If you’ve ever thought about getting a new dog, you’ve heard the arguments adopting or purchasing from a responsible breeder. But what makes a responsible breeder. One very important criteria is that the breeder does genetic testing on their breeding pairs so as not to pass on genetic disorders. In Finlandor Brazil, one in every three Brazilian Terriers carries a mutation that could lead to a skeletal disorder in puppies that doesn’t allow them to stand or walk. A new test will allow breeders to test their dogs in order to prevent this disease from ever affecting another puppy.
Archive for August, 2012
Movie Review: The Island
07
Aug
I expected The Island to be a sci-fi version of The Lottery. It was, but more like a version of The Lottery mixed with Never Let Me Go. And if you know the short story and the novel, well, there are no twists left in the movie for you, so I’m sorry if I spoiled it for you.
It was a mostly enjoyable movie. I adore Ewan McGregor and Scarlet Johansson wasn’t bad. Sean Bean was the villain. I love him, and I know he plays a great bad guy, but I do wish he’d get more good guy roles.
Curiosity
06
Aug
Curious about Mars? So is most of NASA, and last night, the new Curiosity rover arrived on Mars safe and sound after 8 months of travel. Just like a good teenager, it texted it’s safe arrival back home and shortly after landing posted some sight seeing pictures.
The plan is for Curiosity to be working and sending back data for two years, though scientists hope it will last longer than that. And they have good reason to hope. The Spirit andOpportunityrovers landed in 2004. Spirit stopped working after 6 years.Opportunityis still sending data home.
Congratulations NASA.
Blog Feature: Pittieful Love
04
Aug
I love Pit Bulls. I do not currently have one, but I still love them. have never met a Pit that didn’t respond to me kisses and head butts. This is one reason I love Pittieful Love. They are dedicated to helping get the message of how great these dogs are out to the wider world. Besides blogging, they also foster, and, of course, have their own Pittie love.
This year has been a rough year for the family, losing their first dog, but they have found a new member of the family, and this week, he gets Squeeky Clean.
Your Money Friday: Who Pays for a Disbabled Child?
03
Aug
This is a tricky situation, one that is more complicated than any of us can really understand from news articles. This week on Your Money, we have been discussing how much a private organization (in this case, the Girl Scouts) should be required to pay to accommodate a disabled child and how much of that accommodation should be the responsibility of the parents of the disabled child.
If the parents are not wealthy, should their child not be allowed to participate in non-publically funded activities? Should families with healthy children be forced to help pay for disabled children to participate?
Mars
02
Aug
Humans can’t go to Mars just yet. We have to settle for sending rovers to the surface and living through pictures taken by telescopes (like the picture in this post from the Hubble spacecraft). But even if we have to visit Mars vicariously, this week we can still do it “live”. The Slooh Space Camera is webcasting live views of Mars August 1 through 3. The webcasts will include commentary from NASA scientists.
Of course, on Sunday, the newest Mars Rover will land on the planet, and the hunt for water will begin again. It’s called “Curiosity” for a reason.
Meanwhile, in Turkey
01
Aug
Once again, an exciting find by archeologists that makes me vaguely regret my decision not to go into museum studies. (Only vaguely because there are very few museum jobs out there.) InTurkey, an international team uncovered a giant human statue that they believe marked a gate on the border between the worlds of the human and the divine. The figure is most likely one of a king, as they played the important role of guiding their subjects between the two realms. The Suppiluliuma statue is over 2,500 years old, and beautifully preserved, with the head and torso still intact.