Tootin' the Horn

Ambulance Driver has been Kilted to Kick Cancer... and he needs our help to beat his buddies by raising the most funds for prostate cancer research.

Ladies, hit the button here to donate, then send AD an email at ateupmedic3033-at-yahoo-dot-com to let him you donated and to know how much we appreciate his willingness to bare a manly calf for cancer research:


Gents, drop a brother a buck or two for having having the stindeens to take up this challenge and run with it!

Drive-Bys

One of the reasons I love my Kindle is that I am no longer bringing more books into my house than I take out again. I still have bags and bags of them... and now I have good motivation to finally get rid of them. Operation Paperback, here I come!

I probably have enough to put a book in the hand of every single man and woman in an entire division and still have a few left over!

(A tip of the cap to Dear Abby.)
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Quote of the Day:

"Why is it so difficult for so many people to grasp the concept that one can address each issue on its merits, and not automatically take the “liberal” or “conservative” stance?" -- Richard Roeper

It's a little bit like being a Cub fan or a Sox fan in Chicago, I think.
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10 Facebook settings you might want to tinker with.
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Ear Worm of the Day:



Dear God, that's beautiful.

Quick Stops

Do you drop off donations at local drop boxes? Make sure it's going to a charity, not a for-profit organization:

Though the drop-off boxes may look similar at first glance, only some are operated by charities. Other boxes are placed by commercial companies that may — or may not — donate some money to charity. And some of the charities involved don't meet the baseline standards of the Better Business Bureau or the Chicago-based American Institute of Philanthropy.

During a day's drive around the Chicago area, the Tribune spotted about 10 types of boxes that ran the gamut from collecting the clothes almost entirely to benefit charity (Salvation Army) to collecting the clothes purely for profit (USAgain).

Some of these non-profits will even take... and use even the most motley of your donations:

By government estimates, Americans throw 85 percent of their unwanted textiles in the trash each year. That may be, in part, because of a widespread perception that charities want only those items that can be resold in their thrift shops. While these are the most valuable donations, other castoffs can still make millions for charities on the secondary materials market, which includes selling used clothes in developing countries and recycling them for industrial uses.

So the Salvation Army's Maj. Mark Anderson stresses that he doesn't mind when people donate ripped jeans, stained shirts and coats with broken zippers.

"We want to receive any and all articles because, if we can't sell it in one of our stores, then we can sell it to what they call the 'rag market,'" Anderson said. "They can repurpose those textiles for anything from wiping rags or materials for new textiles to even as an additive to asphalt. (That revenue) is a big deal for us."

One of the oldest trades in the world, textile recycling today represents a nearly $1 billion business, according to the Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles association (SMART), an industry trade group. Eric Stubin, president and CEO of Trans-America Textile Recycling Inc. in the New York City area, said many businesses work closely with charities to recycle clothes that can't be sold in domestic thrift stores. According to Stubin, used textiles unfit for resale in the U.S. can fetch up to 35 cents a pound.

See? You can feel good about even your flimsiest, ripped up, worn out our torn cast-offs.
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25 manners every child should know by age 9? I've met adults who haven't learned half of them.
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After reading this article, it's a wonder that anything other plain filtered water is good for you.

Quick Stop

Argh! There's a Super Moon out indeed, and I feel like it's lasted 10 days already! The craziness continues today -- I'm off to drain and recycle a vein in about 45 minutes, and then I've got to track down a television for the premiere of Season 12 of DWTS. Maks and Kirstie Alley -- it's too crazy to process.

To much to do, too little time...

And would someone please stop flipping the crazy switch into its locked and upright position at my office???

In Memorium

It's a sad, sad day in Chicago for Cub fans. Why? Ron Santo passed away last night.

There may have been players better than him, but not many and none who loved the game more.

There may have been retired players who also turned color commentators, but none funnier... or more insightful... or more passionate.

And there is nor was a bigger fan of the Cubbies than Ron Santo.

I'll be listening to WGN Radio today, where I listened to him so many times. I learned to love baseball by listening to Pat and Ron.

Now I hope that someone in the Baseball Hall of Fame is paying attention. He should have been inducted long ago.

God speed, Ronnie. You'll be missed, and I'll think of you every time I hear the Cubs on the radio.

In the meantime, I dropped a donation over at JDRF, and I'll do it again on Opening Day in your memory.

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Update: This is one weekend when I wish I had a television here at home, instead of just the radio. I'm a loyal WGN listener, and it's been all Santo all the time. WGN is a talk radio station, and one of the beautiful and heartbreaking things they've done this weekend is allow Santo's friends and fans to call and in talk about their memories of the man. Grown men and women have openly wept when talking about how he touched each of their lives. Seriously, the man was and is loved in this town.

PSA

In memory of my father, Ronald J. Morlock, I always choose a team and support Project Valor-IT. This year, I'm once again going for Team Army, in honor of Dad's service as a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division.

What does your donation to the project do?

Project Valour-IT, in memory of SFC William V. Ziegenfuss, helps provide voice-controlled/adaptive laptop computers and other technology to support Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines recovering from hand wounds and other severe injuries. Technology supplied includes:

Voice-controlled Laptops - Operated by speaking into a microphone or using other adaptive technologies, they allow the wounded to maintain connections with the rest of the world during recovery.

Wii Video Game Systems - Whole-body game systems increase motivation and speed recovery when used under the guidance of physical therapists in therapy sessions (donated only to medical facilities).

Personal GPS - Handheld GPS devices build self-confidence and independence by compensating for short-term memory loss and organizational challenges related to severe TBI and severe PTSD.

The way I see it, it's the least we can do for those who are giving so much to us to give them back mobility and dignity.



Dig deep, will you? And then...

PSA

There are a few folks out there in the blogosphere who've been bonked on the head by the wand of Auntie Omnibus.

Auntie Omnibus, you see, has a special place in her heart for those in need, those who are hurting... and those who dare to dream big dreams. She's asking for your help to make a big dream come true:

I love working as a location scout, and I love doing this website – but to be honest, I work in film because I want to be a filmmaker. And, next year, I’m planning on finally directing my first feature length movie. I’ve been writing and revising my screenplay for the past two years, and it’s time to to put it all on the line.

So here’s my request:

If you’re a reader of Scouting NY, and have enjoyed my writing over the past two years, would you consider donating a few dollars to help me make my movie?

If everyone who reads the site just donated $5 or $10, I’d be in great shape. If everyone gave $10 or $20, I’d be in the stars, and if everyone gave a little more…Wow. Even a buck or two would be just fine – honestly, every bit counts. I don’t really make any money from the site (ha, for the first year, I was actually losing money paying the monthly bills), but that’s never been the point, and never will be the point.

Go drop a few shekels in Scout's PayPal account, will you?

It's dreams like this that warm the cockles of a Fairy Blog Auntie's heart...

Drive-Bys

To The Hon. Virginia Phillips, I say thank you.

When this...

[T]he incoming Marine commandant, Gen. Joseph Amos, and his predecessor, Gen. James Conway, both have told Congress that they think most Marines would be uncomfortable with the change and that the current policy works.

... is the only reason you don't want gays in the military, you've already lost that argument. It's the same argument that kept blacks out of the military or serving in separate units. It's the same argument that kept women out of the military. And look who's serving side by side with the old boy network in the military today!

You don't like it? Too bad. You played with them at recess. You studied with them. You sat next to them in school and you showered with them during PE. You should be used to being around them by now.

Any citizen who wants to serve in the military and can pass basic training and technical training should have the same right as anyone else to put on a uniform and protect and serve this country.

Grow a pair and deal with it already.
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For all of you generous types out there that still support philanthropies, here are the 20 Worst in the U.S. If you're going to be generous, I'm sure you'd like to be getting the best bang for your buck.
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Petrol-powered super scooter? I've got a pal who I could easily see driving one of those...
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Cute,



Cute,



CUTE!


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I love a good love story, and this two-hanky tale, found via the lovely Christa Terry, is special indeed.

Book Your Ticket

I loved Rob Kroese's (a/k/a Diesel of Mattress Police) Mercury Falls so much that I ordered The Force Is Middling In This One when it came out on Kindle.

Today, I got this message from Rob:

Greetings!

THE FORCE IS MIDDLING IN THIS ONE is now the 726th most popular book on Kindle!

For a self-published book, that's HUGE. Imagine my silly little book of humorous essays outselling thousands of books published by "real" publishers. And with your help, I think it might just break the top 500. That kind of exposure will help me sell a lot more books. Which is a good thing, right?

If you have a Kindle, please take a second to download TFIMITO. It's only $1.99 right now, and I'm giving all proceeds to the Red Cross's flood relief efforts in Pakistan.

Don't have a Kindle? YOU CAN STILL HELP. Just go to Amazon and get the FREE Kindle reader app for your PC, Mac, iPad or phone. Then download THE FORCE IS MIDDLING IN THIS ONE. It will take less than 5 minutes and cost you $1.99. And all proceeds go to charity, so it's worthwhile even if you already have the paperback.

Thank you very much for your help!
Rob Kroese

He'll have you rolling on the floor, and you'll get warm fuzzies for doing a good thing. It's a win-win for everyone!