In what will hopefully become a recurring feature for the MMLC blog, our pet cats (and our colleagues’ pet cats) test out the equipment that the MMLC has available for checkout. If you have a tech-leaning Northwestern-affiliated cat who would like to become part of our team, please feel free to shoot me a message in the comments.
Owners: Kelly (Faculty Support Services) & Mike Bio: 5-Year old Sylvie was adopted from PAWS Chicago 2 years ago. Her Mummy Kelly is thrilled because Sylvie has recently decided that sitting on laps is a pleasant activity Likes: Cardboard boxes, window sills Pet Peeves: Narrow window sills and out of place objects
Sylvie got a chance to try out the MMLC’s laser pointer. How exciting it was for her to find out that the MMLC now carries small devices for presentation, and anyone with a Wildcard (not just Humanities professors) is allowed to borrow them. She is a fan of its cool green light, as opposed to the usual harsh red, and can see how a faculty member or a student giving a presentation could find it useful in pointing out relevant facts on a screen. However, as a cat, Sylvie does not often deliver presentations and prefers to chase it.
Owner: Cecile (MMLC) Bio: Mochi is a 9 y.o. domestic short hair who was found under a church in 2008. She had a litter before she was rescued so she is very maternal to her younger sister, Kuma. Likes: Tuna, ice cream, soft rock, scratches under her chin, headbutts Pet Peeves: Hairballs, lack of punctuality when it is time to be fed.
Mochi thought it was about time to test out the MMLC’s GoPro Hero 3s. While she is aware that they are wearable, her aversion to wearing clothes made her hiss at the head mount and the chest mount the MMLC has. Instead, she thought she would enroll in a Humanities class so she would have access to the cameras in order to specifically test out the waterproof case. She quickly downloaded the GoPro app onto her iPad and controlled the Hero3 from there so she could fully submerge the camera into her water dish. She always wondered what her tongue looked like from underneath and now she does. Only one problem remains… convincing her professor that a video of a drinking cat has something to do with her Humanities course.
Owner: Cecile Bio: Mischievous Kuma is 7 years old and was the only black cat in a litter of calicos. Prior to her dental surgery she never said a word. Now she squeaks occasionally. Likes: Chasing ice cubes, movies with animals that speak English, sunlight, opening drawers, belly rubs. Pet Peeves: Public speaking, the vaccuum
Kuma is not really big on this whole project. She’s only participating because her big sister Mochi talked her into it. Not even treats really got her to look up from her stories (she has been watching Fargo on FX and would be willing to chat about that instead). Even more than this blog, Kuma is annoyed with Mac laptop chargers. If her mom Cecile has a charger, it means that she can use her computer and therefore not pay attention to the most important thing in the world (duh, that would be Kuma). All Cecile wanted to do was listen to the new stupid David Bowie song. And now that the MMLC has chargers available for anyone who wants to borrow one? There goes all of her time for head scratches. And the Laptop Charger Kits come with an adapter so that no matter what kind of Mac laptop, old or new, Magsafe 1 or 2, the chargers will work? Ugh.
Owner: Sergei & Eve Bio: Almost 2 years old. Russian blood, British sense of humor, Midwest character Likes: Marshmallows, view of Willis Tower, thought of moving to Europe one day Pet Peeves: Chicago suburbs, irresponsible and silly dogs, New Year time
Luna could get used to being on camera if she didn’t already find that being a camera operator could be more fun. Her owner Sergei chased her around the other day with his cell phone and she’s not sure she enjoyed that. However, when she got around to it, using both the Cell Phone Mount and the Table Top Dolly, she could see herself shooting a lot of POV (point of view) footage of chasing mice. It’s not too difficult to push the dolly around, after all.