2009
My Dog is Limping After Our Run, What is Wrong With My Dog’s Legs? Did My Dog Pull A Muscle?
Today Captain (my dog) and I went on a run. Well I was riding my bike, he was running. It was a really hot day out there, I think it got up to about 100 degrees in the afternoon when we went out. Anyways, my dog was completely fine before went out running on our normal trail that we have run on many times. About half way through the run my dog starts acting a little weird, he is not as spunky and excited as he usually is off the leash. Usually he is sprinting around chasing whatever animals/reptiles he sees move along the trails. He starts getting real close to me, and looking at me, and moving real slow. So I got off my bike to get some water out for him, and noticed he was limping. He has never had any leg problems, he is only about 2.5 years old. He is almost in a panic state, I think between the heat and something being wrong with his legs. At first I couldn’t tell which leg he was favoring, or limping on. So I thought the ground may have been too hot for him. But that wasn’t it, we were on a dirt trail, the ground wasn’t hot enough to be burning his paws. So then I checked all his paws to make sure he didn’t get anything stuck in them, and he appeared fine. But he wasn’t, he started laying on the dirt, crawling around like he was badly wounded. That’s when I started to really get worried about him.
So I decided to try to get him home and see what was going on there, out of the heat and off the trail. There was nothing that I could do out there. I had already checked all his paws, and felt his leg muscles and couldn’t feel or see anything wrong. So we headed home real slow. He limped a little the whole way on what appeared to be both back legs. Not a strong limp, but a light swagger, like something just wasn’t right. He would never get into a run speed after this, he would only get up to a fast walking pace.
Finally we get home and he slurps down a ton of water, then I take him into the air conditioned house where he just laid on the floor trying to cool off for about an hour. I Checked his paws and legs out again, thoroughly this time and still couldn’t find anything wrong with him. All I could think that was he tore a muscle or ligament in one or both of his back legs. So at this point I figured that I would just let him rest and hope that is was nothing too serious.
So I go to put my bike away and as I am walking it to the garage I notice something on the front tire. So a grabbed it and pulled it out. It was a nasty thorn that I picked up along the trail somewhere. The air started leaking out of my tire the second I pulled it out because it was pretty good sized. That sucks, now I got a flat tire and a hurt dog. I start to roll my bike forward a little more and see another one. So I pull it out. Then I look at my back tire and find 5 more!
My poor dog… At this point I realize that my dog got his paws pricked to hell today on the trail and he was just in pain. I felt like an asshole for taking him through that trail with all those thorns on the ground. The weird part is that we have run that trail many times before without any problems.
Do those bushes or plants shed these thorns at only certain times of year? Or was it just bad luck picking up so many this time?
After all that, I am glad that it was nothing more serious though!
I HATE THESE THORN BUSHES! THEY RUIN BIKE TIRES AND DOGS FEET!!!
2009
Microsoft Ad Mistake, Microsoft Apologizes For Poor Judgment in Ad Design, Graphic Design Lesson
Microsoft, the largest software developer in the world made a big mistake today when posting a repeated ad campaign in another country, but with a slightly different twist.
The English version of the ad showed 3 people, an Asian man, a black man, and a white woman. The the same ad was repeated for Poland, but instead of having the black man in the the middle, they photoshopped his head out and replaced it with a white mans head. This was probably a poorly decided marketing strategy done due to the majority of the population being white in Poland. Now that is not a fact, but take a look at the numbers and tell me otherwise.
Click Images to view full size
Being a designer, I know that this is a BIG MISTAKE! You never do something like this. And if you must, you make sure you are using one photograph that you own, and you only use it once. You cant make multiple manipulations to it. People will know that they have seen the image somewhere before and go back and try to compare what has changed.
Graphic designers and need to remember this also when purchasing stock photography. Since others can purchase and use the same image, it is likely someone will notice something is different if you manipulate the image and it is used publicly. Microsoft just help teach a valuable lesson to many graphic designers with their mistake in this ad campaign.
Race is a sensitive issue to mess around with in photographs and ads, be careful what you do to your images.
Below are the two ads that Microsoft had displayed for different countries -
From CNN.com
SEATTLE, Washington (CNN) — Software giant Microsoft apologized Wednesday for the apparent bad judgment that led to the head of a black model being swapped for that of a white model in an online advertisement.
A black man in an online Microsoft ad was replaced with a white man, bottom, on the company’s Polish Web site.The ad — which showed three business people, one Asian, one white and one black — was altered on Microsoft’s Web site for Poland to place the head of a white man on a black man’s body.
“We apologized, fixed the error and we are looking into how it happened,” said Lou Gellos, a Microsoft spokesman.
He said that because the company was still reviewing how the swap occurred he could not comment further.
On Microsoft’s official page on the social network site Twitter, a posting calls the swap “a marketing mistake” and offers “sincere apologies.”
The business Web site CNET.com, which first published reports of the swap, wrote that the change in models may have been made with the “racially homogeneous” Polish market in mind.
2009
Step By Step How to Make a Bonsai Tree, Pictures of Japanese Boxwood Bonsai Tree
Here is a step by step illustration of how to Make a bonsai tree. I am making a Japanese Boxwood (Buxus microphylla) plant into a Bonsai tree in this example.
How to Make a Japanese Boxwood Bonsai Tree –
At the end of the Article are a series of pictures that will help illustrate what the text is describing. (Pictures of transforming your bonsai tree are in order from Top to bottom, left to right)
Before beginning, make sure that you have chosen a tree that will survive in the climate where you live. Once you select a type of tree that you would like to Bonsai, start by taking it out of the pot and loosening up the root system.
Start pulling off about an inch of soil from the top of the plant to expose the root system. Do this gently, trying not to damage the roots. Using a chopstick works well to stick in and pull away soil from the roots without harming the plant. After doing the top, start working your way up from the bottom now. You will need to pull away close to all the soil from the bottom of the plant up, until the root ball and soil are are a little less than the thickness of the height of your bonsai pot. The roots may be very long, it is OK to cut most of them off so that you can fit your tree in the pot, just make sure that you have the mail center part of the root system, and a good amount of smaller routs surrounding it. (See Pictures Below for an example)
Next let the plant soak in some water for about 20 minutes. The plant will need a lot of water over the next few days due from all the stress caused.
When potting the bonsai tree, add some soil to the bottom of the pot and then place the tree into the pot. Getting a good bonsai soil mixture is a good idea because it helps with the drainage. But regular soil will do if you don’t have access to anything else. Then set our tree in the pot and position the bonsai tree where you would like to see it. As an artist, the rule of thirds applies pretty well here also. Never plant it dead in the center of the pot. Try to place it slightly off centered. In this case, I don’t have a good bonsai pot yet, so I just cut the pot that the Japanese Boxwood came in down to a couple inches tall for now, and will just be using the original soil again. If you had a good pot, you would want to wire the tree in place. Refer to this article on how to make a bonsai tree for a more detailed description.
Now that you have your tree in the pot, you can begin to prune and shape it to the desired size you like. It is important not to trim off all the leaves, but you will most likely be getting rid of a good amount of them, as you did to the root system. Think of it as balancing the tree out. Start snipping away at branches and leaves until you get it looking like you imagined. Try to expose some of the trunk and branch system to give the look that it is a miniature tree. Over time the leaves will start to shrink a bit, and fill out more, so it will look even more like a mini-tree.
The Pictures below show you how to make your Japanese Boxwood Bonsai Tree!
Click on any image to View Full Size
