weliveinaflat

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This dog patrols Yeliou Geo-Park

On June 12, 2014

road to yehliu geo-park 1 Day 1 World Project: The human at 3:00pm – 4:00pm (week before last)

Follow me as we alight from the bus and walk along this street towards Yeliou Geo-park in Taiwan.

yehliu seafood street road to yehliu geo-park

Those seafood shops tell you we’re near the sea. This way to Yeliou, the geo-park where we didn’t know (but you do because I am telling you) that we would be dog-spotting this dog.

dog outside yeh liu geopark ticket counter

Sitting right in front of the ticketing counter of Yeliou Geo-park, this dog is certainly quite at home despite the crowd and the noise. You have got to admire him for that placidity because even I didn’t bother to go take a shot of his face because of that crowd!!

Tickets bought, we walked in to experience Yeliou Geo-park for the first time. My only impression of the place so far was only the slight drizzle and the crowd.

Walk, walk, walk onto the boardwalk… still the crowd… kind of boring. Scan the horizon on the right, sea-view.

yeh liu seaview and landscape

Wait a second. What is this I spy? Zoom in please!!

yeliou geo-park dog

OK, wrong moment to take a picture perhaps. But is this the same dog???

The following shots documents the dog’s journey across the lonely beach which is a no-human zone. All humans on the boardwalk only. Discrimination much?

yeliou geo-park dog Sedimentary rock strata

So you might ask, where exactly is this dog heading for and why?

Here we are at the edge of the beach where it becomes rocky. I assume the sedimentary rocks are gradually being eroded by the waves to produce the sand and the disintegrated rocks in the less resistant strata (hello, geography textbook :P).

yeliou geo-park dog

And then, it’s Party Time!

yeliou geo-park dog

Dog literally plays by itself. Literally.

And then I suppose playing by yourself gets boring after a while, so the dog heads for the boardwalk. He was way beyond the No Crossing sign and gets away with it! :P

So what’s so interesting about Yeliou Geo-park?

The sea, the cliff, the rocks, the craters.

Honeycombed rock and honeycombed weathering

Random birds.

birds bird

Crabs on rocks on the sea groove.

crabs on rocks Mushroom rock are rocks that are globe-shape on top supported by thin stone pillars on the bottom. They are typically grouped on a wave cut platform.

And tourists. Lots and lots of tourists.

yehliu queen's head The Queen’s Head, a mushroom rock, is a Yeliou landmark and is estimated to be 4000 years old.

Unfortunately, tourists do tend to spoil the whole experience for people visiting. They behave badly for one thing. Park rangers are yelling at them all the time, “No touching! No climbing!”

Get off there!

No going beyond the red line!

I did say that this dog patrols Yeliou Geo-Park, didn’t I?

Can you find the dog in this picture?

A black poodle along the boardwalk in this dog-friendly park.

One last look at the cliff view and the south sea. And we get out of here. Thank you for touring Yeliou with us! :P

More about Yeliou Geo-park

Yeliu is a cape of about 1,700 meters long formed by Datun Mountain reaching into the sea… Because the rock layer of seashore contains sandstone of limestone texture,… it is subject to sea erosion, weathering and earth movements… (The) scenery consists of sea trenches/holes, candle shaped rocks, and pot shaped rocks. The Geo-park is divided into three sections, where different rocks named after objects they appear to resemble can be viewed. – from http://eng.taiwan.net.tw/

To view photos of these different rocks, go to Yehliu Geopark website.

Travel directions here – http://www.yehliu.com.tw/eng/purpose/purpose.aspx

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10 creative doggy #interactivegrams

By weliveinaflat

On June 10, 2014

In Photography

This article explores clever #interactivegrams by people on Instagram

Preface This post kicks off the new tuesdayPhotography series. I may make it another 12-week project with each week covering a different theme in Pet Photography. Pet photography doesn’t occur in a vacuum so it will be fun to also look at how it has been influenced by themes in general photography. Therefore while the focus is on dogs, you will find some pretty awesome-sauce photos from other genres in these series of posts.

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Note: This article mentions double tap on images a lot. Unfortunately, double tap does not work on this blog. Clicking on any of the photos on this post will take you to the Instagram page where each photo is originally posted. I believe double tapping for the heart to appear will only work within the Instagram mobile app itself, if I am not wrong. Sorry about that! ;)

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If you aren’t on Instagram, the tag #interactivegrams probably wouldn’t mean anything to you.

But if you are, you probably love to share your photos on the mobile app. You also explore photos shared by others. And you would not be a stranger to double tapping to like a photo or the white heart shape that appears in the centre of the photo when you do.

Either way, this post is loaded with dogs and clever photos so read on! :P

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How many ways can you make an interactivegram featuring man’s best friend?

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Plenty!

Here’s a quick round-up of some of the more creative or cute interactivegrams I could find, made with love by dog owners.

What’s with all that white space?
Double tap to see what Leia can balance.

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A spin off on #interactivegrams, the #sit4love tag was made popular by @kodathepuggle and @maya_on_the_move in the last two weeks. Here’s some of the pooches sitting for love ;)

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All the same theme and layout but not so cookie cutter, right?

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Now I couldn’t stop wondering.

Who made the first interactivegram on Instagram?

Who??

It took some insta-sleauthing but I found him – David Schwen, @dschwen.

And no, the above is not @dschwen’s first interactivegram, but it rounds up the 10 creative doggy #interactivegrams showcased on this post. :P

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The 1st interactivegram was so very simple!

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David kindly confirmed that the first one is this simple white heart on grass posted 11 months ago. It led to other variations of the same theme.

The first 4 photos tagged #interactivegrams on Instagram, all by @dschwen
Row 1 <3 | Fill it in…
Row 2 Who tapped too hard? | #interactivegrams.

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My favourite – Who tapped too hard? – Witty much?

David’s concept of Instagram’s digital heart symbol for liking something and juxtaposing it with photographs of real items made his photos different and fun.

How did he make that hole so perfectly in the biscuit? Does he like biscuits that much? :P Idle, frivolous questions surely, but nonetheless quirky and engaging.

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Double tap and make the heart grow…

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Perhaps people found the interplay between positive space and negative space, digital symbols and tangible items interesting. They started to create and tag their own #interactivegrams.

The concept of the interactivegram also caught the attention of Instagram three months ago and became a weekend hash tag project. The Weekend Hashtag Project is a series featuring designated themes & hashtags chosen by Instagram’s Community Team, who wrote:

By staging his photos and videos with a heart shape in the center, David (Schwen) creates an interactive experience for his followers: when they double tap his photo or video to ‘like’ it, the heart that appears on Instagram matches up with the heart in his photo or video. – from blog.instagram.com

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What started as something very simple and minimalist, started to take on a more varied character. Here is a small selection of #interactivegrams – clever, gorgeous, quirky – each unique in their own way.

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Before double tap

After double tap

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And it’s not restricted to photos as this clever graphic shows.

@elle_nie_da’s caption: If using Instagram on computer, please double-click the left mouse button
on this picture. Otherwise just double tap to see the whole picture.

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Stylistically, the interactivegram can be simple and action-driven.

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Or it can be deliciously vibrant to engage the different senses.

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And for @namkcaps, it is just blindingly adventurous.
Would you white out this guy?

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After trawling through a dazzling array of photos tagged #interactivegrams,
I have to say the cliche is true – we are only limited by our imagination. OK, and the environment around us. :P No snow in my neighbourhood here!

@pchyburrs caption: Ouch! Watch my fingers!

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The visual story told by each of these photos are stunning but incomplete. Unless you double tap to add that last element – the white heart – that only you the viewer of the image can give to the photo.

So if you’re an Instagram user, why not visit some of them?
Give them some ❤ or in @pchyburr’s case above a smashing time! :P

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@chinchinn’s caption: Make the heart beat by double tapping :P

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Meanwhile, I guess I’ll spend some idle thoughts on how to make a different interactivegram with Donna, since the #sit4love event is over :P

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Have I missed a cool interactivegram in this post?

Comment below and share with me some of your favourites or some you have made yourself! ;)

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Note on copyright and fair usage
With the exception of the last two photos in this post belonging to me, all photos on this post are copyrighted to their respective authors. The first image is derivative of all most of the represented authors, so I imagine each author would have rights to the specific portion of the image they created.

They have generously agreed for me to use their photos on this article. If you feel that I have misrepresented you in any way, please let me know and I will amend ;)

I picked the photos based on the image and concept. So it is a mix of people with different ways of creating an interactivegram. If there are any photos you perceive as not of high quality, I can only say that sometimes lofi also has its charms :P

The photographers’ Instagram user names are clearly identified on the bottom right corner of each photo so you can easily find them on Instagram. So feel free to go check out some gorgeous accounts ;)

References
– dschwen interview http://urbanbeancoffee.com/iheartmpls/2013/7/24/david-schwen-of-dschwen
– Instagram’s weekend hashtag project http://blog.instagram.com/post/76666947534/whp-107

“Bite me,” said the chicken.

By weliveinaflat

On June 8, 2014

In Photography

dog bites rubber chicken selective colour photo
dog bites rubber chicken colour splash photo

Selective colour seems to give the photos a somewhat 3D effect for the hand holding the chicken. They pop from the photos, don’t they?

These are photos that were not selected for this post – Donna and the Rubber Chicken – but when I looked at my archive again, just using a different way of looking at the pictures and editing them gave them life :)

Some of my favourite colour splash photos are not of Donna, you may have seen them before.

For more information on selective colour and great apps that you can use to achieve this effect, read – A Pop or Splash of Colour

Donna the Explorer, now with Goggles!

By weliveinaflat

On June 7, 2014

In Training

While I was away, I bought Donna a pair of Doggles or doggie goggles. It was an impulse buy. :P
So now poor Donna has to start to learn to like wearing her new doggles :P

Dog sit-stay on wall

She doesn’t wear the goggles at home, only when she is out for walks when she is happiest, to build that positive association with the goggles. And since she is mostly busy walking and sniffing, she is too preoccupied to think about scratching the goggles off with her paws :P

Donna discovers the garden of lost toys, all staked to the ground. Brutal, isn’t it?

Dog explores garden of lost toys
toys staked to the ground among plant pots
hello kitty toy on a pole with a dog in the background

Zombie Kitty keeps an eye out for Donna while she does her business behind the erm, potted shrubs.

dog in the foreground with toys staked in the background

Business done, it’s time to get out of the sun and visit the bakery next door!

Oops, bakery doesn’t allow dogs, so Donna has to sit-stay outside. That’s why I took her out with me, finding opportunities to consistently reinforce her sit-stay in more distracting environments than at home :P

sillouette of dog doing a sit-stay

We don’t do this very long, just enough time for me to hop in, ask about the bakes for the day, transact and hop out again. No pictures of the bakery since photography wasn’t allowed but I was in full view of her the whole time.

She doesn’t meddle with her doggles while she sit-stays. Perfect!

Back home, googles off! Here’s what the human bought from the new bakery…

bread sitting before baked goods
Donna: What do you mean “leave it“, I don’t even care *looks away pointedly*
And then sneaks glances as I took pictures :P

What’s on the plate? A cream cheese souffle and chocolate muffin.

She can’t eat human baked goods, so here’s a piece of freeze-dried lamb tripe for her. You can’t see it but she does. :P And she is very focused on it. :P

dog before white sheets

Yet another failed attempt of an action shot of her catching the treat in her mouth, so this photo of her looking at the treat is the only one you’ll get today :P

Snappy Happy Finale

By weliveinaflat

On June 6, 2014

In Photography

From February 12 to April 30, Firebonnet.com and weliveinaflat.com were happy to host the Snappy H’appy photo challenge.

This challenge asks participants to try out the different features in photo apps to enhance and do more with their photos. The end result is a photo grid that summarises your 12 photo creations for the challenge.

The challenge was subsequently extended through the month of May to allow some of the to complete your photo grids. At the same time, I asked which are your favourite photos for the 12 weeks of photo fun we created for Snappy Happy Photo Challenge.

Here are your responses. And in the case where you did not respond, I took the liberty of picking my favourites from your set to showcase in this final post. :P

Running through some of the weeks,

forestwoodfolkart.wordpress.comWeek 3: Watercolour

Week 2 and week 9 photos are also interesting.

Firebonnet.com
Week 4: Cutouts

firebonnet’s work for week 11 and 12 are absolutely lovely too!

completelydisappear.wordpress.com
Week 6 : Colour Filter

I also love CompletelyDisappear’s week 5 and 12 photos.

roxythetravelingdog.com
Week 7: Pencil sketch
sketch
Week 6 and 8 are awesome too!

1stworlddog.com
Week 9: Multiple exposures

Love Melinda’s experiments in week 1 and 4.

weliveinaflat.com
Week 9: Double exposure

Sassmuffins.com
Week 10: Colour splash
colour splash cat eyes
I also love week 3 and week 11!

gretchensite.wordpress.com
Week 11: Text

It was a tough fight with week 4 and 9, this was just funnier :P

littledoglaughed.wordpress.com
Week 12: Mix it up

Meg’s style has been the most consistent, week 2 and 5 are awesome.

blogagaini.com
Week 12: Mix it up

Week 12 was a wonderful finale piece particularly her processes for the flower burst graphic. Week 3 and 5 are also cool :)

And now…

…here are the final photo grids for our Snappy Happy crew in no particular order. :P
Thank you once again for playing!!!

Thank you once again for playing.

Please feel free to make copies of the grids and use as you wish.

If you prefer the original grids without the identifiers and the Snappy Happy branding, you can also make copies of the updated grids from any of the previous Snappy H’appy Challenge posts! :)

WEEKLY THEMES

Feb 12 | Light – Bokeh

Feb 19 | Colour – HDR and Saturation

Feb 26 | Art – Watercolour

Mar 05 | Collage – Cut outs

Mar 12 | Light – Light Leak Effects

Mar 19 | Colour – Filters

Mar 26 | Art – Sketch effects

Apr 02 | Collage – Mirroring

Apr 09 | Light – Double exposures

Apr 16 | Colour – Pop of colour in Black and White

Apr 23 | Art – Text

Apr 30 | Collage – Mixing creatively

If your website has changed links, etc, I should probably be able to mend all the broken links over the next week. ;) No worries.

Does your dog leave human things alone?

By weliveinaflat

On June 6, 2014

In Behaviour

A flower stuck over the doorway to my dog’s room. Kind of remains me of the top down photos people are forced to take of rooms that are too small for even a wide angle lens :P

Over the Chinese New Year period at the beginning of this year, I playfully stick this faux flower in Donna’s crate to give the ugly black thing some festive cheer.

And since Donna seemed to not care that it’s there, I left it there long after Chinese New Year had passed.

But will a dog always leave human things alone?

A month back I found the flower missing a leaf, hunted for it and found it half chewed on the floor covered with drool. No prizes who has been at it.

So now the crate is back to its original spartan self sans flower.

I have no need for sissy flowers!

Just because the dog left a human thing alone for now, does not mean she will leave it alone forever!

So the other day, after not getting my attention because I was busy hanging out the laundry to dry. Donna decided she needed to entertain herself in a corner of the room where she usually does not go to.

You know when the dog is quiet and sniffing around human furniture, alert bells go off…

So I strolled by and see my dog with a tea bag in her mouth. – – That lemongrass and ginger teabag was left on the bookshelf to keep lizards away. Not an afternoon snack for you, my dear.

Took it out of her mouth, half bitten, but still with the paper tag stapled to the string intact. That’s the thing I worry about most when she hunts down the teabags… the metal staples accidentally swallowed and piercing her on the inside.

I retrieved the tea bag with one hand so it’s not like she really wants to eat it. I guess she was just bored and once she had my attention, she was happy to let it go.

Sometimes, the dog doesn’t need attention and goes to her room to chill out by herself.

Now I know I wanted the crate to be the safe place for Donna. A place she feels that she can retreat to when she needs some “me time” on her own.

But when I find her with her one ear sticking up like this, I just couldn’t resist poking my camera in her face and intruding in her safe place. :P

Leave the dog alone, human! I’m sleepy… zZzZzZzZz…

Wouldn’t it be nice if both of us get bored at the same time rather than at different times?? :P

This post is as much about the dog’s behaviour as it is about the human’s! :P

This Goldie mans a restaurant in Ximending, Taipei

By weliveinaflat

On June 4, 2014

In Explore

Taipei is a pretty fun place for playing the Dog-Spotting game.

This is Ah Mao (阿毛), which literally means furry or hairy.

Ah Mao’s Stone Pot Risotto

阿毛石鍋燉飯 | website • menu
Wucang St, Sec 2, 武昌街2段48之1號 Taipei, Taiwan [map]
+886 2 2388 8098

ah mao golden retriever at wo cang shop

Ah Mao, the golden retriever, sat like that for a some time before he deigned to turn back for this shot. Hoho.

Ah Mao is the mascot for an Italian restaurant in Ximending called Ah Mao’s Stone Pot Risotto …. or something to that effect if I were to translate it from Chinese to English.

He has the busy job of appearing in one of two to three such shops in Taipei named after him. There he welcomes guests to the shops. This means that we were pretty lucky that he was on shift here when we passed by. :P

A check on a few blogs showed that people found Ah Mao to be friendly and obedient. However, a sign on the door also warns that Ah Mao can get stressed and angry and advises patrons that it is ok to watch him but not to pet him. Makes sense. A human would get stressed and angry too if he/she were continuously bothered without a break.

The establishment is guide dog-friendly, and that’s pretty cool.

ah mao shi guo dun fan

Ah Zong’s Flour Rice Noodles

阿宗麵線
Éméi St, 峨眉街8之1號 Taipei, Taiwan [map]
+886 02 2388 8808

We were looking to stop somewhere for lunch, after having small servings of Ah Zong’s Flour Rice Noodles on the street.

ah zhong mian xian

Yes, that’s how everyone eats at Ah Zong.

At first we were thinking of eating at this pot-sticker place right next to Ah Zong but that was closed after lunch hours. So we had to look around for places that are open all day.

Mom didn’t feel like stone pot rice at Ah Mao, so no lunch with dog for us. A convenient second option was the cafe above Ah Mao.

Little Place Little Kitchen

好窝小厨 | Facebook • menu below
Wucang St, Sec 2, 武昌街2段48之1號2樓, Taipei, Taiwan [map]
+886 2 2331 0529

Looks potentially quiet for taking a breather from the streets, no?

hao wo xiao chu

The stairs leading up to the restaurant – Little Place Little Kitchen (好窝小厨) – was along a side alley. This place is newly opened in February 2014 it seems.

hao wo xiao chu entrance

No dogs here but Mom studied the menu and was amenable to it. Phew!

So we headed up.

A look out the window. The place is bustling on street level but above that, the sign of empty rooms and urban decay are not uncommon.

hao wo xiao chu window view

It was a comfortable space to be in. The restaurant interior was pretty green and homey. We were the only customers since it was after the lunch hour, so I had plenty of freedom to take pictures, haha!

hao wo xiao chu interior hao wo xiao chu salmon fried rice hao wo xiao chu pumpkin pasta hao wo xiao chu shrimp fried rice hao wo xiao chu ice red tea

Salmon fried rice. Cream of Pumpkin Sauce with Chicken Pasta. Red Cherry Shrimp fried rice.
Iced tea from tea leaves cultivated at Sun Moon Lake.

Looking at food pics makes me hungry again… :P

Ximending Lunch Stop Details

Nearest MRT/subway – Ximending

Ay-Chung Flour-Rice Noodle 阿宗麵線
Éméi St, 峨眉街8之1號 Taipei, Taiwan [map]
+886 02 2388 8808
Related review and pictures at noobcook (en), tummyfull (en)

Ah Mao’s Stone Pot Risotto 阿毛石鍋燉飯 [website]
Wucang St, Sec 2, 武昌街2段48之1號 Taipei, Taiwan [map]
+886 2 2388 8098
Related review, menu and pictures at shibasenji (en), bigfangblog (cn), qpjj (cn,) pearlzhou (cn)

Little Place Little Kitchen 好窝小厨 [Facebook]
Wucang St, Sec 2, 武昌街2段48之1號2樓, Taipei, Taiwan [map]
+886 2 2331 0529
Related review and pictures at miss78213 (cn)

After a leisurely meal, we were ready to hit the streets again. Here’s a quick shot of what the area looks like around the alley entrance to Little Place Little Kitchen.

More Taipei dog-spotting posts to come :P

Away

By weliveinaflat

On May 26, 2014

In Archive

I am away for a week and will back next week with my long grandmother stories :P
I hope you have a great week!

Pose, Stay, Say cheese

By weliveinaflat

On May 24, 2014

In Training

Dog stay on branch - long shot

I have never deliberately tried to get her to hold a pose (other than sit) specifically for a photo, and certainly never at a great distance away. So this photo is a first time for me.

We were just out for a walk.

Nothing special.

If we took photos, we took photos. If we didn’t, we didn’t.

But I was in the mood, and look at her face. She was in the zone!

She knew she was going to get treats, got excited and started jumping up against the tree. On the wrong side.

It helped that I could direct her to the spot and direction I want her to be with her following my fingers using the Nose cue. That she knows I want her to climb on something when I say Up. We do that a lot for doggy parkour.

There wasn’t a lot of distraction, just a playground with children playing, random joggers and cyclists. They are not strong distractions for her.

She didn’t use to Stay that well.

When we first got her, I couldn’t get her to understand the concept of staying, she wanted to follow me instead of stay. Of course it made sense to her. The treats were with me and they were moving further away from her because I moved further away from her.

But somehow, when I tried to teach her to stay on her bed it helped her to grasp the concept more easily. The bed just had a sort of anchoring effect for her that I couldn’t explain. She mastered stay with phenomenal speed (compared to previously) after that. We practiced it consistently at every meal. I would send her to her bed and ask her to stay before I go mix her kibble and canned food in the kitchen. Nowadays I don’t bother to do that, but she makes a run for her crate anyway.

It sounds quite structured because I basically followed the textbook when it came to positive training.

Set the dog up for success so he will feel confident and find training fun and rewarding.
Don’t scold or punish the dog because make it less fun for him and he could become more hesitant to try for fear of doing wrong.
Keep it short so that the dog looks forward to the next training session.
Slowly raise the level of distraction, so that it doesn’t get too difficult for your dog suddenly. That sets him out for failure instead.

The consistent repetition day in and out started to make following the Stay command a habit for her. It was time to move her to a slightly more distracting environment.

So every morning we went to this fitness corner. It was outdoor but still enclosed by walls up to waist height and seldom used.

Dog stay on step up platform in fitness corner

I would ask Donna to sit on one of these step up platforms and stay as I walk a wide circle around her. She would sit, but her head would follow me as I walked around. And if she couldn’t see me she would stand and peer at me around the board that lines one side of the steps. It mattered to her that she should be able to see me. It didn’t matter to me that much that she stood to peer, although I preferred her to sit. As long as she stayed on the platform step, I left her be.

There were times when I took it too far and she grew impatient as I circled. That’s when she would stand up from her Sit, panting a little, perhaps break her stay. I guided her back and released her much faster after that hoping that that meant the training ends on a successful note. :P Don’t know if that’s really the case. Haha!

I started with small rounds, rewarding her with treats every time I come back to her from my circling.

As the weeks passed, and she got better at sit-stay there, I widened my circles around her.

It took time, but eventually I lengthened the time she stayed by increasing the number of circles I walked around her. It helped me a lot because walking occupied me. I don’t like standing around waiting for time to pass as she stayed. I wouldn’t be consistent doing something I don’t find fun.

More and more, she stays on the step.

Then it was time to go to an even more distracting environment. A nearby park that is quiet but much more open than the fitness corner was. I felt I have less control here because there was always the possibility of someone walking a dog that would distract Donna. I didn’t want her running off since she wasn’t very good being off-lead or having a strong recall then. So I started with her close to me on the lead, until I was comfortable enough to put distance between us.

Dog stay on stool

Around the same time, we start working on off-leash heel and recall again in the same low distraction environments mentioned earlier.

I wasn’t ready to walk her off-lead in the park then, but I felt comfortable enough to have her sit-stay un-tethered to my hand for short periods, knowing that her stay was pretty strong by then.

Dog stay on table

Nowadays, her sit-stay is strong enough that I can finally take the type of long distance photos that Jen K. does with her Newfoundland dogs.

And then I realised, perhaps because Donna is smaller and less fluffy, she just doesn’t have the type of presence that the Newfies have in a distance shot. Oh jeez… :P

Dog stay on wall

Note: The Sit-stay is great at home. She used to run to the front door when someone walks past or rings the door bell. But not everyone wants to be greeted by a dog, even if she is friendly. It was easy enough to practise Sit-stay with her in the crate with zero distraction at first as part of crate training. Eventually, she got good at it so that even when the door bell rings, she would go and stay in the crate when instructed. Nowadays, when she hears the door bell ring, she rushes to the living room in a hurry but heads for her crate.

I am not a trainer. I am just recording what I did with my dog, what worked and what didn’t. It probably also helped a lot that my dog is very food-motivated and has an almost non-existent prey drive.