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Here are some recycling facts you may not have known. When you recycle an aluminum can, it can be back on the shelf as a new can in about 3 months! Nike collects athletic shoes and turns them into raw materials to make new sports surfaces like tennis courts and running tracks. Each year Americans junk more than 80 million dollars’ worth of precious metals (gold, silver, palladium, and platinum) in the form of retired cell phones. Cities get recycled, too.  Roman settlements made a handy source of stone for medieval church builders. Recycling is all around us. Pitch in and do your part to recycle some resources today!

After hearing about the earthquake in Chile, I contacted a friend of mine named David Rogers. He has been serving in the country of Chile for many years, living in Santiago. Here are some of the notes he has posted on Facebook as he gathers information about the situation there. He is now in the United States, but will return to Chile by next Monday (3/8/10.) Here’s what David has shared:

“Thank you for your encouragement…We were there in 1985 for the last earthquake in Santiago, and the needs were huge then. The situation is more complex this time with looting, and lack of food, water, and communication. The Church family is well, but two young couples with babies had to evacuate their apartments due to major damage…”

“We leave next Monday (3/8/10) to return to Chile. We need grace and wisdom…Our family of missionaries is fine. The School was shook up and messed up, but not damaged. Our new church building is fine, thank the Lord. Our church family of about 160 people is intact, but two families had to move out of their apartments, which were seriously damaged. Water is off and food is not easily accessible…”

“We are still in NJ, but hearing of the needs in Chile. Mostly to get the basic supplies back in the hands of the people. Stores are being looted; food and basic supplies are not accessible yet. We will be returning to a very shook up country. Things are not good, but not impossible. Pray for the families that are cut off from other loved ones in other parts of the country. “

“The church family has not been able to meet yet, nor are they able to go out much. Transportation is cut off, with bridges out and roads collapsed. One main issue is keeping the “vultures” from looting and stealing food and such. We hope to give hope and help to the Chilean people soon. Thanks for your prayers!”

Let’s continue to pray for the people of Chile as they deal with many problems resulting from this very powerful earthquake. I will keep you updated as more news becomes available.

Pixie2 seems to have it all. It makes possible a world of learning for elementary students. It is engaging, and students will return to this award winning software program from Tech4Learning again and again. (That’s a characteristic of good software.) Children love to explore, and this software helps them explore the world around them. We have used KidPix in our elementary Computer Lab since 1991, but recently switched to this educational paint program. Text options, clip art and voice recording add a lot to the standards-based activities included with the software package. Pixie2 is helping students sharpen their 21st century skills via podcasts, digital storytelling and the use of Flash animations.  We are looking forward to what we will be able to create in the days and weeks ahead!

Just finished listening to one of my favorite podcasts, “The Writer’s Almanac.” I especially enjoyed this episode entitled “Somebody’s Mother” by Mary Dow. I have included a link back to the website which links to this particular podcast. Hope you enjoy this piece. The picture is one of my Mom sitting on the front steps of the Olinda home in Westville, New Jersey. Notice the mail slot on the screen door? Not something you see in suburbia much any more. Mike was also there with Sparky the dog. It was probably about 1984.

I am looking forward to working more on my blog/website today. Facebook just went down while I was playing Scrabble…hope I didn’t cause it. Have a good weekend!

Customer Service at Verizon has in the past been, shall we say, frustrating. But today we had a pleasant surprise. My wife called in a problem with FIOS TV late last night and worked through a whole list of possible fixes over the phone without success. Verizon then scheduled a repairman to come this afternoon. Meanwhile, I had shoveled a large amount of slushy snow off our long walkway, only to have it covered again in about 15 minutes. Then, over the horizon, came the Verizon Van. The bundled repairman appeared through the blowing snow, with a determined stride…he walked like an astronaut boarding a shuttle in slow motion. He shoveled the front steps before he walked up them, and I thought, this guy is good. He was professional, courteous, knowledgeable, and helpful. Fine work, Verizon, even in a blizzard. I hope all my future customer service interactions go this well. For all of you that are working through this blizzard, be safe out there!

Greetings! Hope you are doing well on another snowy day. (Snow on the ground, more on the way!) Tired of the white stuff yet? I am asking for your help.

I have been working on a redesign of my website recently. Trying out a few new ideas and adding some features. I have been using WordPress for some time now with a variety of themes. I am trying to tie together the look and feel of my blog/website/twitter spaces and any future social media I will use. My “primary” audience (no pun intended) is elementary students in grades 1 to 5. I also post for family and friends, but try to keep the reading level and content kid-friendly.

I am asking you to check out my website for a few minutes and send me some sort of feedback. Commenting on this post would be awesome, but you can also reach me on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, email, smoke signals, etc. Looking forward to hearing from you all. Thank you!

As I write this blog entry for my students, I am remembering a December day back in 1975. I had read the poem “Voyagers” by Emily Dickinson, and was commenting on it in my creative writing journal for Miss Alexander’s English class. Didn’t realize that steno pad would still be around 35 years later. Today we have another snow day off from school, and many of us are reading right now. (I do have a family of readers!) These days, though, much of that reading and writing takes place on a computer screen while tapping quietly on a keyboard. Thank you to all my teachers that taught me well! Here is that poem, one of Miss Alexander’s favorites:

Voyagers

There is no frigate like a book
To take us lands away,
Nor any coursers like a page
Of prancing poetry.
This traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of toll;
How frugal is the chariot
That bears a human soul!

by Emily Dickinson

Little Caesars’ mobile trailer named the “Love Kitchen” is a working cookery used by the company to reach out to the needy. It is a charitable extension to assist organizations like the Pacific Garden Mission while helping those in need. PGM arranged two visits around the Holidays to the delight of those who came through the doors of the mission. The Love Kitchen has also been used outside of the Chicago area. Back in 2005, it rolled into Louisiana and began feeding pizzas to those most severely affected by Hurricane Katrina. In the first 10 days of service, with the help of local franchisees, it provided nearly 16,000 meals to evacuees and victims of the hurricane. Because of the great need, Little Caesars mobilized a second Love Kitchen and sent it to help with serving food in coordination with the American Red Cross.

It is good to hear of companies that reach out to people in a time of need to provide help. Here’s a picture of the “Love Kitchen” during the Hurricane Katrina relief effort.

The aspect ratio is the width of a picture in relationship to its height. In the United States, TV always used a 4:3 ratio in the past, regardless of the size of the television screen. The three most common ratios are 4:3, 16:9, and 2.39:1 (Cinemascope.) The black bars top and bottom sometimes seen were introduced with letterboxing of 16:9 images on 4:3 screens. Letterboxing reduces widescreen images until they fit on a standard 4:3 ration screen, hence the feeling you are seeing the image through a letterbox slot. Some people think they are losing part of the image; in reality, the image is all preserved, but empty black bars are left on the screen. This image is from Videomaker magazine:

Now that 16:9 has become the new default format for widescreen TV, DVD and Hi-Def video, a new problem occurs. When viewing older 4:3 images on a widescreen, you will now have vertical black columns or pillars on both sides. The picture is all there, but many people find the pillars distracting. One solution is to stretch the image to fill the wide screen. This can cause distortion, and almost always makes people look fat on screen. Perhaps a new technological fix will be found. Time will tell, or Tim will tell you later. Enjoy whatever format you are watching. I personally enjoy the 1:1 ratio…real life!

I saw an interesting advertisement for Acura’s Active Sound Control. In Acura vehicles, the speakers can create an interesting sound – SILENCE! Active Sound Control listens to engine noise in the car interior and broadcasts sound canceling signals to eliminate that extra noise. This technology works whether the stereo is in use or not. Here’s a link to Acura that describes this high tech system. Pretty amazing what technology we enjoy in the 21st century! My two youngest sons think this is totally cool. How about you? If this is in an Acura today, how long until we see the technology in economy cars of the future? Time will tell, or Tim will tell you soon.

I have been involved with Family History research for a good number of years. Social media/networking has been an interest mainly over the past twelve months. I am wondering now how those two parts of my life might be blended together. (And I am pretty sure that some technology device will be right in the middle of that blending.) Where do I begin?

I started researching my family history (formally) about 1997 or so. I remember the black laptop (running Windows 95) that I carried around, collecting information from many relatives. Seems like a long time ago. My genealogy now contains about 2500 individuals. (That number used to sound very large; now that I have lots of friends on Facebook, it doesn’t sound quite as big any more.) Hundreds of hours of research, photos, stories, documents, etc. We have had a number of deaths in the family in the past 5 years, and that seems to have sidetracked my collection of family facts. Feeling more mortal, or just a little older, for whatever reason, the pace has slowed a bit.
Enter social media. I had dabbled in social networking over the years on AOL, eWorld, and other sites, but finally settled on Classmates.com in 2008 to begin serious contacts. A few months later, classmates were telling me about the rapidly growing network of high school friends over on Facebook. I jumped in and have been very engaged ever since. To me, Facebook is much more dynamic than any site I had used in the past. Very immediate as well. I was hooked.

Now I am wondering, how can I combine my interest in family history with my new social media skills and contacts? (As a sidelight, consider the possiblilities of genetic genealogy, using DNA to tie together individuals and families.) Family history could be the next big component of social (media) networking with a kind of historic digital storytelling. Any ideas out there? Stay tuned for the next big thing – maybe we will witness the start of a new blend of social networking. Time will tell, or Tim will tell you later.

This photograph of my father is from about the time of the Great Depression. My Dad was born in 1924 in Philadelphia, and this photo came from an old Bosher Family Album.

One picture is worth a thousand words, or so they say. In the past, America got its images in magazines such as “Life” and they could be amazing. Today we take images for granted, but once that media was the domain of the gifted photojournalist. Until Life magazine stopped weekly publication in 1972, it helped define American culture in photos for much of the 20th century. Now many of those photos are available online.

Teachers can use this online resource to give students an online window into another world. The archive and website were created in partnership with Getty Images, now the world’s largest photo agency. Check out the article in Edutopia by Owen Edwards to get more information and experience all that the website has to offer. Smile for the camera!

One of earth’s greatest assets is its life-supporting atmosphere. Only 8 other bodies in our solar system are surrounded by gas to a significant degree. Do you know their names? (Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Titan, and Triton.) I read a brief article on this topic called “Atmospheres: A Narrow Zone for Life.” Author David F. Coppedge goes on to describe atmospheres generally and specifically here in our solar system. (He works in the Cassini Program at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.) A planet’s atmosphere is tied to its geology, and you can learn more on this topic in many places. Up, up and away!

Two friends now helping in Haiti. Angie is with a medical team from the University of Iowa Hospitals. Teams are rotating in and out of the country to provide much needed medical support. She should be in Haiti in a few days. Rich is already in Haiti helping. His brother Jeff posted several links and pictures related to Rich in Haiti. Let’s continue to pray for the people of Haiti, and all those who are supporting the relief effort at this time. This help will need to continue for a long time.

1.  January – President Obama said the Guantanamo Bay detention center would be closed by this deadline.

2.  February – The 2010 Winter Olympics take place in Vancouver, Canada.

3.  March – Musicians delight in the music of Chopin, born 200 years ago.

4.  April – In America, we answer questions for the U.S. Census (once every ten years.)

5.  May – World Laughter Day happens during this month.

6.  June – South Africa is the site for the FIFA Soccer World Cup.

7.  July – The fashion world shows off in the Paris Haute Couture week.

8.  August – The deadline arrives for American combat troops to leave Iraq.

9.  September – The diplomats of the world gather at the UN General Assembly in New York.

10. October – Germany celebrates 20 years since unification.

11. November – The U.S. Election of 435 Representatives, about 33 Senators, and 39 Governors.

12. December – America celebrates the 390th anniversary of the landing of the Pilgrims.

Some highlights of the year 2010 from The Economist magazine. Happy New Year!