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?

The Government's Failures in Katrina

Katrina was an absolute disaster in terms of damage and the response to it. People are horrified at the images of starving people crying out for food and water, and the random violence in the streets as the police are barricaded inside the station, their only refuge. Many are quick to blame the federal government, but before we jump to conclusions, let's analyze the entire situation. Is it possible that in our instinctive haughtiness as Americans we believe that disasters are beneath us? Do we have too much hubris to accept the fact that disasters do happen, and that sometimes they get the best of us? Perhaps. Is it below Americans to rape and kill each other in a crisis such as this? Obviously not. But if there is blame to be passed around, let's start at the beginning.

Local government
Municipalities, even those as big as New Orleans, just don't have the man power or capability to carry out functions that need to be performed in times like these. They could have prepared more, but besides that, the municipalities are not at fault.

State Goverment
In the South there is a big problem in government with things like nepitism. It's all about who you know, and your connections with people. This is a carry over from the old days. In most southern states, this has died out, at least partially. In Louisiana however, this still holds very true, so the government was in no way prepared for this. They aren't even fit to govern the state in times of normalcy. They didn't prepare nearly as much as they should have, and after it hit, they sat on their hands for much too long. When the governor of LA finally came on TV, she was nearly in tears. Don't cry. You have food. You have water. You aren't being gunned down in your home. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and do something to help these people who desperately need your help. All the time you wasted thinking about how much this sucked for you could have been spent saving people's lives.

Federal Government
Blame for this disaster often falls on the federal government and the war in Iraq, and it's true that the feds could have responded quicker, and more troops could have helped in the relief effort. Howeever, Part of the problem with federal help is communication and jurisdiction. There is so much bureacracy in the United States that it is hard to figure out who is in charge and who the feds should be talking to. These little governing bodies (parishes, counties; heck, even the YMCA) require the feds to get their permission, which is slowing the process down considerably. Relief efforts in foreign countries go so smoothly because the U.S. Military, which operates the efforts, has complete control and can run the way it was meant to run. I am not trying to shift blame away from the administration, but I am trying to alleviate many concerns of people with the performance of organizations like FEMA. The best analogy for this situation is football. The feds are the quarterbacks. When their linemen don't know what's going on, or don't do their job, the quarterback gets the blame. Likewise, when the lineman are doing a great job, the quarterback gets the credit.

Another Short Stop-mo

I made another (very) short stop motion piece. The main goal of this one was to shorten the time between frames and make the movement smoother. I think I got that part pretty well, although it could be smoother. The action in it might be kind of hard to understand, but bear with. It did what it was supposed to do, and that's what I care about.
Rude People Get Killed by Construction Equipment

Violence in Post-Katrina New Orleans

The chaotic conditions caused by Katrina let loose a storm of man-made chaos. If you have seen footage of the looting, you will know what I am talking about. Looting is the lowest form of thievery. It's taking things from a business that is already devastated. It requires no skill, no courage, nothing. It is a sucker-punch and is one of the most despicable acts that could ever be performed by a rational human being. People simply walk into stores, taking whatever they want, and destroying as much of the store as they like in the process, sometimes setting fires to cover their tracks. Worse than this looting however, is the armed gunmen roaming the streets. They are simply shooting people that they see on the street. One story relates that a sniper began firing at hospital patients, as they lay on their stretchers, while being moved from one vehicle to another. Another rampant crime in the rubble of buildings and humanity formerly known as New Orleans is rape. Rapists are taking to the streets, raping whomever they please, whenever they please. The idea that people would take advantage of such agonizing conditions appalls me. I feel the need to straighten these lawless wretches from their so obviously evil behaviors, but there is only so much one person can do before they're shot by the scum.

Killer Katrina and GAS

For those of you who have been hiding in a cave for the past week somewhere far, far away from the gulf coast, Hurricane Katrina hit the gulf coast on August 25, and absolutely devasted gulf cities such as Biloxi (MS), New Orleans (LA), and Mobile (AL). Katrina "will likely be judged as the worst natural disaster to hit the United States to date."* New Orleans was expected to be hit head on by Katrina, but a last minute jig to the east saved the city from a direct hit. However, this last minute jig put the storm on a course for Biloxi, and caught the city relatively unawares. The storm obliterated Biloxi. Miles upon miles of houses are simply gone, nothing remains except the debris and rubble. New Orleans, which is below sea level, suffered heavy damage, but the worst imaginable happened after the storm had moved out of the area: the levees were breached, and the city began to fill with water. Now the city is undergoing a mandatory evacuation as looters and armed gunman roam the streets. Chaos is alive and well in New Orleans, The Big Easy. The relief effort is just getting in motion, however, and police and national guard units are being deployed to the area. To find out how you can help, go to www.redcross.org.

Katrina and Gas
As a result of Katrina, gas prices have shot up nationwide. The storm interfered with refinery production, causing a shortage of refined gasoline throughout the southeast (and elsewhere as well). Driving home today, I saw regular unleaded gas at $2.99, and rumor has it that in Atlanta, gas is as much as $6.00. The other problem is that stations are running out of gas; when I filled up the other night, I had to get premium gas ($2.96), because 87 and 89 octane (regular and plus) were all sold out. Mass hysteria has broken out at gas stations: people are hoarding gas and bringing all the gas cans they own to fill up. Lines are long, and traffic anywhere near a gas station is horrendous. The whole situation is terrible, and it's only getting worse. It appears that it is affecting other parts of the nation are feeling the pinch too; I've heard that gas is $3.50 in Michigan, which is quite aways from the coast.

*Wikipedia

Update

I know that no one reads this blog anyway, but just in case some internet traveler happens to cross this page (unlikely) and sees that there haven't been posts in a while....he'd be right. I haven't posted in a long time for a bunch of reasons. First off, I moved over the summer. Same city, different (older) house. This is the one that i poured my sweat and blood into. Also, i finally uploaded those videos. They're crap, but at least they're practice. I haven't had a lot of time to do any more.
1st doctrine commercial
2nd doctrine commercial

The Casual Fart