Things I never knew about the Salvation Army

From the Chicago Tribune:

Dear Readers: Here is a Paul Harvey broadcast from December, 1979. Several readers have sent it to me, and I think it is well worth printing during this holiday season.

AND A NEW PAIR OF SHOES

How would you like a job-long hours, hard work and low pay? You may have to settle in Atchison, Kan.-population 16,000. You will be paid $100 a week before taxes. You and your wife will have to live in a dingy one-room walk-up.

And one pot of soup will have to last four days.

But there is a fringe benefit: You get a new pair of shoes. And in those shoes you can walk from here to Eternity.

You are a single girl. How would you like a job in Chicago?

Be sure before you apply because you will not work in an immaculate skyscraper office in the Loop. You will work behind a shabby Skid Row storefront patronized by winos and cockroaches and whores, and the depraved and the diseased and the desperate. There will be rodents and more cockroaches.

But you will get a new pair of shoes-and guaranteed security here and forever after.

I set out to figure out why anybody would enlist in the Salvation Army.

Read more.

Leclerc's Ice Bucket Challenge: Rube Goldberg Machine!

One of my favourite ALS Ice Bucket Challenge videos.  From Canadian Eric Leclerc.

More things I didn't know

... like how to use a Tic-Tac container:



and how to use a ketchup cup ....

Thanks Foodbeast, for seeting me straight!

Warning signs of a stroke

From CBC News:

Warning signs of stroke

• Weakness: Sudden loss of strength or sudden numbness in the face, arm or leg, even if temporary.
• Trouble speaking: Sudden difficulty speaking or understanding or sudden confusion, even if temporary.
• Vision problems: Sudden trouble with vision, even if temporary.
• Headache: Sudden severe and unusual headache.
• Dizziness: Sudden loss of balance, especially with any of the above signs.

Call 911 or your local emergency number immediately for help.

Read more.

Bird silhouettes

Going to be decorating some bird silhouettes to put up on our windows! (Hopefully it will also help to prevent birds colliding with our home windows.)

‘Draise a little Hell!

A great post on school parent councils and school fundraising over at Bunch Family:
School Fundraising: What Have I Gotten Myself Into?.

Mommy March Madness

March Madness not your thing? You may want to check out Moxie Madness 2012: Misery Poker Tournament!

From Ask Moxie:

64 mothering calamities go mano-a-mano in a single elimination tournament like you've never seen before.

Only one mothering problem can be the champion...

Vote for which problem is worse in a series of shoot-from-the-hip head-to-head matchups that will leave you breathless.

First matchups start Thursday. Final Championship Match April 2. Are you ready to rumble?

Read more.

Are you going to join in the fun?

Remembering the Ocean Ranger

From The Spec:

Today marks 30 years since the Ocean Ranger drilling rig sank in a fierce storm off Newfoundland, killing all 84 men onboard.

Family and friends will gather at a church in St. John’s as they do each year to remember Canada’s worst offshore oil disaster.

Read more.

Let's hope we'll never forget the lessons learned from this terrible tragedy.

Go red

From Ask Moxie:



or watch on YouTube.

Donate to emergency relief operations in the Horn of Africa

If you wish to donate to the emergency relief operations in the Horn of Africa, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and the Canadian Red Cross are accepting donations. The Canadian Red Cross is also accepting donations via text message through www.mobilegiving.ca.

AMBER Alert Ontario

From their website:

The Ontario AMBER Alert is a warning system that quickly alerts the public of abducted children who are in imminent danger.

The participation of the public is essential to the success of AMBER Alert. The information you provide to police may help an abducted child before it is too late.

We can take action together to protect and safely recover abducted children.

From the CTV.ca website:

OPP say information posted on the social networking website could reach millions of users who can help in the search for abducted children.

Authorities hope Canada's 15 million Facebook users, including seven million in Ontario, can help them in the first crucial three to five hours after a child is abducted.

One bad weed

Photo by Flickr user hockadilly



Photo by Flickr user debs-eye

From the CBC website:

Biologists and health officials in eastern Ontario are scrambling to contain an invasive plant that can cause blindness and severe burns.

Heracleum mantegazzianum, or giant hogweed, is a poisonous plant most recently found growing in Renfrew County, west of Ottawa.

The Globe and Mail reports that the weed is also making headway into parts of British Columbia.

The Globe article also states that the Invasive Plants Council of British Columbia recommends an expert wear waterproof gloves, a rubber raincoat and pants and eye protection when they're removing the worrisome weed!

Don't be getting this one confused with Queen Anne's Lace.

For more information, visit OntarioWeeds.com

Trivia:
Genesis had a song titled "The Return of the Giant Hogweed" which can be seen on YouTube.

Interesting lyric:

Still they're invincible,
Still they're immune to all our herbicidal battering.

Get streetcar arrival times sent right to your cell.

Toronto's public transit system is making use of vehicle GPS to provide streetcar arrival times directly to your cellphone via text message.

While the TTC isn't charging for the service, standard cell phone carrier rates apply.

According to this CBC article, this messaging system will be put in place for buses later this year.

Visit the TTC website for instructions on how to use the service.

Teach every child about food

Did the earlier post on school lunches send shivers up your spine? One of the commenters at Neatorama on this topic linked to a video of Jamie Oliver giving his TED talk. Oliver has a simple solution to the issue of nutrition. Teach every child about food. Do you agree?

Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa Charitable Foundation

Andrea Tomkins, blogger at a peek inside the fishbowl, has recently joined the Board of Directors of the new Youth Services Bureau (YSB) of Ottawa Charitable Foundation.

The YSB Charitable Foundation has set a goal to raise $750,000 in 2010-2011.

This campaign will help:

• Rebuild the Downtown Services and Drop-in Centre, where YSB’s street front programs are offered;
• Support mental health programs for youth;
• Fund employment programs that help young people get their first jobs;
• Expand housing and shelter services to accommodate street-involved youth; and
• Sustain community reintegration programs for youth in conflict with the law.

Andrea is one of 50 community leaders asking 50 individuals to donate $50 to the YSB Charitable Foundation.

If you're able to make a donation to help her reach her target of $2500, please do so, in any amount, using this form so she may track the progress to reaching her target.

For more information about this initiative, please read her post "I've got a big favour to ask."

How bad could school lunches be?

After watching Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, did you wonder how typical that school was, with respect to what it served it's children for lunch?

This year, a public school teacher started the blog "Fed up with lunch: The school lunch project" where she photographed and ate everything the kids were served since the beginning of the year.

From the site:

"It's very challenging to teach students when they are eating school lunches that don't give them the nutrition they need and deserve. Oftentimes what is served barely passes muster as something edible."

Have a look at their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. It's an eye-opener!



[h/t: ask moxie]

Lost a camera? Found a camera?

If you've recently lost or found a camera, have a look at: IFoundYourCamera.blogspot.com

From the site:

Recognize Anyone?

New sets of orphan pictures are posted on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

If you see someone you know, please contact us to help return their lost camera and orphan pictures home.

Find A Lost Camera?

Email at least four photos from your found camera.

Include any other details, time, location, school, etc.

Share your lost camera stories and thoughts about the blog.

Check back every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday for new updates.

Well take a look at where you live. What if it happened there?

Young Artists For Haiti performing "Wavin' Flag."

And if you're like me and not completely in touch with today's young artists, the artist list can be found part way down this page.



[h/t: Postcards from the Mothership]

Of mixed minds

I'm torn. I love that the company "One" is raising funds to build PlayPumps in Africa so that children a) have access to clean water and b) can go to school and play in lieu of spending their time getting water. (The project is nicely described in this quicky YouTube video.)



However, they do raise funds through the sale of bottled water.

Yesterday was "Bottled Water Free Day."

What do you think? Do you think that One should find an alternate method of raising funds? Or do the ends justify the means (since people are going to be buying bottled water anyway ... why not get them to buy water that helps a good cause)?

Taking action

Looking for worthy causes that you can help, without costing you a penny? Here are a few for you:

Test your vocabulary and help distribute rice through the World Food Progamme at FreeRice.com [h/t: GeekDad]

To play the game, click on the synonym you think is right. If you're right, you get a harder question. Otherwise you get an easier question. For right answer, 10 grains of rice is donatedto the United Nations World Food Program.

Join a Facebook group to help fund a PlayPump for a village in Africa. [h/t: David-Tennant.com]
From the One Difference website:

The PlayPump® uses a specially crafted children’s roundabout to pump water from deep underground. So, as children spin on the roundabout, fresh, clean water is pumped from a borehole into a storage tank for use by the entire community.

It’s a simple idea but one that is changing the lives of thousands of African people. Now, instead of walking for hours to collect water, children can go to school and the entire community benefits from access to fresh drinking water.

From their Facebook page:

A further donation of $5000 has been pledged if 250,000 Facebook users join the One Difference [Facebook] fan page in time for World Water Day on the 22nd March. [snip]

The $10,000 total will fund a PlayPump for a village in Africa. [snip]

Please join the group and pass this on to all your contacts. Be a part of the change.

Looking for something a little more local?

Save the Association for Research on Mothering (ARM)

Read what Ann Douglas has to say. Ann also outlines three ways to take action here.

You can also lend your support by joining the Friends of The Association for Research on Mothering Facebook group.

Doodle idea based on a Tweet by Ann Douglas.

The code for this doodle and other doodles you can use on your blog can be found at Doodles.