Drive-Bys

When Chicago's Hull House announced that it was closing, there was a great hue and cry about it being such an icon and providing vital human services.  But, as Dennis Byrne says,

Wait, let me start again. No one more deserves sympathy in these troubled times than the clients these charities serve — the starving, sick, homeless, addicted, despairing and destitute.

I rephrased that because I'm not so sure that the various charities, nonprofits and tax-exempt organizations should escape scrutiny for how well or poorly they do their jobs. The popular assumption is that they are the epitome of goodness and kindness, so just lay off with the scrutiny stuff.

I disagree. They spend our money, whether our contributions (in cash and in kind) or our taxes. They have an obligation, to their clients and us, to operate effectively and efficiently, and not in the shadows created by cloaked financial reporting and apathetic or overly trusting boards of directors, all while blessing themselves with munificent salaries and benefits.

As one who sits on the Board of a 501(c)(3) organization, I completely agree with him.  Go read the whole thing, then be asking questions before you donate your time, goods or money to any philanthropic organization.  Even mine.
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Jimbo of the farookin' great hair and rockin' guitar gets the willies from crocs and gators.  I get the willies at just the description alone of Krokodil:

It is a drug for the poor, and its effects are horrific. It was given its reptilian name because its poisonous ingredients quickly turn the skin scaly. Worse follows. Oleg and Sasha have not been using for long, but Oleg has rotting sores on the back of his neck.

"If you miss the vein, that's an abscess straight away," says Sasha. Essentially, they are injecting poison directly into their flesh. One of their friends, in a neighbouring apartment block, is further down the line.

"She won't go to hospital, she just keeps injecting. Her flesh is falling off and she can hardly move anymore," says Sasha. Photographs of late-stage krokodil addicts are disturbing in the extreme. Flesh goes grey and peels away to leave bones exposed. People literally rot to death.

If that doesn't make your skin crawl, nothing will.
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While I'm on the subject of things that'll give me nightmares for days, there's this news:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Jewish Health in Colorado both have issued a warning about nasal washes after two people have died from using tap water to do their sinus rinse.

Health experts say it’s safe to use nasal washes. It’s not about the rinse, it’s about the water. They warn that a mixture from a faucet could be fatal.

And just what kind of fatal?

Fornof says not to use tap water. It’s because of a brain-eating amoeba called Naegleria fowleri. It’s common in warm rivers and lakes, but if it travels up the nose to the brain it’s usually deadly

.Ooooo! Squicky, squicky, squicky!
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Not only does Siri have problems with thick Scottish accents, apparently she also struggles with Engrish:



And Siri is not the only iPhone app with language issues:

An autocorrected text message, accidentally sent to the wrong number, was the catalyst to a lockdown Wednesday at West Hall middle and high schools.

Just before noon, law enforcement and school officials issued the lockdown after a West Hall community member reported a threatening text message.

The text, saying "gunman be at west hall today," was received and reported to police around 11:30 a.m. But after police tracked the number, they learned the autocorrect feature on the new cellphone changed "gunna" to "gunman."

Yeesh!
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Quote of the Day:

There was no damage to the building, the spokeswoman added.

Thank goodness for small blessings, eh?
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According to Glenn Reynolds, today is "Blogger Appreciation Day."  To all my blogging pals out there, I do appreciate you.  I really do!

Saturday Ramblings

Now I've heard everything:

Winner's attorneys argued that punishment was too harsh, according to court papers.

Winner's attorneys also asked that his emotional problems and difficult childhood, including physical and psychological abuse at his father's hands, be taken into consideration, court papers show.

And what exactly is he guilty of?

An Illinois man was sentenced Friday by a federal judge in Rhode Island to more than three years in prison for shipping unwanted penis enlargers to diabetes patients as part of a larger fraud scheme that prosecutors say bilked $2.2 million from Medicare over four years.

He's a real winner all right.
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Looking for another place to get designer-looking prescription specs at a fantastic price?  Try Warby Parker. Not only will you be getting a great value, you'll be doing a good deed, as well.

(I like the look of these, and at only $95 for frames and lenses, I just might have to get them!)
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6 tips for avoiding speeding tickets -- besides not speeding in the first place, that is.
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An unexpected consequence of the current economy?  The ruin of the current generation.
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Giggle of the Day:

Drive-Bys

How did CharlieDelta's cat pick him?


It was a match made in heaven, actually.
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Side by side in today's Daily Mail, the following headlines:

• Smoke, drink, eat the wrong food and live to 100... if you've inherited the right genes
  
  
• Mediterranean diet 'lengthens life by up to FIFTEEN years', researchers claim

So... which is true and which isn't?
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Why, oh, why do politicians just not get it???

Another politician forced to resign after sending naked pictures to woman he had online relationship with

Camera phone + naked + press "send" = TROUBLE + caught... er... red-handed

It's a very simple equation, no?
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On the other hand, here's a little article to remind you that there are good people left in the world:

In 55 days, Kellogg assisted 115 strangers and made an exhilarating realization: “You don’t have to be a billionaire to be a philanthropist,” he says. “You just have to ask people, ‘How can I help?’ ”

Would that there were many more young folks out there just like him.
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Why do I love hanging around with my BlownStar Blodgers pal El Capitan? Because he'll take part in the damnedest things... like this. (And, yes -- you can see him quite clearly in that video clip.)

I'll be seeing him in just a few weeks. Check back to see if he taught me all those fancy steps.
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Giggle of the Day:

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Drive-Bys

Finally the folks down in Springfield have finally used their noggins:

The vast majority of the 440,000 senior citizens who registered to receive free transit rides over the last three years will lose the privilege on Sept. 1, officials said Wednesday.

That's when current senior free-rides permits on the CTA, Metra and Pace will be deactivated.

As a result, the revenue from fareboxes is expected to increase by a total of $30 million annually at the three transit agencies, officials estimated.

Only about 25,000 seniors enrolled in the current free-rides program are expected to still qualify for free transportation on mass transit when the changes implementing a financial means test take effect, according to the Regional Transportation Authority, which administers the program.

There's no reason that people who can afford to pay shouldn't pull their own weight, especially in these economic times.
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Bistro 110 is closing in August? I'll have to get up there before then! They've always had fantastic food.
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Require homeless shelter residents to pay for their night's stay? Before you blow your stack, consider this:

The policy has had some unexpected advantages.

Residents say the shelter is much calmer and cleaner since the fees started and paying guests seem more serious about getting their lives in order. There are fewer fights and emergency calls.

"Beforehand, it was like a madhouse," said Ronald Wells, who has been living at missions for a year. "People really weren't interested in doing anything for themselves."

Edward Bravo, who became homeless after being evicted from his apartment, said paying his way makes him feel better about himself. "When everything was free, it was okay," he said. "Now I feel inside of me, it's helped me."

Maybe it's not such a bad idea after all.
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Drive-Bys

I have another political crush -- Illinois Treasurer Dan Rutherford. I don't suppose we can cajole him into running in the next gubernatorial race, can we?
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Before I head out to see Gavin Coyle at the Irish American Heritage Center this Saturday evening, I'm going to spend the day at the Printer's Row Lit Fest. The line-up of workshops, authors and speakers looks fantastic.
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Knee-Slapper of the Day:

"[S]he’s a very natural girl."

Sorry. That should have come with a spit-take warning.
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Have you bought your ticket to come help Seanachai Theatre Company party with Frazier's dad yet?

No?

What are you waiting for? June 13th is right around the corner and it's not every day you get to hoist a pint with a celebrity!
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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.

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...

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!

Milk Run - BlogHer 2010

So where was I?

Oh, yeah.

Writing Lab session on stoking creativity and inspiration (and a nice chat with Fiona). Geek Lab session on techniques for getting better pictures out of you digital point-and-shoot or SLR (led by Lotus, Mishelle and Rachel -- really helpful stuff). Yes, we missed one session, but I consider networking with the vendors educational, too.

An afternoon break in the Chill Space internet lounge led to a conversation with Artiatesia, who does beautiful website and blog design, as well as other graphic design.

Then it was off to dinner and the Community Keynote, which was truly fantastic.

We ran into Catherine, who led the fray that resulted in BlogHer partnering with "Tutus for Tanner" group for a 5K fun run yesterday morning to raise money for Muscular Dystrophy, on our way to view the art for the online auction which will raise funds to help clean up the oils spill damage to the Gulf of Mexico.

Then, of course, there was more food and more cocktails and rock star karaoke with a live band and... we went to Le Maison to see Alex.

I'll have more later about the major speed bump in the fun for Nancy and I yesterday. In the meantime, it's time for the first session of the day...