Lofty Matters

Tacky? I’d say so…

The Salvation Army is testing new kettles with debit/credit card machines on them. Apparently so far, the donations from last year are up 7 percent from the previous year due to the debit/credit card machines. They assume people are being more generous as well, I believe.

Next? Perhaps ads for the best hair loss products on the sides of the machines. I’m sorry…but I just find this a big turn-off.

Weekend Greetings!

I hope your Thanksgiving holiday was meaningful and delicious! Ours was lovely…simply lovely. And…did you shop yesterday? I am happy to say I did NOT….and never missed it.

On to the good news!

Deer Hunters Help Feed the Hungry

Hunters are donating more venison to food banks as Ohio and other states begin to offer financial aid to help manage high deer populations.

“Feeding America” has seen demand for help more than double at some food banks. Second Harvest Foodbanks reports the number of people served by its charities was up 37 percent in the fourth quarter (compared with the previous fourth quarter).

Processing one deer may cost as much as $70 in addition to hunting equipment and license costs that must be paid by hunters. Last year for the first time, Ohio’s wildlife division provided a $100,000 grant for processing fees. This grant was matched by Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry and the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks. In response to these financial incentives, last year Ohio hunters donated more than 1,000 deer — more than twice the previous year’s total — providing venison for 220,000 meals.

Spam Maker’s Profit Rises 50 Percent

Hormel Foods reports its fourth-quarter profit rose more than 50 percent. This has been achieved by lower ingredient costs as consumers spend less on more expensive items like microwave meals.

Hormel has benefited as consumers limit spending and eat at home to make ends meet. Its lower-priced chili and its famed meat-in-a-can have been rising in at least the past year as consumers tighten their belts.

Consumers focusing on their budgets has hurt the company when it tries to sell more expensive products like microwavable meals, which are more profitable. Hormel notes that consumers limited their purchases of higher-priced items in its Jennie-O Turkey Store (accounting for 20 percent of net sales).

Nintendo Wii May Work as Well as Real Workout

New Wii video games from Nintendo may be creating a healthier couch potato.

Some of the Nintendo Wii sports games and activities require video-game enthusiasts to get moving and may increase energy expenditure as much as moderate intensity exercise.

A Nintendo-funded study found that about 33 percent of the games and activities that are part of the Wii sports and Wii fit packages require an energy expenditure of 3.0 METs or more. This is considered to be moderate intensity exercise. METs = metabolic equivalent values — the standard method of estimating energy expenditure.

Make war on consumption – yep…we’re talking all of those office supplies, paper plates, napkins, appliances…even electricity. Solar panels are the way to heat your home, cool your home, heat your water, and run your appliances. Solar technology has made huge gains recently and is easier than ever to install and use in your home. Approximately 85 percent of the at-home renewable energy-producing systems installed today are solar panels.

Two fingers and a tooth that were removed from Galileo corpse in a Florentine basilica in the 18th century were assumed lost for good. They have been found again and will be on display.

Three fingers, a vertebra and a tooth were removed from Galileo’s body by admirers in 1737 (95 years after his death) as his corpse was being moved from a storage place to a monumental tomb (with cardboard displays perhaps?).

One of the fingers was found soon afterward. The vertebra has been at the University of Padua, where Galileo taught for years. But the tooth and two fingers were kept by one of the admirers.

The container recently appeared at auction and was purchased by a private collector who did not know exactly what the contents were except that they were Galileo’s relics.

Final countdown to Thanksgiving. Is this a big holiday for you and your family? I think this may be right up there in the “top two” for us. I mean really…food and counting our blessings surrounded by family…what could ever be better? We’ll be kicking it into high gear this week and counting our blessings all the way!

Ready for some good news?

Share Your Soles Helps Used Shoes Go the Extra Mile in Poor Countries

Mona Purdy, a Chicago hairdresser, knows how a pair of used shoes can change the lives of poor children.

The beginning of it all was ten years ago when Purdy participated in a race in Guatemala. Local children put hot tar on the bottom of their feet for protection and ran along the side of rocky course.

Volunteers help sort the shoes that arrive at the 400,000-square-foot warehouse in Illinois.

Purdy has collected and distributed 900,000 pairs of used shoes over the ten years. She is now the executive director of this charity.

Having reached the 10-year anniversary of Share Your Soles, Purdy would like to become a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador. She also wants to apply for federal grants to increase the charity’s $975,000 annual budget.

Tallest Man Unveils Largest Gingerbread Cookie

The world’s tallest living man has unveiled the world’s largest gingerbread man in Oslo, Norway.

Sultan Koesen, of Turkey, is 8 ft. 1 in. tall and is displaying the 1,435-pound cookie proudly.

The cookie was baked in Oslo and is the traditional gingerbread-man shape. It pushes out the previous gingerbread cookie record of 1,307 pounds, which was set in 2006 in Smithville, Texas.

Koesen was declared the tallest living man by the Guinness Book of World Records in September, 2009.

Philanthropist Wages Fight to Cure Autism

Autism Speaks was founded by philanthropist Suzanne Wright and her husband Bob in February 2005 and has become the largest autism science and advocacy organization in the United States. The foundation actively funds research about autism and also advocates for people with autism and their families.

The Wrights started the foundation when their grandson was diagnosed with autism.

On October 14, Autism Speaks hosted “Autism Speaks to Wall Street: Third Annual Celebrity Chef Gala.” Renowned chefs were invited to prepare a dinner with one chef for each sponsored table. There were four courses. After the dinner, there was an auction to raise money for autism causes.

In an effort to fight a massive bee die-off, scientists have developed a population of honeybees that can find the parasite that feeds on pupae in nests and spreads viruses within hives. USDA scientists hope the population of these honeybees could potentially improve the health of the overall honeybee population.

For more than 20 years, varroa mites have decimated millions of honeybee colonies in North America and they are becoming resistant to pesticides.

Scientists are optimistic that the honeybee industry is on the right track toward recovery from the varroa pest and Colony Collapse Disorder. Personally, I have seen no change from my vantage point on my back patio sitting on my wicker chairs with outdoor cushions…but it is reassuring to learn that scientists are coming closer to a solution to this potentially devastating situation.

More than 5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s with approximately half in the disease’s early stages. Early diagnosis means many patients still have years of independent living before they will be reduced to dependency on others. At some point, most will begin wandering and this requires more intense supervision to keep them safe.

Many states are adopting “Silver Alerts” programs that notify the public when an Alzheimer’s patient wanders off. Some families opt for higher-tech options — from simple radio-wave beacons to GPS technology.

In development now is a Web-based mapping service. With a system as small as many netbooks, families can buy a transmitter and then choose a monthly monitoring plan to help them keep their family member safe.

Greetings! Halfway through November already…hardly seems possible. Our house is gearing up for Thanksgiving with everyone beginning to anticipate the family that will be arriving and the good times ahead. It is one of our favorite times of the year.

Quote for you:

The foolish man seeks happiness in the distance; the wise grows it under his feet~~James Openheim

I’m in the mood for some good news…how about you?

Ring Returned to Vietnam POW 44 Years After Imprisonment

Just over 54 years ago on October 1, 1955, James and Phyllis Hivner were married. Ten years later, then-Capt. James Hivner and his co-pilot were shot down , in their F-4C Phantom fighter-bomber over North Vietnam.

Soon after they were captured by North Vietnamese militia and then they became residents at the infamous Hanoi Hilton, a POW facility.

Just as the wedding ring symbolizes love, it also symbolizes the Air Force family the colonel is a part of. On Veterans Day, people from Sheppard Air Force Base made the two-hour trip to Addison, Texas, with a special surprise.

After being captured, Hivner and his co-pilot were stripped of all belongings and valuables – wedding rings included. After being imprisoned for approximately eight years, the war ended and Hivner was released…but returned home without his wedding ring.

Rick Tolley, a retired U.S. Navy commander from San Antonio, found the colonel’s original wedding ring and dog tag. After performing research, he located Hivner and the ring made its way back to its rightful owner.

West Africa’s Giraffes Make a Big Comeback

A hundred years ago, the giraffes of West Africa were as many as over a thousand and they lived from Senegal’s Atlantic Ocean coast to Chad (in the center of Africa). Currently however, their habitat stretches only 150 miles long.

But instead of disappearing altogether, the giraffes are bouncing back from the brink of extinction. Today there are more than 200.

Experts surmise the recovery is because of a combination of concerned conservationists, government looking for money, and harmony with villagers who have accepted their presence.

Giraffe hunting is prohibited in many countries. And some, like Kenya, have taken giraffe meat off the menu of tourist restaurants that once served them up on huge skewers. New laws were created that banned hunting and poaching. Giraffe killers would be punished with five-year jail terms and fines amounting to hundreds of times their annual income. By 2004, the giraffe herds had increased by two.

The government also realized they had a lucrative tourism resource as well.

New Evidence That Dark Chocolate Helps Ease Emotional Stress

The “chocolate cure” for emotional stress is getting a boost from a study published online. New research has found that eating about 1.5 ounces of dark chocolate each day for two weeks reduces stress hormones of people feeling highly stressed. It now appears that antioxidants and other beneficial substances in dark chocolate may reduce heart disease and other physical conditions. Chocolate may also ease emotional stress.

Scientists have identified reductions in stress hormones and other biochemical changes using volunteers. The volunteers rated themselves as highly stressed and then ate dark chocolate for two weeks. The study shows evidence that a daily consumption of 1.4 ounces over a two-week period is enough to modify the metabolism of healthy human volunteers.

I am finally ready for more good news, how about you? After over a week and a half of serious illness in our house, we are down to only one person still under the weather so life has returned to some sense of normalcy once again. yay for normal! You sure can appreciate it when it’s gone, that’s for sure!

How about some good news? Start your weekend off on the right foot.

The Hubble has a new wide-field camera and here is a photo sent that illustrates how an “assembly line” of starbirth works in a nearby galaxy.

This galaxy is breathtaking. This star is M83 (also known as the Southern Pinwheel). It is 15 million light-years from Earth and is in the constellation Hydra. Looking up in the sky in the correct direction, you might be able to discern the galaxy with your naked eye if every condition was just perfect. This telescope view shows a spectacular spiral — and there we get the “Pinwheel” label.

CHA and Operation Warm Give Coats to Low-Income Children

The Chicago Housing Authority and Operation Warm Inc., are working together to distribute new winter coats to residents in public housing who have children born after January 1, 1995. This is the second year of this program.

Residents must register online at chayouth.org to receive coats. Last year, 4,000 coats went to area children in need. The program has 10,000 coats to give away this year.

The program receives government funds and funds from corporate and private donors. By the end of 2009 Operation Warm will have given away more than 600,000 new coats to children since 1998.

Coats in Chicago will be given away on a first-come, first-served basis to people who have pre-registered online. Public housing residents who do not have Internet access can receive help from a CHA FamilyWorks office, an on-site property management office or resident leaders.

Tiny Ears Found on Butterfly’s Wings

A butterfly species that has tiny ears on its wings can distinguish between high and low pitch sounds.

Scientists assumed butterflies were deaf until 1912, when the first butterfly ears were discovered. In the past decade researchers have begun to examine the anatomy and physiology of butterfly ears.

Scientists knew that the blue morpho butterfly had simple wing ears. In a new study, researchers delved into the anatomy of the odd-looking hearing membrane that sits at the base of the blue morpho’s wing.

After playing sounds with varying pitches, researchers discovered that the butterfly’s hearing membrane vibrated more with lower frequencies. After measuring nerve responses, they now conclude that the butterfly ear is extra sensitive to lower pitches.

I have noticed something that has been developing gradually over the last several years. I used to be an avid reader…always had at least one fiction and nonfiction book going and kept my eye on the best seller list so that I would know when my favorite authors were finished with their latest novels.

I’m not even sure when life got away from me and I stopped reading books like I used to…

but I am determined to take back my mind! I went to the library the other day…and I brought home two books for myself to read. One fiction and one nonfiction. I’m proud to tell you that I have started both.

And I’m loving it!