e|g

Chain Distractor

Any blogging I have not done in the last couple of days is solely due to Chain Factor. Try it only if you don't want to do anything ever again.

In a Name

What sounds tastier?

Chilean Seabass
or
Patagonian Toothfish

Hello from Sydney. GO! Sox!

We are having a blast down undah! Hope the sox can win tomorrow which will be yesterday for us over here.

PS I want my Wednesday back!!!

Also if anyone knows or can find put how to crack/unlock a motorola v3 
razor so it can be used over here please email me! Cheers! Sent from Erik's iPhone

Crikey

From the Australia Eyewitness Travel Guide:

    "Saltwater crocodiles like to eat people, so caution should be exercised near the water."

It's not that they might eat people, or could eat people, or even frequently eat people; they like to eat people.

Happy Fourth of July!

As we contemplate the birth of our nation today, I'd like to share with you this moving story of one immigrant's American journey.

I'm talking about my step-father driving cross-country in his Mini Cooper S. That guy has been moving.

Ken and grandson Justin have been on the road for the last two weeks. Ken has been documenting every stop in his travel blog and on Monday they dipped their toes in the Pacific Ocean. It sounds like it has been a great adventure and going more smoothly than Ken's 1957 European road trip.

Soupy George

I sing this song constantly. You must sing it, too!

Dear Ndugu

Dear Ndugu,

How are you? I am fine.

A while ago, Carl took us to Koy Lounge for karaoke. Do you have karaoke in your village?

I'm not going to lie to you, Ndugu. Karaoke is awesome. It's like being a real rock star. I hope Carl takes us out again sometime.

Well, Ndugu, I highly recommend you try karaoke.

Yours very truly,

Gillian

Greatest Show on Earth

As some of you know, I have a new job working in a children's museum. Recently, I was walking through the lobby which was filling up with kids from a school group.

A little girl said to her friend, "Looooooooook!" She pointed up at me, like I was one of the exhibits. She was amazed.

I thought her next words might be: "Looooooooook! They have giant ladies here."

Convoy from Connecticut

I just got back from the State Armory in Hartford. It's one of the collection centers for the coordinated Connecticut relief effort to assist hurricane victims. It's really an intense operation.

I usually volunteer at the Foodshare office at lunchtime on Thursdays. But most of that crew has been at the armory this week and the volunteer coordinator said I should head over there if I was interested.

At the armory, I signed in and got my orange volunteer bracelet. My first job was to ask drivers to fill out a form on my clipboard. I needed their names, addresses, and a description of what they were bringing.

All cars and small trucks with donations are directed to the back of the armory and into a drop-off lane. In the drop-off lane, volunteers jump on the vehicles like flies and quickly take whatever people have brought. Along the edge of the lane are stations for different types of items. So there are stations for water, medical supplies, diapers, etc. The items from the cars and trucks get brought to the stations where they get packed into boxes. The boxes get stacked on pallets and the pallets get wrapped. The wrapped pallets get lifted into a tractor trailer that is parked along the other side of the drop-off lane. The tractor trailers take the items to wherever they are needed.

Time of Need

Working With First Responders
American Red Cross

Salvation Army

Foodbanks
Greater Baton Rouge Foodbank  They are working on getting the Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadina set up in a new office.

America's Second Harvest  The major strength of an organization like this one is how well they can draw corporate donations - trucks full of bottled water and breakfast bars, pallets of toothpaste and toothbrushes, etc. Your monetary donation goes towards transporting these items, finding warehouse space, and keeping the local agencies (regional food banks like the one in BR, soup kitchens, emergency shelters) running through a disaster like this one.

Looking to the Future
Habitat for Humanity

Shopping
Crafters United  Indie artisans Craft Revolution have set up a store from which all proceeds go to the Red Cross Hurricane Relief Fund. There is some really pretty stuff here.

MissionFish on eBay  I'll admit, it's pretty unlikely you'll find something you want to buy within these long, jumbled lists of unrelated items, but maybe you have something you could sell. Or maybe you were going to go to Ebay anyway to buy a liter of Bumble & Bumble conditioner, a DVD of 'This is the Army' starring Ronald Reagan, and/or an Amana upright freezer. If so, consider making your purchase through MissionFish.