Lifestyle

Gateway to overcoming paralysis

NEW YORK — Using only her thoughts, a Massachusetts woman paralyzed for 15 years directed a robotic arm to pick up a bottle of coffee and bring it to her lips, researchers report in the latest advance in harnessing brain waves to help disabled people.

In the past year, similar stories have included a quadriplegic man in Pennsylvania who made a robotic arm give a high-five and stroke his girlfriend’s hand, and a partially paralyzed man who remotely controlled a small robot that scooted around in a Swiss lab. READ

Webcam offers an unforgettable glimpse inside the world of beavers

Move over Kardashians. Ellis Bird Farm has its own reality TV celebrities and they’re cuter and cuddlier. READ

LOOKBACK: Demand once high for Alberta bonds

City council has decided to tackle mosquitoes the healthy way. It voted Tuesday to ask Alberta Environment for money to study an environmentally-safe action plan that could be in place next summer. Some of the natural methods suggested to curb mosquitoes include adding other insects to breeding areas that will eat them; increasing houses throughout the city for birds and bats, also fond of a mosquito diet; and draining ditches and ponds. READ

Savour the culture along Riviera Nayarit

On our way to the tiny beach town of San Pancho on the Pacific Coast of Mexico in Nayarit state, we saw a horse being transported in the back of a small pickup truck. As if that wasn’t strange enough, the horse appeared to be dancing to music that was blaring from a portable stereo inside the vehicle. READ

Doughnuts. . . just like Grandma Lobb used to make!

A walk down memory lane is fun for most people and I think the older we get the more pleasant it seems. Recently, my walk led me down the path to Grandma Lobb’s kitchen. Grandma Lobb was my best friend’s grandmother. My friend and I always walked home together from school and since her grandma’s house came first, I would make a quick stop before continuing on to mine. I could have walked around the house, but most often than not I chose to walk through. READ

LOOKBACK: Moonshiner busted 90 years ago

Low interest rates and stable real estate prices have sent people in Red Deer on a house-buying spree. “It’s phenomenal, really,; we’re basically out of lots in the city,” said Red Deer bylaw and inspections manager Ryan Strader. READ

To Mom, with love

Family photos and mementos are the raw stuff of some great Mother’s Day gifts. Here are three ideas — including fresh takes on the silhouette and the family tree — for creating a new family treasure in just an afternoon. READ

How a camera’s coincidence became an Internet phenomenon

The instructions are simple: Hold up an old photo in front of the place where it was originally shot, take a picture of the picture, then write a dedication about what the photo means to you. READ

LOOKBACK: Battling grasshoppers 90 years ago

Labatt’s Alberta Brewery is inviting city residents to experience a bobsled run under Olympic Caravan at the Capri Centre. The simulated run, complete with a moving bobsled and film footage of an actual ride, is free for the public to enjoy as part of the Olympic Experience Program. READ

Care for the big cats debated after slaughter

Of all the beasts set free by the suicidal owner of an exotic animal farm in Ohio last year, few were as scary or as lethal as the big cats. Tigers, leopards and lions — more than two dozen — were loose before being hunted by sheriff’s deputies. While the slaughter was chilling, it was truly panic-inducing that an unstable owner had accumulated such a collection of dangerous animals. READ

Europe on cruise control

As we disembarked our Royal Caribbean International cruise ship at our first port of call in Messina, Sicily, our 16-year-old son asked a question we weren’t expecting: “It’s Tuesday today, right?” READ

Young entrepreneurs turn passion and energy into small business ventures

After playing with race cars and tinkering with toys as a young boy, Chris Bacik has channelled inspiration from his childhood pastimes into a bankable business. The 22-year-old is owner and operator of Sky Eye Media, a remote-controlled helicopter system that captures aerial photos and video. READ

Time for Tea

My family and I were invited to the castle for some tea. Okay it wasn’t the Buckingham Palace but a castle just as majestic and just as stately. It was a castle nestled in our snow covered Rockies — the Fairmont Banff Springs. READ

LOOKBACK: Locked-out workers picketed Westerner

A last-minute goal by tournament MVP Sidney Crosby gave the Dartmouth Subways a 5-4 win in the semifinals over the Red Deer Optimist Chiefs. Crosby, who was helped off the ice with an injury in the first period, but returned to action later in the period, led the Subways with four points, including a pair of goals. READ