Pokémon Go gets users out of the house and into frozen yogurt stores

Pokémon Go gets users out of the house and into frozen yogurt stores: The recent craze of the Pokémon GO app has users not only getting outside their homes but also into local businesses where they might discover their next Pokémon catch.

Camera fitted on sheep in Faroe Islands to create Google Street View.

The Faroe Islands have some of the most beautiful roads in the world. It is impossible to describe what it feels like driving through the green valleys and up the mountains, or alongside the ocean, surrounded by steep drops and tall cliffs. It’s an experience like no other. A group the sheep view 360 decided to show case their world,to a bigger world by helping Google to come on line. The island will be picked up easily by Google as sites and sounds of Faroe. Faroe Islands with a population of 49,000 isn't always the first place to benefit from new technology. Residents are strapping cameras to sheep across the islands in a bid to get the country on Google Street View. The project dubbed Sheep View 360 ,a team with the help of a local shepherd and engineer to build a harness, have been capturing photos of the 18 islands. Durita Dahl Andreassen, Faroe Islands, the leader of the movement,gently placed a 360˚ camera, powered by a solar panel, on the back of a sheep that would take photographs as the animal freely grazed the open hillsides of the Faroe Islands .Photos are then transmitted back to his mobile phone so that he can upload them to Google Street View and finally putting the Faroes on the map in a very unique way. As at today panoramic images from five locations have been uploaded to the service and a 360 degree video gives a tour of the island, from the perspective of a sheep. "My sheep are great for capturing the tracks and trails of the Faroe Islands, but in order to cover the big sweeping Faroese roads and the whole of the breath-taking landscapes, we need Google to come and map them." Google hasn't commented on whether it will map the islands and it's possible for anyone to upload photos to Street View. This can be done using a phone, DSLR camera or specialist Trekker cameras, which can be borrowed from Google. These cameras can be strapped onto the back of a wearer and will capture the view as they walk around. This approach will develop better business models and trade strategies as well as grow the tourism industry.This is actually the new rave of marketing ,business pitching and entertainment in the VR world. Contributed by Wired UK.

Millennials spend big on premium food for their pets.

Millennials are increasing the numbers of pet owners and they’re feeding their pets as they feed themselves: free range, organic, and gluten-free. Millennials are young successful busy career focused individuals that are busy closing deals, they spare no expense on their pets as they consider these furry cuties as babies. They believe only the very best is fit for their pets in terms of pet care,food and healthcare. Millennials are driven to look for their personal values in the products they buy for their pets this trend has made pet food companies to focus on so-called “premium” and “super-premium” product lines, , with human-friendly ingredients such as blueberries pumpkin and veggies . Pet food are now labeled organic and natural just to break into the lifestyle of these new generation pet owners who basically believe only the best is good for their pets. Sales of top range pet food have grown steadily since the massive pet food recalls of 2007, when thousands of cats and dogs died of renal failure after eating packaged pet food containing wheat and rice gluten contaminated with Chinese-sourced melamine, a chemical used to make plastics, cleaning products, glues, and fertilizers.This triggered a high consciousness of product safety among some pet owners, which led them to buy specialty brands rather than the mass-market brands involved in the recalls. Global market research firm Euro monitor International reports that in 2015, US consumers spent $5.4 billion on natural pet food, amounting to 69 percent of total pet food sales. Human food frequently make their way to prepackaged pet cuisine, and that is happening more these days . A lot of companies known for making food for humans are getting into the gourmet pet food business as well. Trade publication Pet food Industry,,states that Mars Petcare Inc., a subsidiary of the Virginia candy maker Mars Inc., is the world’s largest pet food company by annual revenue.Millennials are young successful busy career focused individuals that are busy closing deals, they spare no expense on their pets as they consider these furry cuties as babies. They believe only the very best is fit for their pets in terms of pet care,food and healthcare.

Animal voice computer software.

A computer scientist with a passion for horses has embarked on an interdisciplinary animal-computer interaction research project which could help us understand what animals are thinking and feeling. Dr Steve North, a Research Fellow in the Mixed Reality Laboratory (MRL) at The University of Nottingham, is developing a Horse Automated Behavior Identification Tool (HABIT) – new animal-computer interaction software. The aim is to identify horse behavior from unconstrained (amateur) video so we humans can interpret those reactions and understand why they are happening. The research is being carried out in collaboration with Dr Mandy Roshier, an expert in anatomy and behavior at the University's School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, Dr Carol Hall, an expert in equitation science at Nottingham Trent University and Dr Clara Mancini, a senior lecturer in computer interaction design at the Open University. Human-computer interaction (HCI) is already well established. The emerging scientific discipline of animal-computer interaction (ACI) looks at the relationship between animals and technology. By bringing together experts in animal computer interaction, equitation science, ethology, animal behavior and biomedical engineering the aim of HABIT is to develop a software programme that will automatically identify the behavior horses are exhibiting and tell us whether the horse is stressed, sick or suffering. It could be used on farms, at home on our own animals, in zoos and in veterinary practices. Contributed by phys.org

Parvo virus outbreak.

20 dogs have been put down in San Juan County because of a serious outbreak of the highly contagious virus. Some puppies from the Farmington Regional Animal Shelter contracted canine parvovirus after they were adopted and others at the shelter tested positive for the virus. The shelter made the decision to end all puppy adoptions for the next 14 days so as to quarantine the puppies and make sure they aren't sick,” said Stacie Voss, Director of the FRAS. The parvovirus is dangerous to puppies and tough to get rid of, but there is one way you can protect your pets. “The best thing you can do is vaccinate your puppies to keep them safe and not allow them to interact with unvaccinated dogs until they are fully vaccinated,” she said. Puppies at FRAS are being watched for signs of the virus. In the meantime, the shelter is receiving between 30 and 40 animals a day and already has more than 300 housed. FRAS is having an adoption sale. All adult animals aged 6 months and up will have an adoption fee of only $25. Kittens under 6 months of age will have an adoption fee of $50 and are two for the price of one. Adoption fees includes spay or neuter surgery, microchiping, at least one set of vaccinations (excluding rabies), and a 30-day trial of pet insurance. Vaccination is the only way to protect the dogs from this infection,puppies should be handled properly to prevent infection. Contributed by KOB 4 EYE WITNESS NEWS.

Poultry and biogas.

Poultry is a well established agribusiness,with investments in the various value chain. The waste component of the business has been a problem spot for farmers,as proper disposal is expensive and the health implication associated with improper disposal is of great concern to the farmers. The waste generated not only smells but also is a breeding area for flies which further increase spread of diseases. The problem of waste disposal is one that can be turned to a new source of income by channeling the waste to a digester to produce heat,electricity and fertilizer. Biogas uses anaerobic digestion to breakdown poultry litter to methane,carbon dioxide and other gases which can easily be transferred to light and energy.The gas is lighter than air ,will be pipped to the top of the tank to a biogas cooking stove or light. The advantages of the biogas plants are 1) Improved manure composition and less odor 2)Higher availability of nutrients thus higher crop yields 3)No acidification of the soil as digestate has a pH of 8. 4) Reduction in the emission of greenhouse gases. 5) Generation of renewable energy; green power. 6) Reduced overhead cost. Every kg of organic matter yields 0.5m3 of biogas. 1000kg of chicken litter yields 200m3 of biogas. 1m3 of biogas = 2.1 KW electricity and 2.5 KW heat. Lagos with poultry population of 5,467,915, has a great potential to generate electricity,heat and high grade fertilizer for crops. A chicken produces about 100gm of droppings daily, that means in a day the waste generated on poultry farms alone is 546,791,500gm which translates to 546,791.5kg. 1000kg of chicken litter =200m3 biogas. 546,791.5kg of chicken litter= 546,791.5 X200\1000 =109,358.3 m3 biogas is produced daily in the state. 1m3 of biogas = 2.1KW electricity, so daily 109,358.3 x2.1 = 229,652.43 KW of electricity is untapped . The poultry value chain can not only provide food,cloth accessories,jobs but it can also generate electricity that will power more farms,industries and homes . The biogas plant will also ensure a cleaner environment.Join the biogas project to change our #environment #economy #lives .

Sustainable solutions for poultry manure

Dorset Green Machines is a leading global designer, manufacturer and marketer of biomass drying systems. With the help of the Dorset Dryer, poultry manure can be dried throughout the year and converted either into organic fertilizer or fuel. The required warm air for the drying process can for instance be derived from stable air, or it can be residual heat from the generation of electricity. Dorset dryers are frequently used for drying chicken manure with the help of warm air from stables. Most of these installations do not use pre-drying in the stable, which leads to substantial savings in electricity costs. The air from the stables that is utilized usually has a temperature of approximately 20°C. This is sufficient for drying the produced manure. Still, the higher the temperature and the lower the air humidity, the better the drying process will be. Drying significantly reduces storage and transport costs. The dried product can be sold as valuable organic fertilizer or as fuel for green energy or can be processed further. Dorset manufactures complete pelletizing plants in plug-and-play container solutions. Pelletizing makes the dried product more marketable and significantly decreases the volume, which results in new export possibilities and further lower transport and storage costs.