouldn't?
In Pictures: The Best Luxury Audio Gear
See Also:
Creating A Waterproof iPad Case
iPad Text-To-Speech Not Threat To Audio Books
HP, Intel, Weezer Rock Times Square


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OK, I've been sorta looking at lights for the past couple of months, and the MS seems to be the best cheap one BUT it has a couple of serious flaws.
I've read these posts on this forum and others where somebody takes the thing apart and really checks it out. My impression is that they all have an Achilles heel, The MS connections come to mind, plus I forget what else.
My question: Since these lights are becoming so popular, has anybody put together a simple set of instructions that will allow the home consumer who is no geek (but not a total idiot either) to bolster the weak links?
I have the impression that these lights could last a decade or two but for these few weaknesses that currently render them little more than disposable. They cut corners and save 5 cents on some dinky little part and your light goes into the trash in a few months. Nobody get offended--I'm not mincing words here--this is my impression.
In other words, instead of just saying, "tsk tsk, the cord will pull out easily because the connection is ****", actually list the procedure for fixing it with commonly available parts from radio shack or Home depot or whatever.
I wouldn't be at all surprised to hear that this has been done--if so, please direct me. Thank you.
Alright, I know it's MagicShine, not Magidshine--Maybe the same guy who designs the fix-your-light kit could find a way to fix spelling errors in the forums titles:D
Given that I could be way off base here, I have mentioned this thread to Mr. Geoman and invited him to address the issue of weak links in the lights. I need a decent light that's going to LAST--I'm sick of shoddy stuff that breaks if you gaze at it . . .


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worthless politicians
Matt Taibbi: The Evil Corporate Tax Holiday Is Baaaaaack!
In a new blog post in Rolling Stone, Matt Taibbi writes about a bi-partisan bill called "Freedom to Invest Act," which would "temporarily" reduce the effective corporate tax rate to 5.25 percent for all profits corporations earned abroad if the funds are brought back into the U.S. The amount in question is about $1 Trillion, which would otherwise be taxed at 30 to 40%. Read more about Matt Taibbi: The Evil Corporate Tax Holiday Is Baaaaaack!
Corporate Tax Amnesty: The Next Hostage Crisis
A comment from Numerian at Economic Populist:
"The immediate next stage for the Republicans will be to demand a tax amnesty. There are so many noble corporations out there who have kept their revenue offshore due to our "unfair" tax system, and they are just dying to bring this money home in order to create jobs! Sen. Mike Crapo (R.,Idaho) make this very argument this morning on television. I didn't think they'd be on this so quickly, but they are on a roll so why not go for everything in their playbook.
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Uncover unemployment insurance fraud
uDetect can help state UI agencies harness the power of their data to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse.
The recession brought a tsunami of unemployment insurance (UI) claims, so it's not surprising that the number of fraudulent benefit requests also surged. In fact, US Department of Labor studies show approximately $2.2 billion in unemployment benefits were dispersed to unqualified individuals in 2011¹.
Few, if any, are more frustrated by this statistic than state UI agency directors who are working to provide a financial bridge to unemployed workers while trying to deter abuse. Many rely on conventional cross-checking methods based on historical data, which uncover fraudulent claims after the fact. By the time employment records reveal a falsified claim, erroneous payments are often unrecoverable. This is where Deloitte's uDetect analytic tool can help by pinpointing—and even predicting—likely abuse.
uDetect can help state UI agencies harness the power of their data to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse. With uDetect, state UI agencies gain analytic and predictive modeling capabilities that can help identify likely fraud or overpayments early—providing more time for interventions that could help recover or prevent overpayments.
UI agencies can tap uDetect's capabilities as an enhancement to Deloitte's uFACTS claims system or another legacy system—or as a Deloitte-hosted software as a service. Regardless of the option they choose, state UI agencies can gain new capabilities that help:
- Reduce fraud, waste, and abuse
- Provide a platform for more accurate delivery of benefits
- Fund other beneficial programs through the reduction of erroneous payments
- Segment applicants to identify qualified individuals
- Allow investigators to focus efforts on more costly abuse cases
If you think that uDetect could help reduce your state's unqualified UI claims, we should talk. Please reach out to any of us to get the conversation started.
¹Izzo, Phil, The Wall Street Journal, April 27, 2013
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Deloitte Analytics
Our business analytics specialists look inside data to help create and refine strategies for delivering insights that yield informed business decisions.
Deloitte Analytics Platform
The DAP concept combines our engagement experience, significant research, & existing proprietary tools focused on anti-fraud & anti-corruption efforts.
Enterprise Fraud and Misuse Management Solution
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Inside Fraud Solutions
Deloitte's Analytics Answers are fraud-focused solutions that can help identify patterns and anomalous behaviors hidden deep inside.
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The Heckler & Koch MP7 is a German submachine gun manufactured by Heckler & Koch (H&K) and chambered for the 4.6x30mm cartridge. It was designed with the new cartridge to meet NATO requirements published in 1989, as these requirements call for a personal defense weapon (PDW) class firearm, with a greater ability to defeat body armor than current weapons limited to conventional pistol cartridges. The MP7 went into production in 2001. It is a direct rival to the FN P90, also developed in response to NATO's requirement. The weapon has been revised since its introduction and the current production version is the MP7A1.The proliferation of high-quality body armor has begun to make guns that fire pistol ammunition (such as HK's earlier MP5 submachine gun or USP pistol) ineffective. In response to this trend, HK designed the MP7 (along with the now cancelled UCP pistol, which uses the same ammunition) to penetrate body armor, but small enough to be used in place of either a pistol or a submachine gun.
The Heckler & Koch MP7 features a full-length, top-mounted Picatinny rail that comes standard with folding fore and rear iron sights attached. When the sights are folded flat, they resemble simple open sights. Folded up, they feature aperture sights. The sights can easily be removed by loosening a single screw and lifting them off. It can fit additional rails on the sides of the barrel, which allow it to mount commercial optical sights (telescopic and red dot sights), laser aiming modules (LAM), and tactical flashlights. The MP7 can also accept a suppressor.
|Heckler & Koch MP7
|Personal defense weapon and Submachine gun
|Place of origin
|Service history
|Used by
|Albania, Austria, Germany, Ireland, Jordan, Norway,
Oman, South Korea, United Kingdom
|Production history
|Heckler & Koch
|1.2 kg (2.65 lb) with 20 round empty magazine
|638 mm (25.1 in) stock extended / 415 mm (16.3 in) stock collapsed
|Barrel length
|180 mm (7.1 in)
|51 mm (2.0 in)
|169.5 mm (6.7 in)
|Gas-operated, short stroke piston, rotating bolt
|Rate of fire
|950 rounds/min
|Muzzle velocity
|Approx. 725 m/s (2,379 ft/s)
|Effective range
|200 m
|Feed system
|20 or 40 round box magazine
MP7 Design
The MP7 essentially operates like a scaled-down assault rifle, with the same action as HK's G36, a short stroke piston. It fires a specially designed, armor-piercing round with a muzzle velocity nearly as high as that of the 5.56x45mm NATO cartridge used by many modern rifles. This ammunition is unique among submachine guns in that the bullet is made almost entirely of a hardened steel penetrator instead of softer copper or lead. The ammunition is virtually exclusive to the gun (save for the now cancelled H&K UCP and a planned variant of the Brügger & Thomet MP9) and also offers low recoil. VBR of Belgium produces a 4.6x30mm 2-part controlled fragmenting projectile that is claimed to increase the content of the permanent wound cavity and double the chance to hit a vital organ. Heckler & Koch claims that the CPS Black Tip ammunition made by Fiocchi has a muzzle energy of approximately 525 J, which would be comparable to 9x19mm Parabellum rounds.
The round also has a small diameter (it can almost be described as a scaled down .223 Remington ), allowing for high capacity in a very small magazine. The weapon allows a conventional 20-round, 30-round, or 40-round box magazine to be fit within the pistol grip (the former being comparable in size to a 15-round 9 mm magazine, while the latter compares to a 30-round 9 mm magazine). The weapon features an ambidextrous fire-select lever and rear cocking grip. It has an extendable stock and a folding front grip; it can be fired either one-handed or two-handed. It is compact and light using polymers in its construction.
MP7 Variants
- PDW: The first prototype shown in 1999 was designated the 'PDW' (Personal Defense Weapon). It had a short Picatinny rail on the top and a smooth pistol grip surface.
- MP7: In 2001 it was named the 'MP7' and went into production. It included a full length Picatinny rail, a thick curved stock and an anti-slide surface on the pistol grip much like the HK USP. It also featured folding iron sights mounted on the Picatinny rail and the button to fold the foregrip was made larger for easier operation.
- MP7A1: In 2003 its designation was changed to 'MP7A1' and featured a redesigned pistol grip with a different surface and curved shape, a smaller stock with a straight buttpad, side mounted Picatinny rails as standard and the folding iron sights were made more compact. The weapon was made slightly longer, but because the stock was shortened, the overall length did not change. The stock is also able to be locked into 3 positions. Recent MP7A1 models have a trigger safety similar to a Glock pistol; the middle section of the trigger must be pulled first before the outer part will move. This helps to stop accidental discharges if the trigger is bumped.


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With five ski resorts nearby, the Red Relaxer is the perfect base for a winter getaway. Gear up at Mountain Sports, just four miles away, where you can rent skis, snowboards, and snowshoes.
If big mountain skiing is not your thing, try sledding! We've got a few sleds you can use, and our private drive makes a great sledding hill for kids. Or, head up the mountain to Snow Bunny where you can go tubing.


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The Family Money
PARIS—"Money is the god of our time, and Rothschild is his prophet," the German poet Heinrich Heine wrote after visiting the Paris banking offices of his friend Baron James de Rothschild in 1841.
The youngest and most successful of five banking brothers, all brought up in the same Frankfurt slum, James de Rothschild is the central figure of a charmingly intimate exhibition in the Richelieu library of the Bibliothéque Nationale de France in Paris.
"The Rothschilds in France in the 19th Century" presents close to 200 items, ranging from priceless medieval manuscripts, outstanding paintings and extravagant objets d'art to more personal family heirlooms, such as letters, portraits and archive photographs.
Though the show is essentially focused on the French branch of the Rothschild clan, it also takes into account the lives of two rival Jewish banking families—the Péreires and the Camondos—who helped drive Paris's prominence as a financial hub during the 19th century.
"The rivalry between these families spurred them on to greater heights," says the show's co-curator, Melanie Aspey, director of the Rothschild Archive in London. "One family would buy a vineyard and the other would follow. They were also competing for potential railway lines. When James developed his first railway, he said people would call it 'Rothschild's railway,' therefore it has to be the best."
Of the three families, only the Rothschilds survived and flourished. The exhibition emphasizes the importance the Rothschilds placed on family unity, especially in the face of anti-Semitism. This is as evident in the supportive letters the brothers wrote each other as it is in the coat of arms of the French branch of the family, which features a bundle of five unbreakable arrows.
Indeed, nothing was too good for James's family. He employed Chopin as his daughter Charlotte's piano teacher and had Ingres paint his wife Betty's portrait, though unfortunately this stunning work, which resides in a private collection, isn't on display.
But the many other treasures that are on view, including Jean-Baptiste Greuze's iconic "The Milkmaid" (the first painting James ever bought), attest to a family whose love of artistic beauty was matched by its monetary ambition and solidarity.
Until Feb. 10
Write to Tobias Grey at email@example.com


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Based on a 2,000 calorie dietSee full nutrition
Ready In
Very good even with pork chops!
We had to grill these indoors on the stove griddle due to rain. However, the flavor combination was excellent and both my husband and I enjoyed these!
Trying this for the first time at the Memorial Day picnic... sounds like a hit, sitting beside an arugula salad and chicken thighs.
Truly amazing. The salty herb taste complements the sweet juicy peaches so well. Mmmmm!!
Totally awesome. Paired with grilled Salmon.


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The breeders category was so large I felt it was good to dived it into two.There is currently no description created for this category.
Breeders'' sites are only listed in the Breeders category.Sites that feature pet Akitas.
Sites which focus on general Akita information should be submitted to the main Akita category.


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Living with a dog is a weekly overview of the posts published in the last week, and some of the discussions prompted in the comments or thoughts that I had as a result of hindsight later on. The following list gives you a quick idea of the main topics covered in this issue, before the full article:
- dog behaviours when out on a walk
- dogs with a fear of car travel
- the different types of leash available that can be put to leisure and training use
- thunderstorm phobia
- mobile photography apps for pet and everyday photography
- our new Facebook page
Going Out and Socialisation
This week we went for longer daily walks 1-1.5hr before bedtime in an attempt to tire her out and sleep better at night. Donna had been keeping us up at night and it was vexing.
Donna of course was overjoyed, she loves the long walks. Sometimes, if the walk was too short, she would refuse to go home because she wanted to continue walking. She would sit on the ground refusing to budge and passer-bys think she is being a good dog. But the humans of Ruby, Simba and Ku all know better. Donna is not the only dog that does that. :P The night walks did turn up some interesting opportunities for night photography, so I've got the fodder for Monday's phoneography post. Whoopie :P
I am slowly publishing a series of posts about our outing to Changi Beach. I love all the photos (the good ones anyway), so I thought to highlight groups of them in a series of posts where the dogs vivacity of life can be better appreciated, rather than one giant, overwhelming photo dump where details get lost. So far, it seems people are enjoying them but do let me know if you grow tired of seeing beach pictures everyday/other day :P
Dawn @americandogblog commented on this post that "Donna was a good lesson for other dogs that don't like to ride in the car. Just go somewhere fun and suddenly the car is you best friend. :)"
It hadn't occurred to me but yes, it makes sense that taking them to fun places with the car could be one way to make dogs associate car with positive feelings. But this also made me think of Lisa @NW frame of Mind, who shared about her beloved "family dog that would suddenly decide to not get in or out of cars. 80 lbs. of Black Lab with four legs spread and braced around the sides of the door frame. There was no way to move her. :(" Now one would need to tackle this problem before one can even get the dog on the road to somewhere fun. Tough situation!
The trip to Changi Beach was also the first time ever we let Donna off-leash to play in an open space. But for people who are uncomfortable with their dogs being off-lead, what can they do to make the beach experience a better one? Perhaps a 50ft leash could help, I thought, referencing a recent post from Zeke's adventures.
Roseylinn suggested an alternative to the leash, the "… retractable leash. They allow for easy length adjustment depending on location and circumstances."
I don't have first hand experience with a retractable leash before, but I did read somewhere that this are not recommended, so I was unsure.
But Gretchen @Zeke's Adventures clarification helped me to understand better. She said she does "use a retractable leash in some circumstances also. The reason I use the 50ft is because I want to practice recall with him and it is better with a loose leash. The retractable allows the dog to always feel a bit of pressure on the neck so isn't as good as a training aid. But should work fine if you just need some extra line for a romp in the waves (;"
2browndawgs added that they "used a 30 foot check cord when our dogs were young and did not have good recall. You can also use that to teach recall."
No wonder new dog owners like me are confused with so many different products and lengths on the market. D: But I thought this was a good starting point at least, before the beach, we hadn't considered this topic before simply because there was no reason for Donna to go off-lead and therefor no strong motivating factor for us to train recall :P Heh, talk about lazy!
Stuff We're Training
With the relative success of letting Donna go off-leash at Changi Beach, I have started practising off-lead heel with her in short spurts when we go down to her twice-daily loo breaks. I am still tardy at recall training so that needs work still. When it comes to crate training, she has become comfortable enough with the crate to nap in it.
Relieving Thunderstorm Phobia
Climbing onto my shoulder is a new behaviour that Donna has started showing in the past week, when she feels jumpy about the on-coming rain.
weggieboy said the post answered some questions he had about peepads, and drew a comparison to cats who are confused because they are encouraged to use cat trees made of carpet for scratching posts and yet are negated when they scratch floor carpets. Speaking for Donna at least, using the newspapers and peepad is trained behaviour, but this trained behaviour lapses when our dog becomes too fearful beyond threshold and is no longer able to act beyond natural instinct. That is when towels, floor rugs and mats become fair game for elimination.
Ruby the Black Labrador and Kristen have suggested the thundershirt may help before, and guess what came in for Donna this week!… :D
courtesy of Thundershirt and Hound Habitat
Photography, Phoneography and Apps
Over on Instagram, Suzanne Pick asked me what app I was using for the text in my August Break pictures. I mostly use Moldiv, which at first glance looks like more of a photo collage app, but it has text capabilities that I prefer over the other apps on my iPhone. When snapping pictures, I favour Camera+ and its Ansel filter for high contrast black and whites when exploring the form of light fixtures.
Some of you may know that this blog features 100% iPhone pictures. While I really regret not lugging along my camera (not the iPhone) for the recent posts on Changi Beach (not being able to take clear, zoom in shots from far was a bummer), I also realise the limitation gave me a different format of pictures to work with to tell a fun story. One that lets the reader see the overall scenery of the beach, and the action/movement of the dogs around it. Sometimes, one doesn't need to show the beautiful dog all the time, how it is having fun in a beautiful scenery is also pretty cool.
And to be honest, I wouldn't have been able to crystalise this thought if I hadn't seen hdk79's long shots of her and her dog.
I wish Mr P could take such pictures of me and Donna together like that! But I suppose I can endeavour to take such pictures of him and Donna together, haha!
So anyway, on Wordless Wednesdays, I am going to start posting my favourite Shot of the Week, which will be what I think is my absolute best or favourite photo out of all the photos I have shot/edited and a short description why I feel so. And since I will be doing that, I thought to make it a photo challenge.
Not another one? Yes, another one, LOL. Quite a few of us post pictures everyday or participate in one photo challenge or another through the week. I want this challenge to help us think about the pictures we are taking and posting, pick the best of the lot (just one) for that week and identify what makes it a good shot for us. This is a competition against ourselves, and not others. It is not about what others think about our photos, but what we think about it.
What do you think? Anyone interested to join? Look out for details this Wednesday ;)
Blog news
Donna | Weliveinaflat
I was wondering why Donna's Facebook profile is so lonely :P, and then the lovely 2browndawgs gave me some timely advice. :D She said, "I would love to friend you on Facebook, but my blog page will only let me like pages and not friend people." So now I have a page! And the great thing about the page is, I couldn't embed the profile on wordpress but I could embed a page (see the FB widget on the sidebar?). Fantastic!
If you read all the way to the end of this fairly long post, give yourself a clap on the back! Haha! Have a lovely weekend!!! :D
Warm regards and Thanks to Jodi Stone [heartlikeadog] who hosts Follow-up Friday, and her co-host for the week Joann from Sand Spring Chesapeakes. Powered by Linky Tools, click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…