Create Your Own Virtual Pet Just about everyone loves pets, but if you cannot have your own then why not create your own virtual pet? There are so many ways to create or adopt your own virtual pet on the internet, and they can be great fun for people of all ages. You get to play games with it, train it and watch it grow! The simplest way to get hold of your new pet is to use a website offering the service. Most of these websites are completely free, and all you’ll need to do is enter your registration details and email address. Once you have you can get started in creating the pet yo.... Read more..

This post originally appeared on the American Express OPEN Forum, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about leveraging social media and technology in small business. You don’t have to be in the market for a Super Bowl ad to learn the world’s biggest marketers. In fact, as a quick trip to Facebook illustrates, social media has a leveling effect: Whether you’re Coca-Cola or Jones Soda, your Facebook Page looks pretty much the same. Coke’s billions won’t buy a dedicated wing on Twitter, either. With this in mind, the following social media campaigns from marketers big and sm.... Read more..

A group of endangered Alabama red-bellied turtles warm themselves on a log near Hubbard Landing in the Mobile-Tensaw Delta. Auburn biologists who have studied the state’s unique turtle populations say the reptiles are threatened by an exploding commercial harvest. Alabama has one of the world’s most diverse turtle populations and is recognized as an internationally important biodiversity hot spot. (Ben Raines, Press-Register) MOBILE, Alabama — The Mobile-Tensaw Delta ranks as one of the two or three most diverse places on the planet for turtles, home to 18 freshwater specie.... Read more..

JASPER NATIONAL PARK, Alta. — University of Alberta biologist Rob Found is in the middle of the forest in Jasper National Park, building something that looks like a performance arts stage. Inside a crude corral that has been decoratively taped with red ribbon, he carefully places a bright orange traffic triangle and a shiny yellow bicycle frame on top of a wood cage containing alfalfa. Off the beaten track as we are, it is unlikely that skiers will come by and admire this novel object. But just in case they do, Found staples a notice on the corral post asking people not to disturb anyt.... Read more..

The scene at Warrenheip where a 15-year-old boy died attempting to save a dog. Picture: Stuart Mlligan Source: Herald Sun A COURAGEOUS teenage soccer player helped lead his team to victory less than a day after the tragic death of his little brother, who died trying to rescue a dog. Wimmera South Coast Eagles under-17s star Patrick Karras bravely took to the pitch after his brother Thomas, 15, was hit by a train near Ballarat the night before. Thomas, who had played in the same team, was trying to rescue a friend’s dog from railway tracks when both were killed by a Ballarat-boun.... Read more..

Michael A. Lewis There’s nothing like a quiet walk on the beach to settle nerves jangled by the daily commute, office politics, disturbing news of far-off political intrigue. The rhythmic swoosh of the waves, the cries of seagulls, the gentle ocean breezes. But wait. What’s that smell? Eeeeeew! All too often, idyllic walks along our local beaches are disrupted by loud barking, the threatening rush of bright teeth and furry bodies, the unexpected presence of smelly dog droppings underfoot. Our beaches have become playgrounds and toilets for unleashed dogs, turning a treasure for a.... Read more..

Wrigley Field October 6, 1945 – The Beginning of Da’ Curse of the Billy Goat.   William “Billy Goat” Sianis and his pet goat Murphy were allowed into Wrigley Field for the fourth game of the 1945 World Series between the Chicago Cubs and Detroit Tigers.  Sianis and the goat made it onto the playing field before ushers intervened and led them to the grandstand aisle.  Billy Goat Sianis maintained that he had two $7.20 box seat tickets and that there was no disclaimer preventing him for using a ticket for his goat. After a short argument, Sianis and the goat were al.... Read more..

According to a Yahoo! Sports report, the new and subdued Rex Ryan is making no Super Bowl predictions this time around. Sanchez was downright dirty in the playoffs in 2009, helping the Jets make it to the AFC Title Game.Wikimedia Commons “Looking forward, which I can’t wait to do, with this upcoming season I think, first off no promises,” Ryan said in the report. “There’s not going to be any promises. But I will say we’re going to have a team now that I think is going to have the potential to do great things. I look at our team and we’ve got a grea.... Read more..