Steve Colby – Steve Colby

The Appeal of Nigerian Dwarf Goats

Internationally known as a producer of television commercials, Steve Colby serves as the director of Pogo Pictures in Atlanta, Georgia. In his spare time, Steve Colby enjoys raising Nigerian dwarf goats, a popular breed of hooved animals known for their friendliness and milk productivity.

Proportioned like an ordinary goat, the male Nigerian dwarf goat measures 17 to 23.5 inches from the ground to the withers (the part of the back located between the shoulder blades). The female’s height is about 22 inches. Adult goats weigh around 75 pounds and sport variations of black, gold, and chocolate, often with white mixed in. Offspring mature quickly, breeding as early as seven weeks.

The goats have a tractable, amiable disposition and make good pets. They are also prized for the rich, sweet flavor of their milk, which is well suited to making butter and cheese. Producing one or two quarts per day, they can be milked for up to ten months. Adding to their popularity is their adaptability to small yards.

The goats lineage can be traced to western and central Africa, where they are valued for their resistance to tsetse flies. First housed in America in research centers and zoos, one source places their arrival in the US as early at 1918. They are registered by the American Nigerian Dwarf Dairy Association and the Nigerian Dwarf Goat Association, and have been recognized as a breed since the 1980s.

The Origins of the Hawaiian Ukulele

A director with Pogo Pictures in Atlanta, Georgia, Steve Colby has made commercials for a number of Fortune 100 companies. To relax, Steve Colby plays four stringed instruments, one of which is the ukulele.

Instantly identifiable by people around the world, the unique look and sound of the ukulele almost universally conjures images of the Hawaiian Islands. While its reputation as a distinctly Hawaiian instrument is certainly valid, the ukulele likely didn’t originate in the region.

Most historians trace the origins of the ukulele to Portugal and a small guitar-like instrument called the machete de braga. When Portuguese immigrants came to the Hawaiian Islands in the late 1800s to work in the sugarcane fields, they brought these instruments with them.

Legend has it that a particular Portuguese immigrant named Joao Fernandez began playing his machete de braga before native Hawaiians, who renamed his instrument “ukulele” in honor of his quick and nimble fretboard work. In the Hawaiian language, the word “ukulele” translates to “jumping flea.”

From their four strings to their short necks, the machete de braga and the modern ukulele share much in common. Therefore, most experts assume that the ukulele is simply a machete de braga with a few creative adaptations and redesigned features.

Atlanta’s Frontline Response Fights Sex Trafficking

Honored for his work as a director and cinematographer, Steve Colby has led Pogo Pictures in Atlanta, Georgia, since 1999. In addition to running a successful advertising production agency, Steve Colby has been a major donor to Frontline Response, an Atlanta agency that addresses the problem of commercial sex trafficking.

The organization offers sex workers a path out of exploitation through programs that address the whole person. With an initiative known as Out of Darkness, Frontline Response assists victims in several ways:

Outreach
Volunteers alert street prostitutes to the program by offering them roses and a personalized card with an encouraging message. The card includes the number of the group’s 24-hour hotline, which can dispatch members of the agency’s Rescue Team to take victims to secure areas. Alternatively, jailed victims can become connected with mentors who provide support and acquaint them with Frontline Response’s services.

Safe Home
Rescued victims can live at an undisclosed location for 2 to 4 weeks. In addition to psychiatric and medical treatment, residents at Safe Home learn life skills, participate in group therapy, and get referrals to other care agencies. Once the crisis is over, the staff teaches them how to manage their emotions and gain awareness of post-traumatic stress.

Long-Term Care
Interested residents can be referred to one of 40 other facilities to ease their transition to a better life, with fees paid by Frontline Response. Illustrating the effectiveness of these referrals, 52 women obtained long-term care in 2019 out of the 118 who arrived at the Safe Home.

Nigerian Dwarf Goats Are Perfect for Urban Farms

Based in Atlanta, Georgia, Steve Colby serves as director of Pogo Pictures, one of the most successful commercial production companies in the southeast. In his free time, Steve Colby enjoys organic gardening, sculpting, and photography as well as raising Nigerian Dwarf goats.

Goats are low-maintenance animals that are satisfied with simple housing, fresh water, and balanced feed. Giving them room to graze on grass is also a plus. As a result, many people have been taking on goats as pets. For those with urban farms, Nigerian Dwarf goats are ideal.

Once fully grown, Nigerian Dwarfs are about as big as a medium-sized dog, often about 50 pounds and 18 to 21 inches at the shoulder. They are docile animals that are easy going and great with kids. Because they’re so small, they don’t require as much space as larger goats. For most climates, a three-sided shed with a roof will serve as housing. In colder areas, goat owners should supply their goats with a more insulated structure.

They are dairy goats that produce 1,200 to 1,700 pounds of milk annually. The milk ranges from 6 to 10 percent fat, which is ideal for cheesemaking, especially feta and mozzarella. They do require a nutritionally balanced diet but most feed and grain stores sell quality goat feed.