Not All News is Bad!

A Daily Antidote to Everything Else

A Daily Antidote to Everything Else

‘Sometimes people change’: Maryland shop covers up racist tattoos for free – The Washington Post

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The Brooklyn Park business is on a mission to hide racist and gang designs.

Source: ‘Sometimes people change’: Maryland shop covers up racist tattoos for free – The Washington Post

I think my favorite quote from this article is this: “Sometimes people make bad choices, and sometimes people change,  . . . We believe that there is enough hate in this world and we want to make a difference.”

Indeed. What’s cool is that he is making a difference – both at the individual level, but also at a larger level, using a GoFundMe to make it possible for tattoo artists elsewhere to also help folks who’ve come to regret (or is that regert? 🙂 ) their decisions.

San Francisco firefighters rescue dog who tumbled off cliff – SFGate

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A San Francisco dog survived a brush with danger Wednesday after it tumbled down a cliffside at Fort Funston in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and had to be rescued by firefighters, officials said. After falling down the cliff while exploring the area off leash, the pooch got stuck on a ledge, said to Lt. Jonathan Baxter, a spokesman for the San Francisco Fire Department. […] we recommend people remember that animals need to be within range for verbal commands, and people need to be responsible and keep their animals away from the cliffside, said Baxter. The dog was not injured, and his adventure could have had a much more tragic end, said Baxter — likely a relief for the caretaker, who was dog-sitting when the accident occurred.

Source: San Francisco firefighters rescue dog who tumbled off cliff – SFGate

Today’s story speaks to me not because it’s so unusual – it’s actually more common than you might think – but because I also happen to volunteer for a local organization that specializes in exactly these types of rescues: WASART (Washington State Animal Response Team). Let me add two pieces of advice, if I may: when hiking make sure your dogs paws are up to the sharp rocks you may find as your primary path (another common rescue are dogs that can no longer walk back down on their own due to paws injured by walking on sharp rocks on the hot sun), and when walking cliff-side a leash might be a very good idea.

 

Sharp vision: New glasses help the legally blind see | The Seattle Times

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Sharp vision: New glasses help the legally blind see

Suddenly, Regan could read a newspaper while eating breakfast and make out the faces of his co-workers from across the room. He’s been able to attend plays and watch what’s happening on stage, without having to guess why people around him were laughing.

Source: Sharp vision: New glasses help the legally blind see | The Seattle Times

This is another of those cases where technology many of us might even take for granted is being combined and extended in ways that actually, tangibly, improve the lives of others. Yeah, it’s expensive, but then almost everything is at the start. The real news here is that there’s progress down this path that could eventually make the lives of many, many people significantly better.

#notallnewsisbad

How Man’s Best Friend Is Helping Cancer Treatment | IFLScience

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HEALTH AND MEDICINE Democrat And Republican Lawmakers Rally Against Anti-Vaxxer Movement Democrat And Republican Lawmakers Rally Against Anti-Vaxxer Movement HEALTH AND MEDICINE Trial Provides Tentative Hope Of Trial Provides Tentative Hope Of "Functional Cure" For Some People Living With HIV How Man’s Best Friend Is Helping Cancer Treatment

“A person can learn a lot from a dog, even a loopy one like ours. Marley taught me about living each day with unbridled exuberance and joy, about seizing the moment and following your heart… Mostly, he taught me about friendship and selflessness and, above all else, unwavering loyalty.”

Source: How Man’s Best Friend Is Helping Cancer Treatment | IFLScience

Today’s item strikes close to home, as we currently have a dog (Dagmar) who’s been in remission from lymphoma for 13+ months. We’ve noted several times throughout the process that parallels to human physiology have been striking. The experiences in canine oncology (and, in fact, other diseases as well) do make their way back to human treatment. We can learn a lot from our dogs, in so many ways.

#notallnewsisbad

7 Earth-Size Planets Orbit Dwarf Star, NASA and European Astronomers Say – The New York Times

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7 Earth-Size Planets Orbit Dwarf Star, NASA and European Astronomers Say

Astronomers are excited by the discovery, which suggests that some of these exoplanets — planets around stars other than the sun — could support life and may be awash in oceans.

Source: 7 Earth-Size Planets Orbit Dwarf Star, NASA and European Astronomers Say – The New York Times

As you might expect, I find this kind of thing absolutely fascinating. That there might be Earth-like planets … well, that’s a given as far as I’m concerned. That there might be some this close (and yes, in the grand scheme of things, this is close) is pretty cool. But that there might be seven of them? Holy crap!

#notallnewsisbad – some of it is downright amazing.

‘Every person deserves to rest in peace’: American Muslims raising money to repair vandalized Jewish cemetery – The Washington Post

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Cemetary Stone

“This is a great way to show respect and honor for our Jewish cousins.”

Source: ‘Every person deserves to rest in peace’: American Muslims raising money to repair vandalized Jewish cemetery – The Washington Post

One of the purposes of my posts is to highlight good news. Even when the good stuff happen in response to something less than positive. In fact, there’s a strong argument that highlighting specific, positive responses to some of the bad news takes away some of that bad news’s power.

This is actually just the most recent example of several recent instances of organizations viewed as being at cross purposes reaching out to one another in times of need. It gives me much hope for all involved.

#notallnewsisbad

A Colorful ‘Landing’ on Pluto | NASA

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Pluto

What would it be like to actually land on Pluto? This movie was made from more than 100 images taken by NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft over six weeks of approach and close flyby in the summer of 2015.

Source: A Colorful ‘Landing’ on Pluto | NASA

Stunning. That we can throw something out into space, direct it as accurately as we do, and then get back these fantastic images as well as a bucket-load of other data about the cosmos just amazes me every time I think about it. #notallnewsisbad