As part of a birthday present last August, I signed up for Kiva, a service that provides loans to the working poor in countries around the world. People are trying to (among many other things) raise money for a cow so they can make and sell cheese in Azerbaijan, for supplies for a beauty salon in Uganda, or to open a photography studio in Togo.
Our job is simple. We choose which businesses we want to support and provide some money to help fund that business. Not a lot, perhaps just $25.00. Those small loans are combined with other Kiva members and once all of the funds are raised, the business owner gets that money and soon after starts paying it back over some agreed-upon period of time usually in the 6-12 month range. Over the past 6 months or so, I've loaned money to 15 businesses. Some are just starting but two of them have already paid back the loans.
Kiva's website does a good job of explaining microfinance and it is actually very interesting to understand why the working poor have such a hard time getting even small amounts of money to start or grow their businesses. For me, though, it is much more satisfying to look at the loans in my "portfolio" and know that somewhere around the world, someone is working to make their business better and that in my own little way, I'm helping them.
That's cool.
The banner below will show a different Kiva business each time you refresh this page.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Calm by Leslie
Leslie has been updating her massage website/blog with tips on finding a good massage practitioner, reflexology information, and offers for people looking for a bit more calm.
Check it out!
Check it out!
Monday, March 05, 2007
Graeter's Ice Cream - Mana from Cincinnati
Tony had never tried Graeter's Ice Cream and now he is a believer. For those of you who think you have tried the best ice cream in the world -- until you've tried Graeter's you haven't. :)
I grew up in Dayton, Ohio and when my mother would make trips to Cincinnati she would bring back a couple of pints of Grater's vanilla chocolate chip. The ice cream itself is intensely creamy and fresh. The chips are not little chocolate morsels. They are an event all to themselves, sometimes reaching three inches in length due to the way the chocolate is added to the ice cream. The combination is exquisite.
It's a good thing we could only get it on rare occasions because this stuff is addictive. For those of you wanting to give it a try, it is available online and shows up still well frozen. It's kinda pricy to ship, though, so you should order a bunch to justify the shipping costs. Then invite me over and I'll help you get rid of it.
I grew up in Dayton, Ohio and when my mother would make trips to Cincinnati she would bring back a couple of pints of Grater's vanilla chocolate chip. The ice cream itself is intensely creamy and fresh. The chips are not little chocolate morsels. They are an event all to themselves, sometimes reaching three inches in length due to the way the chocolate is added to the ice cream. The combination is exquisite.
It's a good thing we could only get it on rare occasions because this stuff is addictive. For those of you wanting to give it a try, it is available online and shows up still well frozen. It's kinda pricy to ship, though, so you should order a bunch to justify the shipping costs. Then invite me over and I'll help you get rid of it.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
I am Dr. Doom - Who are you?
Diz had this one on his messenger blip. Yet another small insight into my psyche.
Your results:
You are Dr. Doom
Blessed with smarts and power but burdened by vanity.
Click here to take the Supervillain Personality Quiz
Your results:
You are Dr. Doom
Blessed with smarts and power but burdened by vanity.
| Dr. Doom | 67% | |
| Green Goblin | 65% | |
| Lex Luthor | 62% | |
| Poison Ivy | 59% | |
| Magneto | 58% | |
| Mr. Freeze | 57% | |
| Apocalypse | 56% | |
| The Joker | 53% | |
| Kingpin | 52% | |
| Catwoman | 44% | |
| Riddler | 44% | |
| Venom | 43% | |
| Juggernaut | 41% | |
| Mystique | 41% | |
| Two-Face | 41% | |
| Dark Phoenix | 40% |
Click here to take the Supervillain Personality Quiz
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Unexpected Mountain Climbing
The weather reports said that there would be a snow storm coming. "Snow and possible thunder," it said. Thundersnow? Cool!
Throughout the day, it didn't seem so bad though the clouds had an ominous look about them. Very dark and low. Around 4:15, the storm started with a torrential hail downpour which gave a base for the big puffy snow to follow. Around Redmond, it was only 34 degrees so usually things wouldn't stick but on top of a bed of icy gorp, it stuck just fine.
I left work about 15 minutes later, trying to beat the traffic but, sadly, I was not the only one to think of this. Getting to the highway wasn't bad. Driving on 520 wasn't even bad yet. By the time I got off the highway, though, it was clear that this was going to take a while. After moving about one mile in an hour, and hearing stories of all sorts of cars abandoned on the hill up to the plateau I started thinking of alternate opportunities. Sadly, there are only 4 ways up to the plateau and all have steep hills that people with 2 wheel drive cars always get stuck on and then block it for everyone else.
There is a back way, though. One that few people know about since cars can't go through the roadblocks set up but I could always walk up. I parked my car at David's house and after some very generous peanut butter crackers for energy (thanks!) I started the trek up the hill. The snow was heavy and crunchy under my shows (thank goodness I wore my waterproof Merrells...) but it was not very slippery. At first the hill wasn't too bad but there is a part that Zach and I had ridden down a few times last summer on our bikes that got very steep. Lots of fun going down on a bike. Not so much going up in snow.
Along the way, I was kept company by a number of ongoing email and SMS threads on my blackjack phone. It turns out that all of the roads up to the plateau were closed due to abandoned cars so it is good I took this route. I wasn't going to make it up any other way.
The walk was actually really nice. The thick snow muted all sound and lay heavy on the trees, bushes and fences along the way. Occasionally kids would run out with their sleds trying to find a good hill to ride. During the steepest parts, I was strategizing ways to bring my snowboard back in the morning and ride down to my car though I bet it will be much icier by then. About 2.5 miles and 45 minutes later, I was finally home. Total commute time, 3.5 hours.
Now I just need to figure out how to get my car back...
Jan 11 - Around noon today, I drove down off the plateau and picked up my car. Under the windshield wipers was a ziploc bag with some crackers and peanut butter and a note that said, "Just in case..." Thanks David :)
Throughout the day, it didn't seem so bad though the clouds had an ominous look about them. Very dark and low. Around 4:15, the storm started with a torrential hail downpour which gave a base for the big puffy snow to follow. Around Redmond, it was only 34 degrees so usually things wouldn't stick but on top of a bed of icy gorp, it stuck just fine.
I left work about 15 minutes later, trying to beat the traffic but, sadly, I was not the only one to think of this. Getting to the highway wasn't bad. Driving on 520 wasn't even bad yet. By the time I got off the highway, though, it was clear that this was going to take a while. After moving about one mile in an hour, and hearing stories of all sorts of cars abandoned on the hill up to the plateau I started thinking of alternate opportunities. Sadly, there are only 4 ways up to the plateau and all have steep hills that people with 2 wheel drive cars always get stuck on and then block it for everyone else.
There is a back way, though. One that few people know about since cars can't go through the roadblocks set up but I could always walk up. I parked my car at David's house and after some very generous peanut butter crackers for energy (thanks!) I started the trek up the hill. The snow was heavy and crunchy under my shows (thank goodness I wore my waterproof Merrells...) but it was not very slippery. At first the hill wasn't too bad but there is a part that Zach and I had ridden down a few times last summer on our bikes that got very steep. Lots of fun going down on a bike. Not so much going up in snow.
Along the way, I was kept company by a number of ongoing email and SMS threads on my blackjack phone. It turns out that all of the roads up to the plateau were closed due to abandoned cars so it is good I took this route. I wasn't going to make it up any other way.
The walk was actually really nice. The thick snow muted all sound and lay heavy on the trees, bushes and fences along the way. Occasionally kids would run out with their sleds trying to find a good hill to ride. During the steepest parts, I was strategizing ways to bring my snowboard back in the morning and ride down to my car though I bet it will be much icier by then. About 2.5 miles and 45 minutes later, I was finally home. Total commute time, 3.5 hours.
Now I just need to figure out how to get my car back...
Jan 11 - Around noon today, I drove down off the plateau and picked up my car. Under the windshield wipers was a ziploc bag with some crackers and peanut butter and a note that said, "Just in case..." Thanks David :)
Thursday, December 28, 2006
My Linguistic Profile
Tony has so many fun ideas for posts.... This one determines my linguistic profile - the derivation of my own particular English. Now given that I grew up in the midwest but I've also lived in Massachusetts and California before Washington state, the results are not that unexpected.
| Your Linguistic Profile: |
| 60% General American English |
| 15% Upper Midwestern |
| 15% Yankee |
| 5% Dixie |
| 0% Midwestern |
I am Mal
Tony did this web survey to see which character from Serenity (or Firefly) he was the most like and, being a sucker for such things, I took the same survey. I came back as Captain Mal Reynolds though I was very close to being Kaylee - just like Tony was.
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
You scored as Capt. Mal Reynolds. The Captain. You are the captain of the ship, so the crew are your responsibility. You just want to do the job, get paid and keep flying. Why is that always so hard?
Which Serenity character are you? created with QuizFarm.com |
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Back from Boarding in Whistler
We spent Christmas in Whistler this year. The snow was absolutely amazing - lots of new powder and when you're learning to snowboard, like I am, that is just perfect. We drove up on Thursday and took a day to just relax on Friday but on Saturday I went for a snowboard lesson.
I signed up for the Super Group lesson where you will have at most 3 people in your group and lucked into a effectively private lesson as there was no one else at the same level I was (I could turn in each direction but have little real practice doing much more than that). The lesson was one of the kookiest lessons I've had. We started with the standard "take a few runs and show me what you've got" bit. The instructor noticed that my board might not be set up right for me so we took a break and he repositioned the bindings and it was much better after that. A few more runs in, we went from Blackcomb to Whistler but rather than boarding into the village (which we did later), we took the bus over. While spent the bus ride practicing the turns by standing in the back and "riding" the bus. As it made hard turns, we were up on our toes or heels trying to get the same feel. Not the same feel, of course, but a good little drill along the way. After lunch, we headed to the top of a hill and did a bit of tai chi to shake off the post-lunch food coma. By the end of the day, I was turning and making it down the Olympic run pretty smoothly.
The snowboarders I know always tell me how crappy green runs are for snowboarders because they tend to the be the snowcat tracks. I thought it was just because they liked going faster but it turns out it is because it is really hard to both keep an edge and keep going straight on those narrow tracks. Particularly with all of the little grooves made by skiers. It is way too easy to catch the bad edge and go down as I learned by doing just that several times. I guess I'd better just get better soon and head for the blue runs instead.
The next day I did more of that in about 8 inches of new powder while Kate and Zach zipped down on skis and Leslie took her snowboard lesson. Man that was fun! As the soreness fades, I'm already itching to get back up there.
I signed up for the Super Group lesson where you will have at most 3 people in your group and lucked into a effectively private lesson as there was no one else at the same level I was (I could turn in each direction but have little real practice doing much more than that). The lesson was one of the kookiest lessons I've had. We started with the standard "take a few runs and show me what you've got" bit. The instructor noticed that my board might not be set up right for me so we took a break and he repositioned the bindings and it was much better after that. A few more runs in, we went from Blackcomb to Whistler but rather than boarding into the village (which we did later), we took the bus over. While spent the bus ride practicing the turns by standing in the back and "riding" the bus. As it made hard turns, we were up on our toes or heels trying to get the same feel. Not the same feel, of course, but a good little drill along the way. After lunch, we headed to the top of a hill and did a bit of tai chi to shake off the post-lunch food coma. By the end of the day, I was turning and making it down the Olympic run pretty smoothly.
The snowboarders I know always tell me how crappy green runs are for snowboarders because they tend to the be the snowcat tracks. I thought it was just because they liked going faster but it turns out it is because it is really hard to both keep an edge and keep going straight on those narrow tracks. Particularly with all of the little grooves made by skiers. It is way too easy to catch the bad edge and go down as I learned by doing just that several times. I guess I'd better just get better soon and head for the blue runs instead.
The next day I did more of that in about 8 inches of new powder while Kate and Zach zipped down on skis and Leslie took her snowboard lesson. Man that was fun! As the soreness fades, I'm already itching to get back up there.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
That Was a Hell of a Thing
Last Thursday night we had one heck of a windstorm. Apparently, the winds hit nearly 100 MPH out on the coast though gusts here topped out around 60 MPH. That was more than enough to wreak havoc on the whole Puget Sound area. After a few brownouts early in the evening, we finally lost power around 8PM. Leslie and I went to the living room to look at some of the trees and they were swaying wildly. It wasn't long before we realized how stupid it was to be next to a window with all of this going on so we headed to bed. Around midnight the storm was really going full force and the big window in our bedroom was groaning during the big gusts.
In the morning, our power was still out and we headed out to see the damage. We were insanely lucky in that nothing was damaged at our house. No trees in our yard, no broken windows, just a very dark house. Others were not so lucky. The road towards town was closed when a tree fell across the road, bringing down power lines and a utility pole along with it. In fact, there were huge trees down all over the place making it very hard to get around.
This picture was taken about a mile from our house on one of the main roads with the giant tree being held up only by the power lines. Driving under that was a bit nerve wracking.
The Sahalee neighborhood near our house was particularly hard hit. Sahalee is a gated community but with the power out, they had to open the gates which let riff raff like us drive through. Truth be told, it was the only way we could get home with so many other roads closed due to fallen trees. As we drove through, we saw a house with a tree in its living room - not unusual at this time of season but given that it came in through the window and was over 100 feet tall this was no standard Christmas tree.
As you can imagine, there was debris all over the golf course, though in this shot, you can't see any of the trees down. Just some stumps where they used to be.
We finally got our power back late Sunday morning. Leslie and I were just arriving at the local bagel shop when Zach called to say the power was back on. We did a little "we got power!" dance and others in the store clapped for us. Some people are still without power nearly a week after the storm and may still be in the dark for some time to come. While most things are back to normal, we still don't have cable TV. Apparently the storm knocked out the cable company's receiving gear because our internet connection still works fine but we don't get any TV channels. Oh well - I'll take electricity over cable TV any day of the week.
One interesting side effect of the storm was that a lot of people were using their fireplaces for heat and so the air became very smoky and hard to breathe. It did make for some nice sunrises though.
In the morning, our power was still out and we headed out to see the damage. We were insanely lucky in that nothing was damaged at our house. No trees in our yard, no broken windows, just a very dark house. Others were not so lucky. The road towards town was closed when a tree fell across the road, bringing down power lines and a utility pole along with it. In fact, there were huge trees down all over the place making it very hard to get around.
This picture was taken about a mile from our house on one of the main roads with the giant tree being held up only by the power lines. Driving under that was a bit nerve wracking. The Sahalee neighborhood near our house was particularly hard hit. Sahalee is a gated community but with the power out, they had to open the gates which let riff raff like us drive through. Truth be told, it was the only way we could get home with so many other roads closed due to fallen trees. As we drove through, we saw a house with a tree in its living room - not unusual at this time of season but given that it came in through the window and was over 100 feet tall this was no standard Christmas tree.
As you can imagine, there was debris all over the golf course, though in this shot, you can't see any of the trees down. Just some stumps where they used to be.
We finally got our power back late Sunday morning. Leslie and I were just arriving at the local bagel shop when Zach called to say the power was back on. We did a little "we got power!" dance and others in the store clapped for us. Some people are still without power nearly a week after the storm and may still be in the dark for some time to come. While most things are back to normal, we still don't have cable TV. Apparently the storm knocked out the cable company's receiving gear because our internet connection still works fine but we don't get any TV channels. Oh well - I'll take electricity over cable TV any day of the week.
One interesting side effect of the storm was that a lot of people were using their fireplaces for heat and so the air became very smoky and hard to breathe. It did make for some nice sunrises though.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Blackout Lightsabers at the Ready
There's a big storm coming in tonight. We're expecting wind gusts of up to 65 MPH. When that happens, we always lose power so I checked to make sure our blackout lightsabers are ready.
You'd be amazed at how well these things light up a room when the power is out - and they have a cool sound!
You'd be amazed at how well these things light up a room when the power is out - and they have a cool sound!
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