Returning Renault Bears to a worthwhile life of daytime telly, eating jammy toast and surfing the internet.
Mum… Mum… MUM… MUUUUUUMMMMMMM!!!
Wed 18th Aug 2010
Jarhead in his predicament
Sometimes a Bear just needs his Mum when he gets himself into a pickle. This cute six-month-old rammed his head into a jar to lick out the contents while rummaging through rubbish for food. Unfortunately, he had not thought how he was going to get his head out of the jar once it was stuck inside.
Animal experts said the cub, who they nicknamed Jarhead, was very near to death, as he could not eat or drink with the jar on his head.
They came up with a cunning plan to release him. They tranquilised his mother and placed her in a large cage. They then retreated and left the Bear Cubs to wander inside to wake Mum up and then they closed the door. Once Jarhead and his family were captured, it was an easy job to remove the jar from his head.
The whole family was then moved to a less populated area in central Florida and released back into the wild.
Watch Out There’s A Facebook Scammer About
Tue 17th Aug 2010
The Bears would like to warn everyone that there is currently a scam being attempted on Facebook. The latest Facebook scam offers to give you a “dislike” button but instead just posts spam messages to your status. It also attempts to get you to fill in an online survey, for which the scammers are paid.
We would like to warn all our Bear Friends to watch out for a number of Facebook scams because there are many out there. These scams usually start with the words “OMG, look at this shocking video…” then purports to show videos like an anaconda vomiting up a hippo in one case.
Most scams appear to come from your Facebook friends which helps to make the scam look genuine.
The latest “dislike” button scam, asks people to download an application with the message, “Download the official DISLIKE button now.” When users click on the link, it prompts them to install a rogue application, which does not even function as a dislike button. Once a user has given it permission to access their profile, it updates the user’s page with a link and a message: “I just got the dislike button, so now I can dislike all of your dumb posts lol!!!”
A Facebook spokesperson said it regularly warns users about rogue applications. “We always encourage people to not click on links that appear suspicious – even if posted from a friend.”
Facebook have further stated that if any Bear Friends see an application they suspect maybe a rogue, “They can report them to us. We can make sure that we take down any application or all of the links across Facebook.”
We would like to warn everyone that if any application asks to access your user profile then make sure you trust the people who wrote it or the source from which you get that application.
People, let’s be careful out there!
Get A Free Blog
Mon 16th Aug 2010
From time to time people have asked us how they go about starting their own blog. We usually point them in the direction of Blogger or WordPress.com where they can start their own blog free of charge. Both of these sites offer a chance for newbies to produce professional looking blogs of their own very quickly.
The only drawback to using any of these services is you have to use their layouts and themes and you cannot easily make your blog look just the way you want it. In the case of Blogger it is possible if you know some PHP programming and in WordPress.com if you pay a fee for the service, usually a few dollars a month.
This is where The Bears have now stepped in.
We are offering any of our Bear Friends (sorry, offer is open to Official Bear Friends only) the chance to start up and run their very own WordPress blog completely free of charge. The blog will be hosted by us but you can design your own artwork and choose a free layout theme for your blog.
There is no catch whatsoever, everything is free and will remain free for as long as we decide to run it. We are simply doing this so that others might start to enjoy blogging as much as we do. There is no catch!
Your blog can be on any subject you like. It can be about the things you do from day to day, or can be based around a hobby or pastime you enjoy. If you would like an example of what a blog can look like go and look at Granny’s Blog. Granny’s Blog is hosted in the same way as yours will be and will include all the features included on Granny’s and more if you desire.
Here are some examples of just what can be done with a WordPress blog…
http://tellerallaboutit.wordpress.com/
http://settysoutham.wordpress.com/
If you fancy becoming a blogger all you need to get started is tell us the following…
- Name. Your blog will require a name from which to operate. (e.g. Mary’s Blog)
- Layout Theme. If you search online, there are plenty of free themes available for WordPress. You can search for them using Google (just type in “free WordPress theme”) and once you find the one you like just tell us what it is called and where we can download it. We will do the rest.
- Artwork. This will be required if your theme involves a header imagine like the one we have used as an example above. If you are not very good with design or photo editing we can help you with this to get you started.
We are quite willing to help you set your blog up and help with the initial installation and artwork. We can also offer help with posting videos and photographs the first time you choose to do so. However, once your blog is up and running you will be the one who decides what to write about and what to include in your blog.
Unfortunately, we do not have the time to spend hours helping everyone write and edit posts and the day to day administering of your blog. Once your blog is up and running it will be your responsibility to maintain it. We can point you in the direction of online manuals and documentation but it is up to you to read it. We will try to help you if we can, but this will be when we have some spare time.
If you would like us to help get readers for your blog, then we can also give you a link from our own blog to try to get other Bear Friends interested. However, if you would rather keep it secret we can block anyone from finding it, including search engines like Google.
Blogging can be fun; we have all found that out over the years we have been running this blog. If you would like to experience it for yourself, just give us a shout and we will help get you started.
Musical Sundays #80
Sun 15th Aug 2010
Because Sundays are always boring, we decided, a while back, to turn them into Musical Fun Days. Each Sunday we will post a music video from an artist or genre that we think will be enjoyable to our subscribers. This weekend…
…we thought we would feature a song by Tracy Chapman that a few people have requested. “Fast Car” is a song by the American singer-songwriter that was released in 1988 on her debut album Tracy Chapman. The song was nominated for several Grammies including the Grammy for “Song of the Year” and “Record of the Year”. The song won a Grammy for “Best Female Pop Vocal Performance” setting Tracy’s career in motion.
It is an old favourite of ours and we were surprised that so many of you requested it, considering it was released before many of our Bear Friends were born. However, we have since found out that the song re-entered the UK Singles Chart this year due to digital downloads of the song.
Maybe some of you lot have taste after all!
Tracy Chapman – Fast Car
Do not forget, if you have any music videos you would like us to feature on a future Sunday then drop us a line. We are always happy to listen to requests from others, we cannot promise to feature any but we will try our best to find the videos if we think others will enjoy.
The Meteor Shower Continues
Sat 14th Aug 2010
The Perseid meteor shower continued last night even though everyone at the Bear Sanctuary was disappointed because of thick cloud. This picture was taken of a shooting star hurtling towards the earth at around 140,000 miles per hour.
The meteor shower pictured over Stonehenge
The smaller, diagonal lines on the photo are normal stars, which are blurred because of the long time exposure needed to record the movement of the shooting star. The longer, almost vertical line is the shooting star, which is made from grains of dust falling off the comet Swift-Tuttle as it speeds through space.
When the Earth crosses the comet’s trail, the debris burns up in the atmosphere, producing the dazzling flash of light. As the particles, which are no larger than a grain of sand, hit the atmosphere, they burn up, producing trails of light that shoot across the sky. Although the shower has passed its peak, shooting stars will be visible for several more days. If you want to see the effect, then look to the northeast on a clear, cloudless night.
The meteor shower is still expected to be visible again tonight.
We Are Not Going To Die!
Fri 13th Aug 2010
A Perseid Meteor from the comet Swift-Tuttle
Last night the Bear Blog was inundated with people thinking the world was going to end. Some went one further and suggested that the Earth was going to be hit by a giant meteor at 10:30 last night. The fact that we are still all here today is proof that what people were saying was false but where did the story come from?
According to NASA, we are being showered with debris from the Perseid Meteor. The meteor passes the Earth once every 133 years and usually puts on a good display for sky-watchers. However, the meteors showering the Earth are so small they are no danger to us. Tonight the shower could produce a display of up to 80 tiny meteors per hour. “A waxing crescent moon will set before the shower becomes active, setting a perfect stage for meteor watching,” said the US Space Agency.
Experts are telling people to head away from city lights for the best views. John Mason from the British Astronomical Association said, “Weather-permitting, we should be in for a very good show across the UK. The shower has been ongoing for a week now and we have already seen some very bright meteors whizzing overhead.”
However, it must be stressed that The Perseid meteor shower is caused by debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle that is in no danger of hitting the Earth. Every 133 years, the huge comet swings through the inner part of our Solar System and leaves behind a trail of dust and gravel. When the Earth passes through the debris, specks hit our atmosphere at 140,000mph and disintegrate in flashes of light.
