Now that somebody has done it, it seems like a simple conclusion. Consider:

• Many villages in West Africa have no electricity.
• Children often cannot do school work during daylight because they are needed to help on family farms.
• Most schools do not have playground equipment.

Solution: Set up merry-go-rounds and other playground equipment. Rig it so the turning energy generates electricity. Use LED lights to efficiently use the power to light the villages and schools.

Great idea. Of course the non profit foundation that is doing it wants to install the equipment all over Africa. And they need help. Find out how you can get involved here.

Image via Wikipedia

Amazon would like me to buy more nonfiction books. They think I might some political tomes. To get my interest, they sent me a link to their Election 2008 Political Book Buying map.

They got my interest. The map uses buying information on selected red or blue (conservative or liberal) books by state. According to the page:

Click on a state to see that state’s percentage of “red” and “blue” book sales over the past 60 days, as well as local political favorites. Or see how the map has changed over time by using the right and left arrows to choose a different two-month period during 2008. To see the changes in the map over the same periods in the last presidential election year, click the “2004″ tab. Updated daily.

Not really a statistically valid tool for predicting the outcome of the election. But interesting anyway. Check the 2004 tab. Red right before the re-election of George Bush and blue right after. Maybe a case of buyers remorse or maybe liberals drowning their sorrow in books.

Image via Wikipedia

LdsNana at hubpage writes:

The Three Pillars For A Successful Marriage.

1. Pillar One - Integrity
2. Pillar Two - Respect
3. Pillar Three - Endurance

These three pillars combined and placed upon a strong foundation, will do more to ensure that you have a successful marriage, than anything else outside of your relationship.

Maintaining the balance of these three pillars, will give the needed strength, as you work to build your successful marriage and family life.

I can’t add much to the ideas in this well written post. I just kept coming back to thinking about how a gay couple could accomplish this. The dots just don’t connect.

Creative Commons- flicker

Orson Scott Card, the author of “Ender’s Game” and other great science fiction, states the threat posed by “gay marriage” much better than I did.

The first and greatest threat from court decisions in California and Massachusetts, giving legal recognition to “gay marriage,” is that it marks the end of democracy in America.

These judges are making new law without any democratic process; in fact, their decisions are striking down laws enacted by majority vote.

The pretext is that state constitutions require it — but it is absurd to claim that these constitutions require marriage to be defined in ways that were unthinkable through all of human history until the past 15 years. And it is offensive to expect us to believe this obvious fiction.

It is such an obvious overreach by judges, far beyond any rational definition of their authority, that even those who support the outcome of the decisions should be horrified by the means.

We already know where these decisions lead. We have seen it with the court decisions legalizing abortion. At first, it was only early abortions; within a few years, though, any abortion up to the killing of a viable baby in mid-birth was made legal.

Not only that, but the courts upheld obviously unconstitutional limitations on free speech and public assembly: It is now illegal even to kneel and pray in front of a clinic that performs abortions.

Do not suppose for a moment that the “gay marriage” diktats will not be supported by methods just as undemocratic, unconstitutional and intolerant.

Read it all here.

“It’s earthquake weather.” That was my first thought when the 5.4 rolled through the desert this morning. Then I rode out the rest of the 5 seconds and went back to reading the comics.

I suppose that blase attitude comes from living in along the San Andreas fault line for 50 years. I know that there are real damages and scared people that come with earthquakes, it just hasn’t ever been a direct cause of problems in my life.

So it takes me a little longer than most to get the emergency preparedness bug. Watching the city of Los Angeles press conference helped. The guy who kept saying we’ll have a big one this decade started to wear a little bit but I started listening.

Then I get the great post from S’Mee in my reader. She’s excited about two new preparedness books:

I purchased these books for myself and for each of our 5 children, so they too, could begin to prepare in their families. This would make a good gift! One or both of the books in a backpack to be filled by the recipient as a 72 hour kit, or on top of a case of canned peaches or whatever. Think about it.

Of course you’ll want to read her take on Twelve Steps to Build Your Own Personal Ark: A Simple, Inexpensive Guide to Family Preparedness by Emily Freeman and It Wasn’t Raining When Noah Built the Ark: Emergency Preparedness Hints by Tami Girsberger.

OK, ok, I’m awake. Time to do a preparedness inventory. Thanks for the reminder Chino Hills and S’Mee.

Randy Pausch and his children

From the Wall Street Journal:

Randy Pausch, a Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist whose “last lecture” about facing terminal cancer became an international sensation and a best-selling book, died Friday. He was 47 years old.

University spokeswoman Anne Watzman said Mr. Pausch died early Friday at his home in Virginia.

Read the full article or his last interview.

Professor Pausch is the optimistic cancer patient in the popular YouTube video seen by millions. He delivered the lecture “Achieving Your Childhood Dreams” at Carnagie Mellon several weeks after being told he had 3-6 months to live. If you haven’t seen it, set aside an hour to do it here.

Watching the video left me with the feeling that I’d like to know this guy a little better. The book does that.

My neurological challenges seem puny compared to his life and death struggle. I find solace in knowing others who keep a positive outlook in the face of adversity.

There are many touching stories of childhood, love of family, and optimism. It is well worth the time to read, or listen to, The Last Lecture.

The Last Lecture website.

Randy Pausch personal page.

Pausch gave the graduate charge at Carnagie Mellon in May 2008.