• [from steve_portigal] Dog Scouts of America honors Milpitas dog Jasper [SFGate] – [For all the talk of game-like motivations online, here's a great offline example] Merit badges for dogs are the latest thing Jasper is the first dog in the Bay Area to earn five merit badges from the Dog Scouts of America, a real organization that has quietly been issuing merit badges to deserving dogs for 11 years. Five merit badges, it turns out, are not very many badges in the Dog Scout world. There are no fewer than 76 badges – Frisbee catching, herding, canoeing and bicycling are all badges (the dog doesn't actually bicycle, he must run alongside the human cyclist, sensibly and without making the typical dog-versus-bicycle fuss). Disaster preparation is another dog merit badge, although some might say that preparing for disaster is what you do before you get a dog. Verdahl, who is going after merit badges the way some kids go after baseball cards, said he is just getting started. The next badge he and Jasper are shooting for, he said, is the badge for fundraising.

It’s been a busy-yet-fun few days on the road, from giving a plenary presentation and workshop at ASU’s Design Research Symposium (more to come, whenever I get my pictures – Hi, Greg!), to meetings, dinner with colleagues, and helping a client synthesize fieldwork data from China and Russia into product concepts. Here are some images I captured along the way:

Font problems @ Sky Harbor Airport, April, 2008

No carry-on tires, Sky Harbor Airport, April, 2008

Well, Tempe, AZ, April, 2008

Pay Here, Tempe, AZ, April, 2008

Fear God, Tempe, AZ, April, 2008

Disengaged Citrus, Tempe, AZ, April, 2008

Life imitates The Simpsons, Tempe, AZ, April, 2008

Busy license plate, Tempe, AZ, April, 2008

Crepes To Go, Portland, OR, April, 2008

Font Era #1, Portland, OR, April, 2008

Font Era #2, Portland, OR, April, 2008

Dog Paintings, Portland, OR, April, 2008

Sign upon sign, Portland, OR, April, 2008

Lift party, Portland, OR, April, 2008

Ergonomically suitable for human and canine (and other, as the case may be). At Fort Point, in San Francisco, underneath the Golden Gate Bridge.

Snausages Fortune Snookies™ are dog treats with canine-centric fortunes printed on ’em. It doesn’t matter that dogs can’t read, I guess. We’re taking the whole projection/pets-as-family thing really really far; I’m sure it’ll go further, but this is awfully silly.

Roll Over Beethoven is a collection of classical music for pets and the people who love them.

This compact disc of classical music includes selections to inspire pets, as well as ones that truly were inspired by a composer’s love for a pet. “Initially, it may sound a little unconventional, but a lot of thought went into creating a classical music CD for pets,” Greg Davis, WRR general manager said. First, people love their pets and they are continually looking for ways to improve their pets’ quality of life. What better way than with classical music! Secondly, research shows that animals, especially dogs, respond very favorably to classical music. According to a study conducted by Queen’s University in Belfast, dogs that listen to classical music are more relaxed and well behaved than when listening to other types of music, such as heavy metal.

Many first-hand accounts from our listeners support this research. We hear from folks who put their radio on WRR when they take their pet to the vet, or they leave WRR on while they’re at work or away from home. One listener said that her tortoise stands in front of the stereo speaker as long as WRR is on. Another important factor in releasing a pet CD is the opportunity to help two outstanding organizations that work tirelessly to assist abandoned and/or abused animals. A portion of CD proceeds will be donated to Operation Kindness and SPCA of Texas.

tracklisting

1. Beethoven – Symphony No. 7: Presto
2. Haydn – Piano Concerto No. 4: Adagio cantabile
3. Bach – Brandenburg Concerto No. 6: Finale
4. Mozart – Violin Concerto No. 3: Adagio
5. Dvorak – Legend: Allegro giusto
6. Debussy – The Girl with the Flaxen Hair
7. Toch – Spiel: Idyll
8. Copland – Rodeo: Hoe-down
9. Elgar – Enigma Variations: Variation 11
10. Tucker – Whiskers, a Kitty Walk* (World Premiere Recording)
11. Respighi – The Birds: Prelude
12. Satie – Preludes flasques: Flabby Preludes
13-14. Faure – Dolly Suite: Mi-a-ou and Kitty Valse
15. Hovhaness – Piano Sonata: Fred the Cat
16. Gershwin – Walking the Dog (Theme from WRR’s “A Night on the Town”)
17-19. Saint-Saens – Carnival of the Animals: The Birds, The Aquarium and Finale

(thanks Amy)