Dogblogs promise canine liberation UK [The Register] You heard it from Prentiss Riddle on February 18 and from us March 5 and from others. It takes a while for news to trickle up to major news sources from weblogs, but eventually it does. Note: Prentiss Riddle confirmed the influence his blog had on The Register's article: 'Andrew Orlowski of the Register confirms that he saw my blog before writing but neglected to mention it. No problem -- these things happen. The main thing is, this is my first meme to go mainstream! I'm so proud. :-)'
Here's how this one got rolling and eventually snowballed into a hot topic: Prentiss Riddle made the prediction. Dog News read about Dave Winer's audblog feature in Scripting News, (another blog) for Radioland (that fabulous blog tool, rss feed reader, and webservices tool rolled into one) and got a great idea: why not dogs with audblogs? Everyone and their dog wrote about audblog after Dave wrote about it.
I searched for audblogs in Fresh Search, Feedster and in Google. Dog New's article published on March 5. Megarad, a great tech blog, picked up our article on March 11. Megarad.com publishes Linkswarm, which broadcasts on DailyRotation, a technology blog headline reader; Daily Rotation linked to Megarad's. The Register probably picked up the news from DailyRotation's news headline feed because the Register is also featured on DailyRotation. Prentiss Riddle gets all the credit (their idea); the Scripting News' article on audblog really ignited the flood because everybody reads it and dog blogs (like Dog News) saw the amusing possibility of a 'dog blog by audblog' where the technology Bowlingual, the dog language to English/Japanese interpreter is married to audblogging.
Here's what Dog News said: Prediction: Blogs by dogs to debut 2nd quarter 2003 Dave Winer has started to blog by audblog notes... The technology is now available, just another neat new feature from Radioland. That means everyone can talk or even bark to their blogs and the sounds get recorded and broadcast. Wow, even our dog could blog! Indeed, as soon as we get our mike hooked up (and to think I tossed that in the donate pile), our dog will assail you with his unique way of whining (he doesn't bother to bark); we're too cheap to buy a mike, so this may not happen...
'Hairy Eyeball reports that Bowlingual, the new dog-to-human translation device just released on the American market, includes an e-mail interface...' [Prentis Riddle: Toys] (Dog News found this tasty bit'o'news via 'whip up custom rss' from Fresh Search via Ray Matthew's RSS feed via The Shifted Librarian. (See how everything leads to dogs; eery, isn't it.) Unfortunately, we seem to be the main portal for 'dog dogs pet' rss from Fresh Search. Fresh search is waaay cool... I am so glad an aggregator is built into Radioland. We would never have found these articles otherwise. (and our time is limited, after all, the dog takes three hours to brush out... and that doesn't even include the time we spend walking him... ) [Dog News]
Paws for a Cause: please help Pets on Wheels, a nationwide non-profit, all volunteer organization
Pets On Wheels provides friendship and the unconditional love of animals to elderly individuals who live in nursing homes, group homes and other facilities. Pets are screened for appropriateness and volunteers receive training prior to placement in facilities. Your donations help spread pet visits to medical day care centers, nursing homes, and hospital settings; donations also help train volunteers and in matching facilities with volunteers.
In the words of Montgomery County's Pets on Wheels:
'Pets have been scientifically proven to be therapeutic to someone who is withdrawn, confused, or depressed. The Pets On Wheels Program, which operates entirely through fund raising efforts in the Montgomery County community, provides that valuable service by visits to individuals living in nursing homes, group homes, and other facilities. This heartwarming program identifies the volunteer team of pet and owner suitable to go into facilities to improve the life of the residents with the unconditional love of animals...'
When you contribute, you make great things happen; you make it all possible for Pets on Wheels to continue. And I'm in awe of that. The quality of pets is superb (This year, our Pets on Wheels dog was honored with the title of 'Most Therapeutic' by USA Today (Flash Shockwave Plugin required) in its selection of the USA's Coolest Canines! which was featured during the USA Today's Westminster coverage February 2003! I
Pets on Wheels receives no government funding at all. This wonderful program relies solely on contributions, which are TAX-DEDUCTIBLE!!!
Consider this: Dog News is free and will remain that way. Dog News is for people and their pets. If you like what you read and I hope you do, then please donate to this worthy cause as a way of thanking us. (And if you don't like what you read or if you even hate what you read, don't worry .... donate anyway... )
So please -- make a donation or even volunteer your well-behaved pet for Pets on Wheels in your area. You can find Pets on Wheels in most communities by just using the phone book or by calling your phone directory information. Thank you in advance from the bottom of my heart.
animal shelters!
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