Tuesday, July 31, 2018

3217. Book publishing "feel-good" stories

July 31, 2018

1. ST Facebook group features feel-good stories.

Celebrates kind acts, uplifting news.
Share good news, acts of kindness, sweet dessert or sweet deal, new park you like, an old building you miss. Closed group. Member must elaborate on what they hope to experience as a member and keep interactions civil (no personal attacks, spamming, vulgar language, sexual, anti-copyright contents).

2. Entrepreneur's magazine "Inspiring Stories" of business people at back page.

3. The Art Culture Group promotes love of art sessions.


PROPOSAL
1. Investors - Board of Directors - Office rentals and salary, share holders
2. CEO - Administrator - Chief Editor, Budget, business plans
3. Marketing - Clients who wants to self-publish (vanity publishing), best-sellers, book fairs
4. Development - Ghost-writers - e-books on Kindle, Amazon, printed copies on Createspace

Topics
1. Autobiography - inspiring stories of founding businesses or professions, legacy for children of struggles to make a living.

2. Be Kind books - Be kind to pets, Be kind to strays





Thursday, July 26, 2018

3215. A cat's face twitches

Jul 26, 2018

A 14-year-old male neutered cat twitches his face and body for the past 2 months. Why?
Blood test, urine test and X-rays are cheapest options to get supporting evidence.




Blood test showed low platelet count, high blood urea and liver enzymes. Urine test showed white blood cells inside the urine, amorphous crystals, blood and alkaline pH 8.0.

The cat is treated for urinary tract infection. The low platelet count could be due to toxicity of the bathroom floor as the cat will lap water taking a long time, inside the bathroom.



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Aug 1, 2018 7 pm.  Follow up
Eats OK. Tuna plus kibble k/d diet. No complaint.
Hard to feed antibiotic tablets but giving half the Clavulox tablet
Weak hind legs. Cannot climb into 3.5" high pee tray and therefore pee outside.
Jul 31, 2018. owner noticed cat walked in circles. Had this behaviour some time ago too.
"Why?". Likely to be a vestibular disease of the ear.


Hind leg jerking not obvious
Seizures or twitches not seen


3214. Kindle Stories. Unbelievable Story: A Goffin's Cockatoo landed on my shoulder

STORY RECORDED ON 18 JAN 2022.


26 Jul 2018 Be Kind To Pets Veterinary Educational Video by Dr Sing Kong Yuen, BVMS (Glasgow), Toa Payoh Vets, Singapore 


The female Goffin's cockatoo flew away from the tree branch (X) to across and above the road after more than 30 minutes of attempts by Abigail (Y) to get her pet down the tree. I was standing at Z as there was another man whose escaped bird never returned, was helping Abigail to get Mango down. The man left. Abigail was more distressed. I was of no help. I decided to ask for divine help --- a silent prayer for divine intervention. Divine Intervention? Does it exist in real life, I wondered? 


I had asked for divine help as Mango zoomed up and across the road. Abigail dashed towards the railing, shouting “Mango, come back!”. Suddenly, Mango aborted her flight, flapped her wings and swerved back towards me. Why not to Abigail? No time to wonder. 

 

I turned my back to this bird, standing straight, not wanting to eye her as she might abort her flight. Sharp claws dug into the fabric of my green polo shirt at the right shoulder area. Abigail was joyous, dashed towards me and cupped Mango in her hands. Now, 4 years later, I consider this stranger bird landing on my right shoulder a blessed occurrence. Was there divine intervention? I would say yes - there had been divine intervention in this bird story.


UPDATES AT::

https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2018/07/3214-cockatoo-flew-off-while-being.html







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On 23 Jan 2023, I visited Abigail's pet shop. She was happy to see me.
Very slim. "My eldest son is now waiting to be enlisted in National Service!" she said. "How fast time flies!" The Goffin's cockatoo was inside, with another bird. I am glad to see her. 


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The female Goffin's Cockatoo flew away from the tree branch (X) to across and above the road after 30 minutes of attempts by the owner, Abigail Brocklebank  (Y) to get her down the tree. Abigail called her loudly to return. I was standing further to her right at a spot (Z) as there was another man helping Abigail to get the bird down from the tree. 


He had climbed up the tree a bit but was unable to grab the bird with his hand. Instead, Mango hopped  higher up the tree. Abigail went to her shop nearbv and took back a ladder and a perching stick meant for birds.


"Mango, come down," she pleaded many times. The other man had left. She told me, "His bird had escaped and flew away. He never found him. "Mango, mango, mango..." she inserted the perching stick towards the bird who was out of reach, ignoring her. 


Abigail was a strong woman in her mid 30s. She had big clear brown eyes and was so trim that she had borne five healthy kids.   


I had been to her shop that morning, but I could not help her. She was getting distress as the minutes ticked by. 30 minutes of impasse. What should I do. Well, I asked for divine help in my thoughts.

Divine intervention - does this phenomenon exist in real life? 


I had asked for divine help for Abigal in my thoughts. How would this happen? Would the bird return home to Abigail? Suddenly, Mango swerved mid-way across the road, did an about-turn to fly back towards us. 


I turned my back to this bird, standing straight, not wanting to see her as she might abort her flight towards us. 


Sharp claws gripped the fabric of my green polo shirt. I did not freak out although this was the first bird to land on my shoulder.  The bird landed onto me although we did not know each other. The overjoyed Abigail ran to me and took her home.


The incident occurred around 4 years ago when Annie bathe the bird outside her shophouse.. As at 18 Jan 2022, the bird is thriving. 


Was there divine intervention? It was a blessed event for me when the stranger bird landed on my shoulders.


Was the alternative a scientific explanation? This species is known to be intelligent. So, could this bird prefer to be safe with Abigail where there is love and food than be free and hungry in the concrete jungle?


Such questions depend on your beliefs whether spiritual or scientific.




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Jul 26, 2018 (Thursday)

A happy ending. 







Mango, a white 10-month-old female cockatoo flew off and up a tree while sunbathing. The owner was distressed as the ladder was too low. A man helped by climbing up one branch bifurcation with a wooden bird's perch taped to a pole. The owner pleaded to Mango to climb down to the perch. Mango walked down the 1-storey high branch step by step. But the perch was not near to step upon.




I recalled another case where the owner prayed to his 3 Buddhas for help as his blue-fronted Amazon parrot had flown to a distant tree while being bathed at the HDB corridor the day before. The night passed.The bird was still there the next morning, perched 8 storeys high up. Just after prayers, the bird flew to the ground. He dashed downstairs and got him. This case is written in
https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2015/11/2350-unbelievable-story-how-to-get-blue.html


"Is it ok to ask for divine help?" I pondered.

Suddenly, Mango flew off the tree, towards and across the road . The owner called his name. 1/3 across the road, above the rushing cars, she swerved and turned back suddenly. We made eye contact for a second or two. She flapped open his wings and headed towards me. I turned my back, facing away from her as I sensed she was flying towards me. By not doing eye contact, she would not be frightened off, I reasoned. 

She perched on top of my right shoulder, as if my green polo shirt were a green tree. Her owner, wearing a black dress, quickly rushed over, cupped him and went to her shop to rest.

Her mother, from a frugal baby-boomer generation and who helped her in the pet shop showed me a motion with her right forefinger, circling beside her right ear in a clock-wise direction. "Abigail is mad," she told me. "Sunbathing the cockatoo. She keeps another large black bird as well as many small ones!"  



Abigail's cockatiels and a budgie 


Abigail had previously clipped the flight feathers but these have grown again. She did not want to do it as she thought the bird was tame and obedient.

I was present at the right place at the right time. I was a stranger to the Goffin's Cockatoo. Yet she landed onto my shoulder as if she was directed towards me instead of the owner who loved him very much and spent much time with him. Nowadays, Mango's flight feathers have been clipped to prevent him flying high and away. She was chained in his foot earlier, after her escape.
 


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Mango, the Goffin's Cockatoo is transported in a carrier





The tree with a bifurcation. The ladder was too low. X=location of Mango



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Unbelievable Story. How to get the blue-fronted Amazon home?
https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2015/11/2350-unbelievable-story-how-to-get-blue.html

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Scientific Classification

Common Name
Goffin's cockatoo, Tanimbar corella
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Aves
Order
Psittaciformes
Family
Cacatuidae
Genus Species
Cacatua (referring to the bird's call) goffiniana
 
 
 
 
 
 

Fun Facts

Both parents take part in incubating the eggs.

Cockatoos can mimic the sounds of other animals, including people.

Cockatoos can hold their food in one foot and break pieces off of it with the other foot.

Cockatoos live in small loose flocks.

They birds are very gregarious and emit a shrill cry.


Ecology and Conservation

Cockatoos are a food source for many predators.

Their feeding habits are very destructive to crops and are considered a nuisance by farmers. In fact, licensed culling is permitted in certain states.

Cockatoos aid in seed dispersal by eating fruit and dropping the seeds.

The Goffin's Cockatoo is very popular in the pet trade and is considered to be an exceptionally easy bird to tame. They are generally very affectionate towards humans and have lively personalities.

Deforestation and habitat destruction is also a major threat to these birds.

The U.S. Wild Bird Act forbids the commercial import of any bird listed by CITES which includes most parrots.


Wednesday, July 25, 2018

3213. 3 rarely seen birds during exercise Jul 24, 2018 (Monday)
















Identification
Whiteheads are small songbirds with a compact body, short tail and bill and long legs. The head and underparts are white or whitish. Upperparts, wings and tail are brown-grey. Bill, legs and eyes are dark.
Voice: whitehead song is a characteristic viu viu viu zir zir zir zir or canary-like twitter. Several other chirps or chatters are used for constant communication within the group.
Similar species: although some species such as sparrow and silvereye are similar in size, the distinct white head and underparts make the whitehead easily distinguishable from other small passerines.










Black-hooded Oriole - Oriolus Xanthornus
Family - Oriolidae
Asian black-headed Oriole, Oriental black-headed Oriole, Black-headed Oriole

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Black headed Oriole is found throughout India and can be seen in single or pairs on leafy trees. Its found in tropical, moist deciduous forests, plantations, gardens, village semi forested areas, wooded countryside or parks with large trees. Black headed Oriole is arboreal ie living in trees and makes nests on the same trees or nearby to that of drongo. Nesting season is April to July. Black headed Oriole is a golden yellow colored bird with black head, throat and breast. Bill is fleshy bright pink and eyes are colored crimson. There is black colour in tail and wings too. Both male and female look alike apart from female having dull colored head. Juveniles or young ones have yellow forehead and the black head is streaked with yellow colour. Source: www.bhopalbirds.com/










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ORIGINAL FILES



3212. Dog formation of mushrooms seen on Jul 25, 2018

Jul 24, 2018 (Tuesday). Ah Ma came for dinner. Complaint of pain in lower right leg. She walked a lot and that could cause muscle pain at night. So a wheel chair was advised during her outing.


On returning home from dinner at around 1 am on Jul 25, 2018, I saw the cluster of mushrooms resembling a dragon (top image). My friend told me it is a dog. 2018 is the year of the dog.  On closer inspection, this is really a dog figure. These are said to be shaggy-maned mushrooms. They tend to grow in clusters.










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2018 is the year of the dog
Dog formation of new mushrooms on Jul 25, 2018

Really looks like a dog with short legs and tail. A Corgi?





Two wheel chair stories

1. My friend narrated to me about her wheel-chair experience recently. "A wheel chair user with automatic buttons entered the lift at Takashimaya at the last minute and rammed into a 70-year-old man. The victim was very angry. When the time came for exiting, the wheel-chair user pressed the button to get out. For some unknown reason, the wheel chair backed into the 70-year-old man again who cursed: "He ought to know how to use his wheel chair!". This was an unhappy victim. Was it an accident caused by man or otherwise? It is hard to say.
 
2. A 78-year-old Auntie in a wheel-chair was positioned in a busy foot traffic near the Orchard subway, actively calling out passers by to buy her 3 tissues. I offered her some money and asked her why she was selling tissues at this age. "I had an accident 18 years ago," she had thanked me. "I cannot find a job. I asked (a God) to take me, but he does not!". It is a hard life for her.  

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

3211. Mushrooms, millipedes and lingzhi on Jul 21, 2018 - image







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Nov 2018
Millipedes   wet soil flourishes, multiplied