Vol 9 Num 1

Signals
The Newsletter for
Engineering Professionals
2nd Quarter 2014 - Volume 9 - Number 1
Pet Trivia
Test your knowledge about domesticated animals with these trivia
questions.
1. What color eyes are cats born with?
2. What is the largest breed of dog?
3. What was the first animal to be domesticated?
4. Can dogs detect cancer?
5. What unusual pet did Julius Caesar have?
6. How old was the longest living gold-
fish on record?
7. How many dogs have been named as the primary beneficiary in their owner’s will?
8. In 1879, in Belgium, 37 cats were hired to perform a service for local villages. What was it?
9. What kind of parrot can say over 800 words?
10. What is unusual about a Basenji dog?
11. What type of animals are Pintos, Halfingers and Walers?
12.What tropical lizard has the ability to change color?
13.What kind of cat has no tail?
14. What do you call a group of ferrets?
Answers
1. All cats are born with blue eyes.
2. Contrary to popular belief, the Great Dane is not the largest dog breed— the Irish Wolfhound is.
3. According to historians the goat was the first animal to be domesticated.
4. Studies have shown that dogs can detect certain kinds of cancer with a 99% accuracy.
5. A pet giraffe, believe it or not.
6. Tish the goldfish was won as a prize at a Yorkshire fair and lived to be 43.
7. An estimated one million dogs in the United States have been named.
8. The cats were hired to carry bundles of letters to villages. The service didn’t last long because the mail cats wouldn’t cooperate!
9. The African gray parrot can say over 800 words; most parrots only 50.
10. It doesn’t bark.
11.These are all horse breeds.
12. The Chameleon changes its color to hide from predators. They can also use their color to represent emotions like fear or anger or to regulate heat.
13.The Manx has no tail and came about as a natural mutation on the Isle of Mann, where they remain a substantial percentage of the local cat population.
14. A group of ferrets is called a “business” of ferrets.
“Dogs have owners, cats have staff.”
~Anonymous
“The most affectionate creature in the
world is a wet dog.” ~Ambrose Bierce
Pet Perfect Gadgets
Here are a few of our favorite gadgets
for your furry friends:
 Not sure what Fido does all day while
you are at work? Well now you can find
out with the Whistle, a wireless waterproof device that attaches to a dog’s
collar and tracks their activity and rest—
much like a Fitbit for humans. www.
whistle.com
 For those who have an escape artist
for a pet, the Tagg pet tracker might be
just the thing. The small system acts
as a GPS beacon when they escape.
Just press “Locate” on your computer or
mobile device and the system will show
you where your pet is so you can go
fetch him. www.pettracker.com
 A dog’s eye view of the world can
now be captured with the new Sony
ActionCam. It can be mounted to your
dog’s back via a harness. That should
make for some interesting YouTube
videos! www.amazon.com
 Are common pets like dogs/cats
just not your thing? How about a pet
Jellyfish? With the Desktop Jellyfish
Tank you get everything you need for a
Jellyfish habitat, even a color changing
LED with remote control so your Jelly
looks super cool. Get your tank, and
then send in your voucher to receive
your Moon Jellyfish. It ships overnight
at no additional charge and is backed
by the “Arrive Alive Guarantee” (thank
goodness!). www.thinkgeek.com
 If you can’t bring your pet to the office, sometimes checking in is nice. Pet
Cube will let owners watch, talk to, and
even remotely play with their pets (via
the system’s integrated low-intensity
laser pointer); all through their smartphone. www.petcube.com
“There is no snooze button on a cat
who wants breakfast.”
~Anonymous
“No one appreciates the very special
genius of your conversation as a dog
does.” ~Christopher Morley
“Outside of a dog, a book is man’s
best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too
dark to read. “
~Groucho Marx
Urban Legends
Q: Is it true we may be able to understand what our pets are thinking
soon?
A: Yes, it is true. A new system in
development called No More Woof is a
headset/micro-computer that picks up
EEG signals from a dog’s brains and
attempts to translate them into English
using a loudspeaker. The creators,
who come from the Swedish productdevelopment
center called
Nordic
Society for
Invention and
Discovery,
say it’s still
a work in
progress, but
they have
seen good results. (It’s still a few years
away from being a marketable product,
though.) www.nomorewoof.com
NetAcquire Corporation
12000 115th Avenue NE
Kirkland, WA 98034-6900
Toll-free Tel 888.675.1122
Toll-free Fax 888.670.1122
Tel 425.821.3100 Fax 425.952.0468
email: [email protected]
http://www.netacquire.com
MacGyver DIY Automatic Waterer
Does MacGyver go to the pet store and buy
an average water bowl for his dog? Heck,
no! He finds a 2” x 4”, Velcro and a 2 liter
bottle and makes this cool easy water bowl,
that’s what! And now you can too.
Things you will need:
 2” x 4” piece of wood, 16” long
 1” x 6” piece of wood, 12” long
 2L bottle (keep the cap too)
 Dog Dish
 Velcro Tape (2 fuzzy and 2 hooked)
 Nails (3)
 Hammer
 Wood glue
 Wood clamp
 Spray paint or stain (optional)
1. Outline the Position of the Board - Take
the 2x4 and position it in the middle of the
end of the 1x6. Trace around the end of the
2x4 with a pencil.
You are marking
where the boards
are going to attach
to each other.
2. Glue and
Clamp - Glue the
2x4 onto the 1x6
at the location you
outlined. Then clamp it in place.
3. Nail and Velcro - Once the glue is dried
nail the 2x4 to the 1x6. Then stick the two
soft pieces of
Velcro on the 2x4
pieces of wood.
Note: for proper
placement, use
the 2L bottle to
measure where to
put the soft Velcro.
You want the end
of the 2L to stick into the bowl at the desired
waterline height.
You may want to use a staple gun to staple
the Velcro in place so that it will not easily
come off the board. Place the hooked Velcro
to the fuzzy Velcro with the sticker backing
taken off. Put some extra heavy duty glue
on the sticky side too. Then place the bottle
pushing it against the glue. It’s not a bad
idea to use some string to tie it in place until
the glue dries. Or
you can use 3M
Dual Lock which
is stronger than
Velcro and the
adhesive backing is
also much stronger.
4. Spray Paint or
Stain (optional) You can spray paint or stain your piece if
desired.
5. Adding Water - Fill the 2L bottle and put
the cap on it. Line up the Velcro so the top
of the water bottle is facing down. Unscrew
the cap. The water will stop when it’s level
with the opening of the 2L bottle. As your
pet drinks the
water, more
comes out to
fill the bowl
back up.
You now have
an automatic
pet waterer!
MacGyver’s
dog says,
“Thank you!” and your pet will too!
(project courtesy of www.instructables.com)
Top
10 Peculiar Pets 10. Capybaras - are related to the guinea pig and give a whole
new meaning to “R.O.U.S’s” (Rodents of Unusual Size). They
average 4 feet long and weigh more than 100 pounds.
2. Stick Insects - are usually 3
to 4 inches long and can live for
several years. They are interesting to watch, have simple care
needs, and because of this are
popular in classrooms. 3. Miniature Donkeys - they
are about 3 feet tall and weigh
several hundred pounds. Miniature donkeys are affectionate and
good with children.
4. Hedgehogs - are gentle, low-maintenance, nocturnal animals
that eat insects. They have become quite popular in recent
years. Hedgehogs need to be handled often while young to
adjust to humans.
5. Pygmy Goats - are friendly and similar in size to small dogs.
Even Abraham Lincoln had a pet goat in the White House during
his presidency!
6. Potbellied Pigs - are relatively odor-free and easy to train.
They
need a regimented schedule with plenty of exercise and a
balanced diet. Potbellied pigs can even be leash trained.
7. Sugar Gliders - are part of the possum family, gliders have a special membrane that extends from the front leg to
the hind leg allowing them to glide from
tree to tree. They love to socialize and
can bond with people if handled plenty
while they are young.
8. Wallabies - are a marsupial like their cousin the kangaroo.
They can grow up to 41 inches and weigh up to 53 pounds. They
need lots of space and are great escape artists.
9. Skunks - domesticated skunks have the scent glands
removed so owners don’t have to live with the stench. Owners
describe them as very sensitive and intelligent animals. They can
be litter trained like cats and eat diets similar to ferrets.
10.Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches - while some might think
these to be a creepy pet choice, others like that they don’t fly or
bite and find the hissing sound very unusual. Experts recommend
coating the top couple inches of the enclosure with petroleum jelly
to inhibit them from escaping.
list courtesy of Animal Planet
Telemetry Over IP
Talk to the Animals
Water Dispenser DIY Project
In this issue:
Address Service Requested
NetAcquire Corporation
12000 115th Ave NE
Kirkland, WA 98034-6900
Signals...The Newsletter
for Engineering Professionals
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