September 19, 2008

There’s a Cop on Top of my grocery store

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I have a tremendous amount of respect for those who dedicate themselves to the service of others, police officers included. Today I was reminded that many of them serve above and beyond the job requirements, going to extraordinary lengths in support of our communities. Officer Corrine is on of many police officers around the state who are spending three days sitting on top of Safeway stores to stimulate awarness of Special Olympics Hawaii. Last year the Cop on Top program raised $230,000. They hope to do even better this year.

The sloped roof of the Safeway at Kapolei could have presented a problem for the event planners, but they found a resourceful way around the problem. Officer Corrine’s tent is actually pitched on a platform atop scaffolding abutting the roof, but that’s close enough for me. She ascended to her airy loft this morning as the sun was rising and will stay there until Saturday evening. A ground crew of her fellow officers and Special Olympics volunteers are supporting her efforts, collecting donations and passing out literature and tee shirts. Some of the Special Olympics athletes are taking time out of their busy work, school and training schedules to meet and greet the public and assist in the fundraiser, too.

The Cop on Top progam and other fundraisers are more important than ever this year. Our Department of Education, in its infinite wisdom, recently cut all funding for Special Oylmpics, while leaving intact the sports programs for “regular” students. They apparently neglected to do their own homework before taking this drastic action:

Less than 10% of people with ID (intellectual disabilities) in the US are employed, as compared to 50% of Special Olympics athletes of working age who are employed. This is a direct result of the fact that Special Olympics is not just sports. Through our program, our athletes learn to follow rules, develop self-esteem and self confidence; they learn how to be a part of a team. In a Yale University study, it was proven that children perform better at school, at home, and at work the longer they participate in Special Olympics.

Because of this cut, special education students will be left on the sidelines, unable to participate in school sports. These students deserve – they have the right – to the same sports opportunities as their non-disabled peers. Discriminating against the students with intellectual disabilities cannot be overlooked. It is wrong morally. It is wrong ethically. And it is wrong legally.

I’m appealing to all of my local readers. Go to Special Olympic Hawaii and read the remainder of the article quoted above. At its conclusion you’ll find a list of Hawaii’s Board of Education members, along with their contact information. Make a few phone calls or write a few letters. Make sure the DOE members know that their outrageous decision must not be allowed to stand. After you do that, go to the nearest supporting Safeway location (you’ll find a list on the Special Olympics site.) Talk with your Cop on Top and the ground crew. Get to know some special athletes. Then dig down deep and give what you can in support of this much-needed program. It’s one of the good things about Hawaii. Let’s all help keep it going.

[tags]charity, Cop on Top, Hawaii, Special Olympics[/tags]

September 18, 2008

Neighbors lose all to fire

A brush fire destroyed a homeless encampment right up the coast from me today. Four families lost what few possessions they owned. Some might consider this a small thing. After all, how much could they have lost, living as they do? A tent, a few clothes, perhaps some cooking implements. Try looking at it from a different perspective, though. This morning they had homes (albiet, unconventional ones) and their stuff, whatever that consisted of. Tonight they have nothing. How is their current situation any different from that of someone whose wood-sided home suffered the same fate? Each scenario is as devastating as the other. Each leaves its survivors without shelter or worldly goods. The Red Cross, other organizations and concerned citiziens will offer the same assistance, regardless of former circumstances: temporary shelter, food and clothing. The difference will come in a few days or weeks or however long it takes for red tape to untangle itself. It’s a good bet that my tent-dwelling neighbors did not have homeowner’s policies. No insurance adjustor will come around, assess losses and order checks to be written. Contractors won’t be clamoring to help them rebuild what they’ve lost. They will likely return to situations very similar to those that existed when they began their day this morning. Only then will differences emerge. The suburbanite will eventually have sturdy walls and a roof again. Those with a less substantial support system will pitch their new tents in an uncharred spot. All will try to get on with their lives in whatever way works for them. Tonight they are all the same, people who have lost all that they own and are worthy of compassion.

I was struck by one point in all of the news reports about the fire. It’s one small fact which may help explain why these people live as they do. Several new homeless shelters and transition centers have opened up on the coast over the last year or so. Hundreds of formerly homeless citizens of the Waianae Coast are now living in more conventional circumstances. Hundreds more are still on waiting lists, but there are others who have never applied for assistance and maybe never will. Mental illness, social dysfunction, drug use and criminal backgrounds have kept some out of the system. I don’t know the backstories or circumstances of the folks involved in today’s tragedy. What I do know is this: they have pets. Homeless shelters and transition centers don’t allow pets. I understand the practical reasons why this is considered necessary, but I think it’s a problem that can be solved. Following Hurricane Katrina it became known that many people in the devastated area had refused to leave their homes because evacuation centers would not allow them to bring their pets. They chose not to abandon those valued family members and some paid a terrible price. Changes have been made since then. Some municipalities now make arrangements for pets to be included in evacuation shelter plans. Surely similar considerations should be made for the homeless. When all you have is a dog and a sleeping bag, an offer of shelter that requires you to abandon your companion must feel like no solution at all. Solving the homeless problem requires more than just money and shelters. It needs understanding hearts and a little creative planning. And that’s all I have to say about that.

[tags]fire, hawaii, homeless, homeless solutions[/tags]

September 17, 2008

Contest - Win foodie notecards from BlueEgg Photography

EDIT: BlueEgg Photography is so cool. They’ve added Vanilla Beans and Extract to the prize, creating a very cool gift pack. Carry on!

It’s giveaway time! These lovely culinary notecards are printed on luxuriously heavy cardstock and are just the thing for your next note to a foodie friend. BlueEgg Photography has kindly agreed to provide a box of twelve notecards to the winner of this giveaway. Go look at the notecards, then come back and tell me which print is your favorite and why. There! Wasn’t that easy? Now you’re entered in the giveaway. Note: You must leave a comment below telling me which notecard art is your favorite. Entries that skip this step will not be eligible to win.

Want to increase your chances of winning? Blog about the giveway with a link back to this post and BlueEgg Photography for two extra entries. Be the first to submit this post to Digg or StumbleUpon for two entries. Stumble, Digg or submit to any other social media site for an additional entry. You will also get an extra entry for subscribing to my feed.

Post a single comment below telling me how you’ve earned your entries. Make sure you give me a link to your blog post and supply your user name for the social media sites you’ve submitted to or voted on. A winner will be randomly selected from among all entrants. The contest will close at midnight Hawaii time on September 30th. Good luck!

[tags]art, BlueEgg Photography, contest, food art, giveaway, notecards[/tags]

September 16, 2008

More fun with words

Y’all know I love to play with words. I’ve had ongoing games of Scrabulous since I first found the site a few months ago. JenX and I spend a day or two on each game, depending on the amount of time we each have to devote to it, then start a new game as soon as each game finishes. I compose painfully bad limmericks and puns for the sheer joy of bending words to my will. Don’t ask - I won’t share them. I introduced you to Wordle, where the beauty of words is translated into visual art. I’ve probably mentioned a website that I think is called There Their. I can’t find the link, so if you know what I’m talking about and can hook me up, please do. (Allow me to pause for a moment of silence in memory of all the great bookmarks I lost when my computer succumbed to a virus.) EDIT: Found it! ThereTheir.com

I appreciate the beauty of well-chosen words. Poor grammar and spelling annoy me, but the humor that can emerge for mangled English does not escape me. Today I found a new website that shines a spotlight on crimes against language: Wordsplosion [sic] - Showcasing the best of the worst of the wide world of words. The temptation is to quote some of the misquotes on the site or to do screen caps of a couple of the photos that illustrate them, the better to tempt you into visiting. I just can’t. You need to go there. Smirk. Laugh. Feel superior. You know you are.

For the record: there is no “A” in definitely.

Image created in Wordle using the text of this post.

[tags]grammar, English, word usage, word misusage, Wordsplosion[/tags]

Still digging my way out of the clutter

I have a nifty little rolling cart at my elbow whenever I’m at my desk. The top drawer contains pens and pencils, sticky notes, paper clips and a few more frequently used items. The second drawer holds a supply of blank file folders and the bottom drawer houses frequently used documents. It’s very handy and helps me do my job smoothly and efficiently. It’s also the only completely organized spot in my office. The photo above is typical of the remaining 140 some-odd square feet. It’s the middle shelf of my supply closet. There are several types of specialty papers, drafting papers, the remaining supply of file folders and some file protector sheets tottering in a huge stack. The bin contains all kinds of clips and labels, tape, staples and who knows what else. I certainly don’t know what’s in there and I’m a little afraid to find out. The clue to Jimmy Hoffa’s whereabouts could be hiding in there for all I know. It’s a safe bet that I won’t be retiring my blog subtitle anytime soon. I’m still digging my way out of the clutter.

Do you watch any of those home-organizing shows on cable TV? They all have various solutions for dealing with situations like mine, but there’s one thing that every one of them recommends every time. Label everything! As often as not, when you see them in action they have a Dymo label maker in hand. That’s because Dymo is the premier source for label makers and labeling supplies. From the neat little embossers we all had as kids to the specialty office and industrial solutions, Dymo has you covered.

School has been back in session for a few weeks now. While you were shopping for back-to-school purchases I reminded you that you need to label everything. Did you take my advice? Let’s do a little impromtu survery: what has your kid lost since school started? A notebook or binder? Gym shoes? That expensive backpack they promised they’d take good care of? Next question: did it have a personalized label so it could find its way home? If not, well … don’t say I didn’t warn you! It’s not too late, though. Get yourself a Dymo label maker and get busy. You’ve already replaced the lunch kit once. Don’t you want the next one to make it all the way through the school year?

[tags]Dymo, Dymo label makers, label makers, lables, organizing home & office[/tags]

Tuesday Teaser photo verification

I was nervous when I got up this morning and there were only two guesses posted for the Tuesday Teaser answer. Guess it was just a false start, because interest picked up as the day progressed. We have a winner! Once again, Megan figured it out. Maybe she and I see thing the same way, ya think? Megan has won a linky love post and will be entered in the gift card drawing for September. She won the gift card for August. Is it luck or talent? I’m thinking it’s a bit of both. Hey Megan? Just a reminder: Starbucks doesn’t do cyber cards, so I’m still waiting for your mailing address so I can send you a Hawaii Starbucks card with some lovely local art adorning it!

Mahalo to you all for playing Tuesday Teaser. I’ve been snapping pictures everywhere I go and have started to rebuild my supply of available stock. I’ve already got a doozy picked for next week, so don’t forget to come back!

[tags]belt sander, contest, contest winner, photo puzzle, power tools, Tuesday Teaser[/tags]

Tuesday Teaser for September 16, 2008

Can you identify the item depicted above? Take your best guess and post it in the comments below. If your guess wins, you’ll get a nifty prize. Here’s how it works:

1. Write a comment giving your guess as to what the item is. Be as specific as you can. For instance, indoor “lamp” would be too general as an answer if you needed to identify a lava lamp. Sometimes the brand will need to be specific, as when you identified the Enregizer Bunny and auto company logos. Guess as many times as you want, but put each answer in a separate comment, please!
2. First person to identify the item wins. If more than one person provides the correct answer, time and date stamp will determine who was first.
3. The author of this blog will be the sole judge as to what constitutes a correct answer. Sorry - no hints will be given. I will attempt to respond to your answers at least every few hours, but I am not continuously at the keyboard so please be patient.
4. The contest will end in forty-eight hours, whether or not a correct guess has been submitted.
5. Skeet’s Stuff is a do-follow blog, so you get some link value just for commenting.

What will you win?

1. The author of this blog will write a LINKY LOVE POST (review) about the winner’s blog (commercial sites ineligible.) The LLP will contain the url for your blog plus at least two deep links and will be posted here on Skeet’s Stuff, a PR4 PR2 PR0 (bah google!) Ha! PR3 blog. Skeet writes good reviews.

2. The weekly winners will be entered into a monthly drawing for a $10.00 gift card from Starbucks or Amazon or a ten dollar payment through PayPal so they can start saving for those sexy new shoes or a gallon of gas.

3. Drawing for the monthly prize will be held on or about October 1, 2008, and will include all weekly winners for the month. There are five Tuesdays in September, thus the maximum number of people who will be eligble is five.

Comments submitted with commercial links will be deleted. If you would like to market your product, service or website through skeet’s stuff I’ll be happy to discuss your needs and my prices. Please submit your request via email.

[tags]contests, photos, photo contest, photo puzzle[/tags]

September 15, 2008

Still looking for the perfect antivirus software

I’m still reeling from the shock and frustration of losing my hard drive to a virus. The good news is that I’ve found a computer geek right up the road who thinks he can clean the thing up enough for me to retieive a few years worth of files, photos, contacts and personal writing. He may even be able to make my old computer usable again. The bad news is that it he doesn’t work cheap, but I have a business to run so I’ll pay whatever it takes. The new laptop is fun, but I haven’t adapted well to all the changes. I want my PC back!

I’ve got the laptop connected to my cable modem right now, but I’m very concerned about the increased security risks once I go wireless and start carrying it around with me. No one but me has physical access to my computer today, but that would change if someone stole it from my car or if I got stupid and left it unattended in a coffee shop. It’s too easy for scumbags to steal identities through cybercpace. Imagine the havoc that would ensue if they had unfettered access to my actual computer. I thought the Vista feature that allows easy password sign-ins was pretty nice until I thought about it for a while. Someone with physical access to my computer would only need to decipher one password to have instant access to all of my personal info and passwords for all of my accounts. Sheesh! What were they thinking even offering such a feature? Needless to say, I’m not using it, but I’m also concerned about the increased risk of sharing wireless access with others in public places. I’ve still got a lot of homework to do, but wouldn’t that make me even more vulnerable to intrusion? Ack! So much to learn! The one thing I know without doing any homework at all is that I need to decide soon which Antivirus Software to install. The lappy came with Norton, so I have some protection, but I’ve never been a huge fan of Symantec. I reviewed my problems with them and some other AV softwares when I was telling you how I lost the old PC, so I won’t rehash that now. I’m through with them and am shopping for something that will offer me real protection. Today I’ve been looking at CyberDefender Early Detection Center™ 2.0 and I’m liking what I see. You’ll recall that my recent problems started when I opened an application from a “trusted” site? What frustrated me most about the whole fiasco was that I had a supposedly premium service installed. It not only allowed me to open the appliction, it couldn’t remove the virus once it had installed itself. What I need is an antivirus software that is stupid-proof. Let’s face it - I’m pretty naive when it comes to anything involving technology. I need a babysitter to keep me out of trouble. CyberDefender would have scanned, identified, quarantined, and removed the virus with just a few clicks. That’s what I’m talking about! You’ll want to visit the site yourself and do your own homework, but here are some of the features you’ll find with CyberDefender Early Detection Center™ 2.0:

Spyware Removal - detects and removes dangerous spyware and adware from your computer. My old protection removed hundreds at a time - but why did it wait until there were hundreds to deal with?

Virus Protection - detects and removes viruses from your computer. That’s where my previous provider failed me!

Spam Killer - blocks email with spyware and viruses. I manually removed a few dozen spam emails this morning, as I do every day - with Norton running! What’s wrong with that picture?

Intrusion Controls - get the latest Microsoft updates and remove personal information stored on your computer. I love this! From the website: “You can help prevent identity theft by using CyberDefenderFREE’s earlyMONITOR to remind you of Windows updates days before they are available from Microsoft.” Updates are good - early updates - early protection? Much better!

Scam Shield - identifies and warns you about phishing sites and other potentially dangerous websites. Would have been nice to know that the “trusted” site where I got the virus was actually a very clever replica of the real thing, don’t you think?

That’s just some of what you’ll get with CyberDefender Early Detection Center™ 2.0, which, by the way, will cost you less than half of what you’ll pay for Norton. Go check them out and tell me what you think. What I think is that I’ve found a very good thing!

[tags]antivirus software, computer viruses, computer protection, CyberDefender Early Detection Center™ 2.0[/tags]

September 14, 2008

Self Portrait Sunday for September 14, 2008

I worked in the front garden this morning. That’s the one that’s outside the gate, visible to everyone who passes by. It was a disgraceful mess. The pikake bush was enveloping the mailboxes and threatening to reach out into the street. The area around and beneath it was full of weeds, and some rubbish from the street had blown in and settled beneath the lower branches. After cutting back some of the overgrowth I knelt in the street and started pulling weeds. I’d been outside for about an hour when I decided to go get the bottle of water I’d left inside the gate. As I stood my peripheral vision disappeared in a halo of black. My knees felt rubbery and a headache descended with sudden ferocity. I was having early symptoms of heat stroke. So much for finishing the front garden in the morning heat. I came inside, drank several glasses of water and sat in front of a fan sipping another. The headache remained and I was nauseous, but my legs were functioning, so I went back outside long enough to gather up the weeds I’d pulled and do a cursory sweeping of the street. The headache pounded on for several hours, so I didn’t get anything else done with the rest of my morning.



This afternoon I went to the grocery store, checked my business post office box and unlocked phone messages that had been trapped in the voice mail on my cell. By four o’clock the sun had dropped behind the house, so the front garden was in shade. I spent another hour pulling weeds, then did a little better clean-up of the mess, getting everything bagged and ready for green waste pick-up. About half of the garden has been weeded. I’ll work on it again tomorrow, but I’ll wait until late afternnon to get started. Maybe this headache will be completely gone by then.

Our gal Cass stayed over for a little extra fun in Orlando following IzeaFest, but she left us a place to park our Self Portrait Sunday comments. I’ll post a link to this post over there, then go visit anyone else who played today.

[tags]gardening, heat stroke, meme, photos, self portrait, stupidity[/tags]

Posted by skeet @ 9:53 pm • Photos, Meme • 4 comments  

September 13, 2008

Virtually me - or you!

Y’all wanna have some fun? I’ve been playing around at My Virtual Model and that’s me over there at the left. Okay, it’s not a perfect replica, but it was created based on my size, shape and coloring. I selected the hairstyle that’s closest to how I actually wear mine, and then each wardrobe item, right down to the slippahs (flip flops) that I wear more than any other shoes. There are no eyeglasses on the site. You’ve never seen me without my glasses (and probably never will,) so just pretend, okay? While no one would mistake my model for the real me, she’s close enough to use for some virtual fitting and shopping. I can dress her in different styles and see how each would look on my body type, a real help when you’re buying clothes online and can’t try them on.

I’ve apparently been to the site before today. I had an identity there that I don’t remember signing up for, so I guess it’s been a while since I visited. I went there today at the prompting of Two Shrinking Sisters, a new blog that just kicked off yesterday. Penny and Tina have decided to unite in sisterhood and weight loss. They’ll chart their progress with weekly weigh-ins and occasional photos. Tina is also using before, progressive and after (goal) virtual models to get her motivation up. Penny will have a noticable weight loss soon - she’s going to be a mom in about a month. She and her sis will share their diet and exercise routines as well as some of what motivates and inspires them. I really admire their determination and their willingness to put themselves out there. They’d appreciate some support and encouragment on their journey, so why don’t you go on over there now and give them each an “Atta girl!”

[tags]blogs, diet, health, weight loss[/tags]