Showing posts with label pets. Show all posts

Jewelry The Cat Coughed Up. Feline Furball Necklaces, Earrings and Rings.

Okay, so it hasn't actually been digested by a cat, but the custom jewelry by Moderncat blogger and jewelry designer Heidi Abrahamson, is actually made from the fur of a feline.

The one-of-a-kind pieces where made when Kate Benjamin (shown modeling the jewelry above) gave several cats a good grooming (she recommends the Furminator) and then hand-rolled each ball of cat fur into a tight bead. By rolling the loose fur between her palms, the strands become felted together, forming a solid little bead. Her friend Heidi then added her silversmithing skills by attaching jewelry findings to the furballs and then mounting them on earrings, ring shanks and chains.

Yes, Heidi said she would be happy to create custom hairball jewelry for you, too! Feel free to contact her for pricing and details.

all photos by Kate Benjamin. Info and images courtesy of Modern Cat

If you think this is bizarre, check out the people who make sweaters from their dog's fur here

This Christmas' Must Have Toy: Pleo

Wouldn't you like to be the coolest parent (or grandparent or Aunt or Uncle) this holiday season?

Then get on board with what will be the hottest purchase this holiday. It's Pleo, the adorable, computerized, 'smart' toy brought to you by the same creator of Furby. At $349.00 the price may actually go up if demand is like that for hot toys in the past. It isn't avialable until October in the US, but you can pre-order now.

You may laugh at my thinking about Christmas gifts in June, but I can assure you this one will be a nightmare to attempt to find once it's hit the market.

Read on and learn why it's an unusual, inventive, adorable toy.

Pleo, a one week-old dinosaur, is a robotic marvel and the newest member of your family! Pleo interacts with you – moving organically, expressing emotion, autonomously exploring and responding to the world around him. Each Pleo has a unique personality that develops based on Pleo’s life experiences with you.

On Pleoworld.com owners connect, find training tips and download new enhancements to Pleo. Pleo’s sophisticated sensory system has devices that enable him to hear, to see, to sense touch, and to detect objects: a color camera, sound sensors, two infrared sensors, 14 motors, over 100 gears, eight touch sensors, and an orientation sensor.

Every Pleo is unique. Yes, each one begins life as a newly-hatched baby Camarasaurus*, but that's where predictability ends and individuality begins. Pleo doesn't just do what he's told. He develops his own personality, moods, and habits—all shaped by the time he spends with you. In creating this Life Form, we merely set the wheels in motion. Making the magic is up to you and Pleo.

*What is a Camarasaurus?
Camarasaurus was a late-Jurassic North American herbivore, 60 feet long in adulthood, and just Pleo's size as a newborn.

What comes in the box:
Every Pleo life form Includes
Companion guide
Training leaf
Authenticity ID Card
NiMH replaceable, rechargeable battery pack
AC charger

Measurements
Pleo: 20.7" L x 6.0" W x 7.5" H. (3.5 lbs.)
Shipping Box: 24.0” x 10.0” x 8.0: (5.0lbs)

How Do They Do It?

Significant Processing Power
32-bit Microprocessors – central and image processing
8-bit Subprocessors – motor control

Highly Articulated Movement
14 Motors
Over 100 custom-designed gears

Complex Sensory Network
Camera-based vision system – light detection and navigation
Microphones – binaural hearing
Skin sensors – head, chin, shoulders, back, feet
Foot switches – surface detection
Force-feedback sensors – one per joint
Orientation tilt sensor – body position
Infrared mouth sensor – object detection

Multiple Data Ports
Mini USB™ port – online downloads
SD™ card slot – Pleo add-ons
Infrared transceiver – Pleo-to-Pleo communications

High-Quality Sound
2 Speakers – mouth and back

Power Source
Rechargeable and replaceable NiMH battery pack

To see him moving, click here.

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Not intended for children under the age of 8.

PLEO’s NiMH battery recharges in four hours, which provides approx. one hour of operation.

Pleo will be available in the United States in October 2007.

Available for purchase and pre-order now ($349.00 USD), click here.

In Memoriam

Abbey

March 7, 1993 - May 12, 2007

As some of you know, my dearest friend and devoted canine companion of 10 years, Abbey, was diagnosed with terminal cancer last september. After pallative treatment of chemo and radiation in October, and several efforts at staving off infections with various antibiotics (and yet making sure she has a positive quality of life), at the age of 14, she is finally leaving me.

A jack russell terrier with tons of attitude who was smart as a whip and equally as beautiful, her absence will leave a hole in more lives than just my own.

Not everyone understands what the love of a dog can do for your life. I am thankful that I do. Abbey basically saved mine by coming into my world at a point when I was suffering from severe depression, a broken heart and was painfully lonely.

I never had any pets growing up. Well, okay, not entirely true. I did have some of those tiny turtles in a plastic bowl with a fake palm tree and a hamster named Cream Puff, but never knew what it was like to have a pet who curled up with you during an afternoon nap or lick your face in the morning to wake you. The birthday wish I made as I closed my eyes and blew out the candles from age 5 to age 16 was to have a dog.

I'm forever grateful to my friend Kim, who was Abbey's original mommy but whose life at the time was complicated and wasn't the best for raising a dog. She saw that I needed something to love and she generously let me adopt Abbey in 1998. Not once did she ever ask for Abbey back nor during her numerous and frequent visits over the following years, did she make me feel like Mommy #2. Because of her generosity, I had the wonderful unparalleled experience of having Abbey for 10 years.

Abbey and I drove across the country, just the two of us, twice. She was my partner in strange hotels and adventures in towns I'd previously never seen. The perfect road trip companion, she never wanted to change the radio and not once asked "Are we there yet?" She helped make every unfamiliar place comforting. She gave me strength to do things I'd never undertake alone.

I moved to Michigan for work in 2003 and returned in 2006. Part of what made that experience endurable and void of homesickness was Abbey. Wherever she was became home to me.

It will be hard to adjust to life without Abbey. In the past ten years there were very few nights she did not sleep tucked under the covers with me. More often than not, hers was the last face I saw before going to sleep and the first face I saw as I woke. But, like all living things, no matter how wonderful, she cannot grace the world forever.

She is being peacefully euthanized today in the comfort of her home, in the safety of my arms. And someday, someday I hope to see her again. To hold her, to let her nuzzle her snout in my neck and to give her kisses on the belly.

Until then I can happily say I have no regrets. None at all. I'm so happy that I spoiled her rotten, put her needs before mine, and spent every penny on everything from gourmet dog food, beautiful collars, the finest medical care and all those deposits for hotel rooms.

It was completely worth it.

Goodbye Sweet Abbey.

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Below are a few of my favorite pictures from the past ten years: