Culo Evans 1997-2010 - That's All Folks

I met Culo, then known as Jack, at the old Humane Society Silicon Valley in Santa Clara, CA, summer 1997.

December 5, 1997, almost 1 year

October 23, 2003, age 6

December 31, 2010, age 13

For the last 13 years, I've had to factor in the health and well being of my dog Culo into almost every decision made about my life. Everything from fabrics of clothing to furniture placement to work locations to vacations. Today, that lifestyle came to an end. My roommate, companion and walking buddy died at 9:30 am at Murphy Avenue Pet Clinic in Sunnyvale. The euthanasia (Euthanasia... What To Expect by DrTJDunnJr) administered by Dr. Karen Lee (Dr. Ken Stewart, Culo's usual vet was out) was very quick and humane. I was in the room when the shots were given.

Post Secret 9-13-9

I'm very sad and a little at loose ends now that Culo is gone. For instance, 6 pm used to be his dinner time. As I'm writing this, it's 6:15 pm but it doesn't mean anything special any more. I keep expecting to see him peeking at me around corners or nudging the back of my legs so I'll pet him. I still find myself watching where I step even though there's no little 25 pound dog I may smoosh. The mornings in the bathroom will be different since Culo will no longer put his paws on my lap to get petted. Or stick his nose into the shower steam to see what's going on.

Culo's last illness was an aggressive cancerous tumor in his nasal cavity.

Cancer in the sense of body cells that turn on the host and gradually destroy formerly healthy material.

The trouble started out as sneezes and weird wet sounds in his chest and throat area. By the end, the tumor almost totally blocked his breathing. Instead of switching to mouth breathing, sometimes Culo's whole body would shake in the effort to get air through his nose. To me, it sounded like a duck quacking. He would only pant with his mouth as a last resort. On the last day, he'd figured out a kind of perpetual throaty growl as a way to breath through his mouth. Poor boy was working way to hard at existing. The bloody globs he was exhaling all over the house didn't help. Some patches look like scatter diagrams.

The cancer also caused the bone in the front part of his head to crumble. In the last week, his face area noticeably lost its former shape and structure. The bump between his eyes became bigger and reader.. Plus a pinched nerve made his left eye bulge and forced his third eyelid to stick in the up position.

Bones in face shifted.

3rd Eye Lid Stuck

Even though I miss Culo, I'm so happy he's not in pain and discomfort anymore.

When I get his cremation ashes back in January, I plan to turn them into a gem such as Pet-Gems or LifeGem. That way, I can have him with me without it being creepy like taxidermy or an urn filled with dusty ashes.

It looks like my vet donates used pet supplies to Pets In Need Redwood City. Perhaps they'll take Culo's old stuff?

Iran June 2009 Election Uprising Graphic Novel

Free downloadable political graphic novel, Persepolis 2.0: Iran's Post-Election Uprising: Hopes & Fears Revealed. All images repurposed from Marjane Satrapi's novel Persepolis.

Good memoir and peek into upper middle class Iranian culture, by the way.

Although images were created for Iran's 1979 Revolution, they apply to the aftermath of the June 2009 Iranian Election.

Since the Revolution in 1979, Iranians have coped with an increasingly repressive regime. Attempts for greater social and political freedoms have resulted in brutal crackdowns by the hardline government. The ensuing apathy and significant boycott of the 2005 presidential elections led to the election of the ultraconservative mayor of Tehran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Four years later Iran has become increasingly alienated and its people more polarized than ever before. The campaign of former Prime Minister Mir Hussein Moussavi galvanized voters hoping for change, especially among the youth – two thirds of Iran’s population is younger than 32. On June 12th 85% of eligible voters cast their ballots and what happened next changed Iran forever.

Put together by two artists, spreadpersepolis@gmail.com. Shanghai-based, Iranian-born and Belgian-bred Payman and Sina.

Skeuomorph

SKYOO-uh-morf

A design feature copied from a similar artifact in another material, even when not functionally necessary. For example, the click sound of a shutter in an analog camera that is now reproduced in a digital camera by playing a sound clip.

A skeuomorph can be employed for various purposes. Since people are used to the click sound of a camera as feedback that the picture has been taken, it is now artificially-produced in digital cameras. Other examples are copper cladding on a zinc penny (for familiarity) and wood finish on a plastic product (for a more expensive look).

From Greek skeuos (vessel, implement) + -morph (form)

A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg

An ornament or design on an object copied from a form of the object when made from another material or by other techniques, as an imitation metal rivet mark found on handles of prehistoric pottery.

Dictionary.com


A derivative object which retains ornamental design cues to structure that was necessary in the original. Skeuomorphs may be deliberately employed to make the new look comfortably old and familiar, such as copper cladding on zinc pennies or computer printed postage with circular town name and cancellation lines. The word derives from Greek, skeuos for 'vessel' or 'tool' and morphe for 'shape'.

Wikipedia

Skeumorphs are Material Metaphors

Efforts to make the new look comfortably old and familiar, or simply habits too deeply engrained to wash away.

Archaeologists, who make an academic practice of studying material culture change, while not the first to notice that yesterday’s functional features become today’s stylistic decorations, were at least the first to name the phenomenon:

Skeuomorphs are material metaphors. They are informational attributes of artifacts which help us find a path through unfamiliar territory. They help us map the new onto an existing cognitive structure, and in so doing, give us a starting point from which we may evolve additional alternative solutions. They provide us with "a path" instead of "no path" at all.

Skeuomorphs and Cultural Algorithms by Nicholas Gessler


For some reason, I find Skeuomorph a fascinating word. It's fun trying to think of other examples other than those above.

• A horse on a Mustang car
• A carriage on the side of an RV
• A pocket watch pocket in jeans
• Molded plastic with fake looking screw heads
• Digital knobs, buttons, switches and sliders that duplicate the ones that existed on the original physical device being emulated
• Stone or metal decorative features that simulate wooden or timber structures like studs or crossed corners
• QWERTY keyboard. Originally laid out to prevent physical keys from getting stuck when popular letters were together in the original typing machines.
• Plastic sandals that look like fabric or leather
• Spoke patterns on hubcaps and rims to copy the old carriage wheels
• Molded trigger on plastic guns
• Molded furniture that looks like wicker or woven cane
• Gesture that people use to get someone to to roll down a car window. Miming a circular hand crank
• Canopy bed simulating a private cave
• The concept of pages in word processing software and web pages on the internet.
• Bookmarks is as archaic as web pages.
• Wood grain on cheaply made products
• Lights shaped like candles
• Shopping cart icons on ecommerce web sites
• Reel-to-reel tape icon used to represent a tape such as a voice mail message
• Old fashioned key or lock to represent security
• Concrete outdoor furniture that looks like wood or metal
• Manila folder icons on computer
• Video gambling machines that simulate one-arm slot machines
• Floppy disk icon button which stands for "Save" in computer applications
• Taj Mahal architecture that simulates traditional Mongolian tents (gers or yurts)
• Calling the strings of instruments like guitar, harp, violin, cello or bass gut even though they may be made of steel or nylon
  

Internet and Blog Etiquette

I post on a lot of boards on a lot of topics all over the internet. The worst part of the forums, other than the lame applications that eat your post before submitting it to the site, are the trolls. Trolls are the idiots who try to provoke you by calling you names, acting as if their opinion is the only valid thought on a topic or being rude and childish on the boards. It takes a lot of self control not to jump to the bait, but it helps if you picture some toady, fortish loser, with Cheeto fingers, typing away in his parents' basement in their discolored underwear. If you lower yourself to their level, you are even more pathetic than they are.

Trolls are the people I wish would learn and use Netiquette.

Core Rules of Netiquette by Virginia Shea

• Rule 1: Remember the Human

• Rule 2: Adhere to the same standards of behavior online that you follow in real life

• Rule 3: Know where you are in cyberspace

• Rule 4: Respect other people's time and bandwidth

• Rule 5: Make yourself look good online

• Rule 6: Share expert knowledge

• Rule 7: Help keep flame wars under control

• Rule 8: Respect other people's privacy

• Rule 9: Don't abuse your power

• Rule 10: Be forgiving of other people's mistakes

From her website, Albion, one of the longest running commercial sites on the Internet.

A great starting point of how to behave online. Remember, what may feel good today may bomb your prospects in the future, so be careful.

clipped from www.barbaraling.com Mastering the ART of Netiquette (Internet blogging etiquette and more) Back in 1990, the wondrously smart person Virginia Shea wrote The Core Rules of Netiquette. My Own Personal Netiquette and Internet Blogging Etiquette Good Behavior Tips >> Netiquette Tip 10: Politeness costs nothing but delivers big. >> Netiquette Tip 9: Satisfy your ego by MAKING achievements and NOT DEGRADING those who do (ie, don’t be a meanie!). >> Netiquette Tip 8: Sit on your hands . >> Netiquette Tip 7: Take BACK your own power . >> Netiquette Tip 6: Remember the Internet is Timeless . Once you hit that POST button….your words are immortalized online. >> Netiquette Tip 5: Treat others as you’d like to be treated yourself . >> Netiquette Tip 4: Be wary about the CC button. >> Netiquette Tip 3: Be gracious. >> Netiquette Tip 2: Be Proactive.