It’s the hibernation season, which means I’m able to do some studying - including getting back to learning Blender. 🧊

This year I invested in a Blender Guru course and the first thing we made was a sci-fi themed crate.

I’m really enjoying the course so far - there’s lots of great information and the everything is clear and detailed. Excited to keep going. More to come ✨

#blender #alwayslearning #blender3d #art #MastoArt

“The final blow to the Enlightenment will come when we build into our machines the power to learn, adapt, create, and evolve." - The Long Now Foundation 2019, quoted in this piece from @harold.

Related: I need to learn more about entanglement. I see it come up in relation to learning, but also in broader contexts. I don’t know enough how or if the people writing and thinking about things are using the word to mean the same thing, or related ideas. #AlwaysLearning https://mastodon.social/@harold/115675215254613440

Earlier yesterday I had made light of a situation where someone wasn’t in the best mood.

I’m not going to do that today. I’ve learned my lesson.

I’ll wait until tomorrow.

#AlwaysLearning #GrowthMindset #Grateful #CatsOfInstagram

🐕‍🦮 Adventure Time with Ona Update!

First off - my girl CRUSHED her button-finding mission yesterday! Complete with celebratory puppy party at each success. 🎉

We also tackled a mile-long walk to Shooter's, which brings me to some friendly PSAs for our awesome community:

🤝 Walking Together: Think of a guide dog team like someone riding a bicycle - grabbing their shoulder/arm while they're moving is like grabbing a bike's handlebars. Even with the best intentions, it can throw off our balance and make navigation tricky!

🚗 Traffic Tips: For our wonderful drivers wondering why we sometimes wait at crosswalks even when the walk sign is on - here's the scoop! Since we can't see traffic signals, we rely on traffic patterns to know when it's safe to cross. We wait for cars to move through the intersection so we know which way they're turning and that it's safe to cross.

(Pro tip: If you're genuinely curious about how guide dog teams work, there are tons of amazing videos and explanations from handlers on YouTube and social media! We love sharing our knowledge - just maybe not mid-crossing! 😉)

📊 Restaurant Report Card:
Today's training stats from Shooter's:
- Touch command holding strong at 90% (high five, girl! ✋)
- Under command PERFECT at 100% (someone knows where their safe space is! 🌟)
- Stay coming in strong at 75% (pretty good focus there!)
- Sit success rate dipped to 25% (we're working on it!)
- Down... well... let's just say 10% is a starting point 😅

But hey, this is why we track progress! Every challenge is just another training opportunity. Plus, it helps us identify what's working (Under and Touch for the win!) and what needs more practice. Sometimes your service dog just decides to be a teenager and forget everything they know... except the commands that might earn them treats! 🤣

🔍 Detective Work Update: Just noticed something interesting - Miss Ona's obedience is spot-on when I'm standing or sitting with feet on the floor, but throw in a high-top chair or booth seat and suddenly she's like 'Commands? What commands?' 🤔 Looks like we found our next training focus! #AlwaysLearning

Proud of my girl for handling everything like a champ! #GuideDogLife #OnaTheExplorer #BlindnessAwareness #ServiceDogTraining #WorkInProgress #TheMoreYouKnow