Click Here and I Will Donate

That's right. I finally did it. For every unique click on that link (24 hours to be unique) I will donate 1 cent to the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. Hopefully some other people will pledge some money too. So please, click the link to give to those who need it most. If you want to pledge money, email me with the subject line "I want to pledge". I would appreciate any and all direct links to that site, or to this post to help with the effort. The site is (also in the title) http://freemysqlhost.com/tregri.100webcustomers.com/donate.html.

CLARIFICATION: You don't have to click within 24 hours of this post. You can only click once every 24 hours to be considered unique and get a donation.

Donate Creatively

I was thinking about donations on the Internet for Hurricane Katrina. You see them everywhere, but there has to be a more creative way. I was thinking, that for every click on a blogring "remote" would be like a 1 cent donation. For instance, I set up a "donations" ring, and every time I get a visit as a result of the ring, I give one cent. Then, when someone else in the ring gets a hit because of it, they donate 1 cent. Any comments/ideas?

Free Gmail Account

That's right. I know that by know almost everyone has a gmail account, but if you don't, here's you chance. In case you don't know, GMail is Google's email. You can read more about it at that link. All you have to do is send me an email and I'll give you an account. Yes, I know, I stole the idea from MrOats. So, email me!

The Waffle House Club

I love Waffle House. If you have never been to one, go. Right now. Regardless of how far it is. Just go. But seriously, I had an amazing idea. When I go to college, I'm going to start a Waffle House Club. It's simple: everyone in the club pays dues. Some percentage of those dues go to Waffle House. We promise to hold all our meetings at Waffle House (more business for them). The benefit for the members is a membership card that gives you 50% off at Waffle House. You may say that Waffle House would never do it, but if you think about it, why wouldn't they? They get money upfront, and a guarantee of more business, not to mention an entire community that develops an affinity for Waffle House. Great idea, I know.

9/11

No post today, except for a tribute to victims and families of 9/11 victims and those involved in the current Katrina crisis.

Buy Stock in Dyson

And that means now! I'm serious though, they are going to go through the roof! When I heard about the first dysons, I was impressed. It's a pretty big boast to say "never lose suction"; that's better than Oreck! But today, I saw the new commercials for the "ball dyson". Just watch the commercial, you'll see what I'm talking about. Dyson, stock symbol DYS on the London Stock Exchange, was started by that british guy, and blah blah blah. Anyway, it's a really cool vacuum, and if I was buying a vacuum right now, that'd be it. Speaking of commercials, that new Burger King commercial is great. You know, the one where the King intercepts a pass during a football game and does a victory dance in the endzone. I don't know about the rest of you, but I love the King. I can't help it. In fact, let's start a cult.

Pixel Button Maker

I found this great utility, the pixel button maker. Those pixel buttons are all the rage these days, but they are a pain in the butt to make. Fortunately for the less artistically talented, Bill Zeller and Adam Kalsey have created a way for the average joe to make these buttons with nothing more than a web browser. Bill Zeller is the actual creator of the script, but Adam Kalsey made the great user interface, and the button maker is on his web site. You can find a HUGE depository of these buttons at Steal These Buttons. And yes, I did make my own, so now all you greedy people can link back to me. But seriously, if you want to link with me, leave me a comment, and I'll get in touch with you. Here's everything:
Original Button-Maker site
Current Button-Maker site
Steal These Buttons

My button:

Fueling the Future: Part I

The Katrina crisis really brought home for the average American jsut how vulnerable our fuel and electricity supply really is. This has many Americans seriously thinking about alternative energy sources for electricity, as well as oil. Even though everyone realizes the prices will eventually go down, it brings to light a very serious and important question: what do we do when we run out? One company, CalCars, seems to have the answer. The non-profit organization has found a way to literally "plug-in" your hybrid (Toyota Prius specifically), boasting 100+ mpg. Plug-in cars are now seeming like a very good idea, because the electrical energy it costs to run the car is equivalent to 0.70 per gallon of gas, cheaper than the 70's! Electricity produced at your local power plant also creates less greenhouse emissions (i.e. CO2) than those of a internal combustion engine, and regular electricity can be easily obtained from "green" sources, i.e. wind power, hydropower, nuclear power, even solar power. This brings to light another question however: can we depend on green sources of electricity if we stop using oil for transportation? Is our "green" energy infrastructure robust enough to handle a relatively sudden demand for energy? Only time will tell, but I, for one, am confident that with the help of good ol' capitalism, they'll make it. Maybe this oil crisis is what we needed. A little kick in the pants to get us in the right direction. We have to be careful about a shift such as this however. It is now obvious that we are simply newborns in the world of energy. We have to be slowly and carefully weaned from our beloved oil, to make the process as pain-free as possible. The next big question is: will the big players in oil (gas companies, OPEC, etc.) allow us to make the transition?