Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Philanthropist creates mobile shelters for homeless people

  

Peter Samuelson (above) invented the EDAR - Everyone Deserves A Roof - to meet the needs of homeless people. Samuelson, who is also a film producer - "Revenge of the Nerds" - saw the need for a snug shelter for people who are homeless. The EDAR is a cross between a shopping cart and a pop-up camper.

According to a 2007 homeless census there are 73,000 homeless people in Los Angeles alone. A year ago, Samuelson created the EDAR Foundation whose slogan is, "Thinking Outside The Box." The EDAR was developed and currently costs about $500 a unit, which Samuelson thinks will go down to $400 a unit when mass produced.

Three months ago he gave out 60 of the units for testing purposes. By working with charities, like the Mission in downtown LA, he was able to identify people with the most need of the EDAR. His hope is that more organizations will buy the units to give out to those in desperate need.

Samuelson, who started the Starlight Foundation three years ago, is a man who believes in helping others with his wealth. The Starlight Foundation is an international charity that provides psychological and social services to seriously ill children and their families. For more information about the EDAR Google www.edar.org

All I can say about this wonderful man is "The planet needs more people like him!"

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Outstanding Original Origami Artwork by Taketori

  

The ancient art of origami dictates that you can only use one piece of paper, and

that no glue or clips can be used. It's amazing how this art is created by folding it

numerous times. Photos from "Damn Cool Pics." 

 

Here's a sophisticated home defense system in disguise

So you're lying on the couch when you hear someone trying to get in your front door!

You jump up, grab the end-table/weapon, and in the dark (mind you) you take it apart and are ready for war with however comes through that door!

When friends come by and ask about your odd end table you can take them into your confidence and display the table's hidden function. What fun!

Can you imagine the perplexed home invader when he sees you standing there with a table top attached to your arm and the leg clutched in your steady hand?

That will give him pause...before he shoots you!

Jet crashes into San Diego neighborhood: three known dead

A F/A-18D Hornet from the aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, was on a routine training mission when something went wrong with one of the engines. It was trying to land at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar when the pilot had to eject as the plan spiraled downward. The pilot was unhurt.

Illinois Gov. Blagojevich arrested & charged with corruption!

Governor Rod Blagojevich was charged yesterday with conspiring to get financial benefits through his authority to appoint a U.S. Senator to fill the vacancy left by Barack Obama's election as president.

  He was also charged with threatening to withhold state assistance to Tribune Co., owner of the Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times, and the Chicago Cubs.

The FBI produced a 76-page affidavit detailing the charges against Blagojevich. Court-authorized wiretaps have revealed the information over a three-year period.

 The wire taps were in place right up to this month. The irony of this sting operation is that Blagojevich made public comments about possibly being wire-tapped last month.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Experts say there are numerous way to protect your job...

 

 

Times are hard and people are doing everything theycan to keep their jobs.

I've heard that you are supposed to make yourself invaluable to your boss by multi-tasking.

 Beside always being on time, and always ready to get the boss a cop of coffee, employees must be prepared to do what it takes to please their boss.

 Brown-nosing is now the 21st Century tool for keeping your job.

 A good brown-noser can expect to be the last one laid off before the company goes kaput!

Monday Musings: what's popular with readers recently

This last week has seen the post "Optical Illusions: How many faces can you count?" go International and National, as readers puzzled over it.

 I got my first visitor from China yesterday - Shenzhen, Guangdong, China - and whoever it was, they enjoyed the Optical Illusion post.

 A reader from Madres, Tamil Nadu, India, was another Optical Illusion viewer. Someone in orebro, Orebro Lan, Sweden, also stopped by to check out the Optical Illusion post.

A Jakarta, Jakarta Raya, Indonesia, reader stopped to read about my post on chess - RETI Gambit Opening Theme and fun way to fight the French Defense.

Painting by Penguins and other Animals, was viewed by a reader in Bergen, Hordaland, Norway.

My post on - Slinky Co-Founder, Betty James, passes away at 90 - was viewed by some in Makati, Rizal, Philippines. A viewer from Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia, found the - Monster Pumpkin Feeds on Lesser Gourds! - post amusing. Another viewer from Staffordshire, United Kingdom, found the - Graffiti Art Stretches Across America's Ghettos - interesting.

A couple of Canadians - one from Ottawa, Ontario, and the other from Mission, British Columbia, stopped by two visit. The first looked at the post - Watch Out For Weird Trick-or-Treaters -  and the other one checked out - Looking Like Christmas at Nana and Papa's House.

Other international readers in the last 48 hours include, Dechtice Trnava, Slovakia; Woking Surrey, United Kingdom; Cardiff, United Kingdom; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Bradford, United Kingdom; Quebec, Canada; Raahe Oulu, Finland, and Elgin Moray, United Kingdom.

Tribune Company is exploring bankruptcy filing

         The company that owns the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune and Chicago Cubs baseball team is preparing for a possible bankruptcy filing as it attempts to renegotiate $12 billion in debt with banks and other creditors, a Tribune Co. executive said Sunday.

Tribune and many other newspaper owners, already hurting from the migration of advertising revenue to the Internet, have suffered even bigger setbacks amid the broad economic downturn.

Other media companies, such as Freedom Communications Inc., which operates the Orange County Register, have been struggling with their debt.

The newspaper industry continues to see extraordinary declines in ad revenues, and Tribune is no exception.
The company -- owner of eight newspapers, 23 television stations and other assets, including a share of the Food Network -- has laid off hundreds of employees and combined operations in an attempt to pay its bills.

Sunday, December 7, 2008

What a tangled web spiders weave when you get them high!

I'm not sure how old this article is, but I suspect that it dates back to the late sixties or mid-seventies.

 NASA experiments have always intrigued me, and the fact that they were busy giving different kinds of dope to spiders really makes this one a classic.

The caption suggested that getting spiders high would lead to some toxicity-testing technique.

That's just one reason I suspect this is an old article. Nowadays you can go to any pharmacy and buy a bottle of stuff that will tell you if you got marijuana, or practically anything else, in your system.

 The new "pee and see" system just might owe these early experiments with drugged spiders a debt!

The premise was certainly simple. Get a spider high on numerous substances, and see what each one makes him do to his web! See diagrams to the right.

What's not clear is why they used spiders, instead of mammals.As far as I know we're not too close on the evolutionary chain to spiders/insects, although I have met some people who think like insects (specialization is their forte).

Among the earthshaking data that came out of this undoubtedly million dollar research project, is that the more toxic a substance, the more the spider screws things up and loses the normally beautiful symmetry his web displays.

I have to admit that I'm somewhat skeptical as to the value of this NASA research project, but what do I know? I'm no rocket scientist! 

Today in the Times-Standard : Hate Groups show growth

How far have we really come in regards to racial hatred in America today?

On one hand we've elected the first African-American President, and on the other, He (Obama) is being hung in effigy, and the target for assassination pools across the country.

The KKK is bragging about their sudden re-emergence with overloaded web sites devoted to hatred.

The FBI has been tracking the progress of these hate groups and are reporting a huge increase in racially motivated incidents throughout America.

 So how far have we really come?

See today's AS IT STANDS - click here - in the Times-Standard.

Blog Break Until Presidential Election is Over

I finally hit the wall today. I can't think of what to say about all of the madness going on in this country right now. I'm a writer...