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House Votes To Cripple Local Community Radio & Risk Rural American Lives

2011-03-19T17:03:00.000-07:00

'It is time for American citizens to stop funding an organization that can stand on its own feet', said Rep Doug Lamborn, R-Colo, sponsor of a bill to end federal funding to National Public Radio.

NPR only gets about 2% of its budget through competitive federal grants. Another 40% of NPR's budget comes from public radio stations like KZYX, Mendocino County's local community radio, which pays dues to broadcast NPR programs.

Most of the 228 Republicans who voted for this ill-advised bill represent Americans living in rural areas. For rural Americans, tiny community radio stations are a lifeline, warning us of natural disasters hours or days before commercial media can find us on a map.

Mendocino County citizens, do you remember the 100+ wildfires raging during the summer of 2008? Information meant the difference between taking a road engulfed in flames and getting to safety. And that information came to us via local radio.

If chronically underfunded local public radio stations cannot spend their CPB apportionment on NPR programming, they might be able to substitute other programming or reduce the number of hours they are staffed. Some radio stations will fold if this bill becomes law. And the Americans depending on those stations may not hear about the next natural disaster in time.

Rep Lamborn said, "As a country, we no longer have this luxury" of timely information. This would make more sense if GOP representatives were not also voting to give enormous tax breaks to 400 of the richest billionaires. You know, billionaires? People who actually know what luxury is?

Billionaire Jokes

2011-03-18T07:59:00.000-07:00

The United States of America is being plundered by ultra-wealthy billionaires. It turns out our entire country is being run for the benefit of some 400 billionaires and to the detriment of the rest of us. Will we fight each other over their scraps, or will we fight this abhorrent situation with the only tool left to us - humor?

Q: How are 400 billionaires like a country song?
A: You lose your job, your home, your money.

Q: What do you call 400 billionaires at the bottom of the ocean?
A: A good start.

Q: What is the ideal weight of a billionaire?
A: About 3 pounds, including the urn.

Q: What's the difference between a billionaire and a trampoline?
A: You take off your shoes before you jump on a trampoline.

Q: Q: What's the difference between God and an billionaire?
A: God doesn't think he's a billionaire.

Got any more? Post them below.

Gus, The Cat With No Pants

2011-03-16T13:43:00.000-07:00

'Excuse me, does this cat have a skin problem?'

I looked up from the purring shelter cat I was brushing. The visitor was pointing in Gus's direction. Gus is a 5-year old short-haired gray tabby and possibly the sweetest cat in all the world. Here's Gus's video:

'You mean the thin patch on his lower back? Gus has flea allergies, and the hair hasn't grown back yet.'

'It doesn't look so good.' At the concern in her voice, I gave my grooming client a quick snuggle and bustled over to examine Gus.

The visitor was right. Although Gus had been improving since his January visit to the vet, his skin was now inflamed. His flea allergies must have come back, stronger than ever. There was little fur left on his lower back, so I could easily see the oozing lesions.

'Oh, my poor Gus.'

Even though the itching must have been driving him crazy, the unfortunate cat nuzzled me gently. Itchiness would not deter him from friendliness, apparently.

A shelter is a bad place for a cat with flea allergies. Few people adopt adult cats, even though they are much easier to deal with than kittens. But who would look past the patchy coat and angry red skin to Gus's sweet and gentle nature?

So that's when I tucked him under my arm and barreled past the security guard. My husband drove the getaway car. Not really. I did take Gus home, however.

Gus has been convalescing at our house. Because his hind end is threadbare, he gets cold, so we've been keeping him warm by the fire or by throwing a blanket over him. The vet treated his flea allergy and secondary infection. Gus has another health issue to address, but first he has to recover from this one. The sweetest cat in the world comes with a sizable vet bill.

You may have noticed a Paypal tip jar in the upper corner. Proceeds will go to take care of Gus, the cat with no pants. If you feel like it and can afford it, thank you for your generosity; otherwise, thank you for reading and sharing.

Japan Faces Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Crisis

2011-03-14T21:25:00.000-07:00

How awful it must have been, having so much of the sea rush in like that. I imagine a woman hearing the roar of sea water and, knowing there's no escape, holding her arms out to a terrified child, that she may provide some small measure of comfort.

All of us living in earthquake country know our world is seismically active. The Ring of Fire is perfectly obvious on this USGS map showing the last 7 days worth of earthquakes. An undersea earthquake can cause a tsunami, as shown on NOAA's Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.

The Japanese have the best building codes and earthquake engineering in the world. Japan's earthquake preparedness is a model for all other Pacific Rim communities. They will study this event and be even more prepared next time.

There's no such thing as an earthquake-proof structure. No matter how strongly you build, an earthquake can shake just a little more powerfully. There’s always a chance of an atypical event, and at 8.9 magnitude, March 11's earthquake was unusually strong.

The Japanese had the terrible misfortune of being hit with a major earthquake and a huge tsunami. These simultaneous acts of Nature interfered with the cooling procedures at their nuclear generators. My heart goes out to those who lost loved ones and to those who lost life itself. My thoughts are with the 50 brave TEPCO engineers, teeth set with grim determination, laboring to reduce the radiation and save their countrymen.

Don't Tell Me Your Cat's A Stray

2011-03-02T19:06:00.000-08:00

Your cat tells me a different story, and cats can't lie.

A stray cat wouldn't have called out to you as you walked out the door. I'm surprised your cat's piteous little peep didn't break your heart like it did mine.

Ordinarily stray cats don't allow strangers to pick them up and comfort them. But your cat did, nestling its nose in the crook of my arm as if to block out the sight of the cage that will be its home.

Another thing stray cats don't do is roll over on their backs while they're being cuddled. When your cat was a kitten, someone, perhaps you, carried it around like a baby.

So, tell me you're broke, and you can't afford cat food. Tell me your landlord doesn't allow animals and threatened to throw you out in the streets. Tell me your neighbors moved out in the middle of the night and left their cat behind. Tell me your cat doesn't go with your new couch. But please, don't tell me your cat's a stray.

Homes & Homelessness - News From The Cat House

2011-02-18T21:11:00.000-08:00

Did the vacationers give a thought to the cat they left behind? A caretaker found Greyson last November while closing up some cabins and brought him to the shelter. His abandonment didn't change his sweet nature, as captured in this video.

Now Greyson has a new home. He was adopted a few days ago. May he and his new humans spend many happy years together.

Amber Eyes doesn't just have a new home, she also has a job. Our local community radio station adopted her as a new KZYX mouser.

I'm really happy about this, because I can still see her when I volunteer at the station.

The number of recent adoptions hasn't relieved the crowding at the shelter. The Great Recession continues unabated, creating misery and homelessness among humans and animals alike. The shelter's most recent arrival, a beautiful Siamese, became homeless when his human was forced to give up a roof overhead to live in a car.

Congratulations, Willie & Waylon! - News From The Cat House

2011-02-05T10:11:00.000-08:00

A nice couple adopted Willie and Waylon! The kitties' new humans came to the shelter looking for friendly outdoor cats, and adopted these two buddies together. My heart jumped at the good news. The boys have both been at the shelter for a while, but they've only been in the shelter for a few weeks.

Willie had been dropped off at the shelter - literally. A volunteer dog-walker witnessed someone driving up, tossing the big orange cat out of the car, and driving off.

A woman did try to bring Waylon in. She had called ahead to see if the shelter could take in a "friendly stray" that was hanging around her porch. As she carried Waylon from the parking lot toward the office, the sound of barking dogs frightened him. He leapt from her arms and disappeared on the shelter's rambling property.

The two cats became friends during the months they lived rough on the shelter's grounds. They ate the food we put out for them, but did not let us near.

One morning, a volunteer arrived to find Willie about at her eye level, covered in mud, and clinging to a low branch. He cried piteously for help, and made no fuss when she plucked him from the tree. She carried Willie inside the shelter, and Waylon followed, never letting his friend out of sight.

And now they have a home together!

There's some sad news, too. Handsome Sir Lancelot became gravely ill and died earlier this week. Someday when I can manage without shorting out my keyboard with tears, I'd like to edit together Sir Lancelot's video clips. Right now, I can't bear to look at the footage of my husband scratching the kitty's ears while Sir Lancelot looks up at Mark as if he invented catnip and radiant heat on the same day.

A Tale Of Two h2g2 Websites: The BBC's And Ours

2011-01-30T00:17:00.000-08:00

Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of BBC Online lies a gem of a website.

In 2001, the BBC acquired h2g2, then a precocious two-year-old website. BBC execs actually acquired more than the innovated software with which they jump-started BBC Online. Along with the software package came an opinionated online community and its product, that is, online content. Fact, fiction, prose, poetry, debates, photos, recipes and travelogues; the BBC got it all.

Almost ten years later to the day, the BBC announced that, as part of a cunning plan to do "fewer things better", h2g2 would be "disposed of".

BBC executives must perceive some value in the diamond that is h2g2, because they want to find a buyer. Ultimately the BBC's h2g2 is a corporate product to be sold.

Our h2g2 is a sprawling universe, a well-stocked library, a literary magazine, a place to hone writing skills, a salon in which to discuss ideas and events, and a cozy pub. Cool, smart, articulate people live in our h2g2.

Since the BBC's January 24 announcement, our h2g2 has been a beehive of activity. Within two hours of the BBC's announcement, the h2g2 Community Consortium (h2g2c2) formed to ensure the survival of the site and its community. Less than a week later, h2g2c2 has over 200 members. Most are current or former contributing members, but some are h2g2 enthusiasts who have never logged on.

That's right, BBC execs. Your h2g2 is an asset with a price tag. Our h2g2 is a community of writers, readers, and fans.

What is h2g2 & Why It Matters

2011-01-27T20:02:00.000-08:00

In the heady days of the dot.com boom, British author Douglas Adams's pioneering website h2g2 offered users a customizable home page before Myspace, journals before blogging became popular, and a friends list before Facebook. But h2g2 wasn't just an early social network.

h2g2 has a periodical called The Post and the UnderGuide, a growing collection of short stories, poetry, and other user-generated content. But h2g2 isn't just a newsgroup or a creative writing site.

At the heart of h2g2 lies an expanding and often quirky Edited Guide with more than 10,000 non-fiction entries. But h2g2 isn't and never was Wikipedia's competition.

It's hard to explain but easy to show the difference between the two sites. Take socks, for example. Wikipedia has this to say about the subject:

"A sock is an item of clothing worn on the feet. The foot is among the heaviest producers of sweat in the body, as it is able to produce over a pint of perspiration per day. Socks help to absorb this sweat and draw it to areas where air can evaporate the perspiration. In cold environments, socks decrease the risk of frostbite."

There's more, but you get the idea.

h2g2 also mentions socks. It unabashedly discusses The Joy of Socks, finds Alternative Uses for Socks, struggles with Holy Sock - an Ontological Dichotomy, and ponders How To Take Socks Off - And Live. Not only can you learn How To Knit A Pair of Socks, you can also discuss your knitting project at The h2g2 Craft Guild.

Wikipedia tells you what you may need to know; h2g2 tells you what you might want to learn.